ITIL ITIL-4-Foundation ITIL 4 Foundation Exam Exam Practice Test

A help desk is considered to be focused on break-fix (what ITIL calls incident management), whereas a service desk is there to assist with not only break-fix but also with service requests (requests for new services) and requests for information (such as “how do I do X?”).

https://www.atlassian.com/itsm/service-request-management/help-desk-vs-service-desk-vs-itsm#:~:text=A%20help%20desk%20is%20considered,I%20do%20X%3F%E2%80%9D).

https://assyst.ifs.com/blog/the-7-guiding-principles-of-itil-4-0

Don't over-engineer solutions. Think about what you can do now.

Like focus on value, this principle is heavily focused on the prevention of waste. Waste correlates with complexity. Higher complexity means there are more opportunities for waste to creep into a system.

Focus on delivering the desired outcome, not building the most elegant and elaborate solution. Use the minimum number of steps to deliver that outcome, ensuring you are not over-processing (delivering quality above and beyond what is required).

An output is a tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity, while an outcome is