Certification guide
ITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve is the one module that counts toward both ITIL 4 designations. Every other intermediate module belongs to a single track: Create, Deliver and Support, Drive Stakeholder Value and High-Velocity IT sit under Managing Professional; Digital and IT Strategy sits under Strategic Leader. DPI is credited to both. That makes it the most reusable single exam in the ITIL 4 scheme, and for most candidates it is the reason to pick it: one 40-question paper advances two designations at once, and it is the module you want to hold if you are undecided about which track you will finish.
The subject matter matches that positioning. DPI is the module about steering an organization rather than running a service, how direction is set and cascaded, how planning turns strategy into work that people actually do, and how improvement is made a permanent habit instead of an annual exercise. Governance, risk and compliance, organizational change management, and measurement and reporting all sit inside it. It is the least technical of the intermediate modules and the one whose content transfers most directly to work outside IT.
It is also, deliberately, an exam that resists memorisation. The paper is written at Bloom’s application level: questions describe an organization in a particular situation and ask what a strategist should do next, or which of four plausible responses reflects an ITIL principle correctly. Knowing the vocabulary is assumed. What is tested is judgement.
Scheme status. PeopleCert released ITIL Version 5 in February 2026, and the current plan is to sunset all ITIL 4 modules on 31 December 2027. Direct, Plan and Improve is live and examinable today. An ITIL 4 certificate earned now remains valid, renews on the normal three-year cycle, and still counts as a prerequisite toward higher Version 5 modules. Of the ITIL 4 intermediates, DPI is the one with the broadest claim on your time: it is the universal module, counting toward both Managing Professional and Strategic Leader, so a single pass carries further than any other exam in the scheme.
Level · Shared Managing Professional / Strategic Leader 40 questions 90 minutes 113 minutes if English is not your first language Pass · 28 of 40 · 70% Multiple choice, closed book, no negative marking Prerequisites · ITIL 4 Foundation, any ITIL v3 certification, or an ITIL 4 Managing Professional certificate Accredited training mandatory · results withheld without proof of completion Renew every 3 years · 60 CPD points From $649 USD exam bundle (list $865)
Forty multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, closed book, with no negative marking, a blank answer scores exactly what a wrong one does, so never leave one. Twenty-eight correct answers pass, which is 70%, five percentage points above the Foundation threshold and a meaningful step up. Candidates sitting in a language that is not their first receive an additional 25% of time, giving 113 minutes.
One requirement is easy to underestimate: accredited training is mandatory for this module, and PeopleCert withholds results without proof of completion. You cannot self-study DPI and simply book the paper. Budget and schedule for an accredited course from the start, because a booked exam with no course behind it produces a sat exam and no certificate.
Seven syllabus sections structure the paper. The distribution is flatter than most ITIL modules, no section dominates, but it is not even, and the two 7.5% sections between them account for roughly six questions, which is enough to decide a borderline result.
Key concepts of direct, plan and improve
Section 1 · 20%The vocabulary and scope the rest of the module is built on: direction, planning and improvement as distinct activities, the role of the strategist, and the cascade from vision through to operational work. Questions here are mostly definitional but framed situationally. You are given a described activity and asked which concept it exemplifies, rather than asked to recite a definition.
Continual improvement principles and methods
Section 4 · 20%Tied for the largest section, and the heart of the module. The continual improvement model and its questions, improvement as an embedded property rather than a project, and the methods used to identify, prioritise and sustain improvements. Expect scenarios where an improvement effort stalls and you must identify which step was skipped, most often the one about defining what success looks like before starting.
The scope, principles and methods of direction and planning
Section 2 · 15%How direction is decided and how planning turns it into commitments, what should be planned centrally, what should be devolved, and how planning horizons differ across levels of an organization. This section tests whether you can tell a strategic decision from an operational one, a distinction the exam probes repeatedly by mixing them in the same scenario.
Communication and organizational change management
Section 5 · 15%Why well-designed changes fail on contact with people, and what to do about it. Communication principles, identifying and working with stakeholders, resistance and how to read it, and reinforcing a change so it survives the attention of its sponsor. Scenario questions here often present a technically sound change that is being rejected, and ask what the strategist got wrong.
Directing, planning and improving value streams and practices
Section 7 · 15%The applied close of the module: taking the direction, planning and improvement disciplines and pointing them at real value streams and practices. Value stream mapping, identifying waste and constraints, and choosing where an intervention will actually change the outcome. This is the section that most rewards practical experience, and the one where an abstract answer is usually the wrong answer.
The role of governance, risk and compliance in the service value system
Section 3 · 7.5%How governing bodies direct and control, how risk is identified and managed as a strategic input rather than an audit chore, and how compliance obligations shape what an organization is permitted to plan. Small by weight, about three questions, but it is the section candidates from a purely operational background most often lose marks on, because governance is the part of ITIL they have never had to practise.
Measurement and reporting
Section 6 · 7.5%What to measure, why most organizations measure the wrong thing, and how indicators connect to outcomes rather than to activity. Cascading objectives into measurements, and the difference between a metric that informs a decision and one that merely proves work happened. Also about three questions, and closely tied to continual improvement, an improvement you cannot measure is one you cannot defend.
A free 15-question Direct, Plan and Improve sample is live now, weighted across all seven syllabus sections in the proportions PeopleCert publishes, scored instantly against the real exam’s 70% threshold, no account needed. Full-length 100-question practice sets are in development and will follow the same official weights: 20 questions each from key concepts and continual improvement, 15 each from direction and planning, communication and organizational change management, and directing, planning and improving value streams and practices, and the two 7.5% sections alternating between eight and seven questions across sets so the bank as a whole averages the published weight, with the pass mark matching the real exam’s 28 of 40 exactly. Questions are original throughout and written at the same applied level as the paper: scenarios that ask what to do next, not what a term means.
Frequently asked questions about ITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve
What is ITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve?
It is the ITIL 4 module covering how an organization sets direction, plans, and improves, including governance, risk and compliance, organizational change management, and measurement and reporting. Uniquely in the ITIL 4 scheme it counts toward both the Managing Professional and the Strategic Leader designation.
Why is DPI called the universal module?
Because it is credited to both ITIL 4 designations. Create, Deliver and Support, Drive Stakeholder Value and High-Velocity IT count only toward Managing Professional, and Digital and IT Strategy counts only toward Strategic Leader. DPI counts toward both, which makes it the most reusable single exam in the scheme and the safest first intermediate to sit if you have not yet committed to a track.
How many questions are on the exam and how long is it?
Forty multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, closed book, with no negative marking. Candidates taking the exam in a language that is not their first receive an additional 25% of time, giving 113 minutes.
What is the passing score?
Twenty-eight of 40, which is 70%. Because there is no penalty for a wrong answer, there is never a reason to leave a question blank.
Do I have to take an accredited course?
Yes. Accredited training is mandatory for this module, and PeopleCert withholds results without proof of completion, so self-study alone will not get you certified, however well you score. Factor the course cost and its schedule into your plan before booking the exam.
What are the prerequisites?
ITIL 4 Foundation, any ITIL v3 certification, or an ITIL 4 Managing Professional certificate.
What are the syllabus sections and their weights?
Seven sections: key concepts of direct, plan and improve (20%), continual improvement principles and methods (20%), the scope, principles and methods of direction and planning (15%), communication and organizational change management (15%), directing, planning and improving value streams and practices (15%), the role of governance, risk and compliance in the service value system (7.5%), and measurement and reporting (7.5%).
What does it cost?
From $649 USD for the exam bundle, against a list price of $865. That is the exam side only, accredited training is mandatory and is a separate cost.
Is ITIL 4 still worth taking now that Version 5 exists?
PeopleCert released ITIL Version 5 in February 2026 and the current plan is to sunset all ITIL 4 modules on 31 December 2027. Direct, Plan and Improve is live and examinable today, a certificate earned now remains valid and renews on the normal three-year cycle, and ITIL 4 certificates still count as prerequisites toward higher Version 5 modules. Confirm current scheme dates with PeopleCert before booking.
How long is the certification valid and how do I renew?
Three years, renewed with 60 CPD points across the cycle or by passing another ITIL certification. All ITIL certificates sit within the same product suite, so passing a further ITIL exam also renews the ones you already hold.
Trademark notice & independence. Certifym.net is operated by Certifym Exam Services, LLC and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PeopleCert. ITIL® is a registered trade mark of PeopleCert group companies, used here only to identify the certification these study materials are intended for. The ITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve syllabus and its section weights are the property of PeopleCert; candidates should always confirm the current syllabus, exam format, pricing and scheme dates directly with PeopleCert before booking, as scheme details and the announced ITIL 4 sunset arrangements may change.
All questions, answers, and explanations on Certifym are original content written for practice purposes. They are not actual PeopleCert examination questions and are not represented as such. Practicing with these materials does not guarantee a passing result on any live certification exam.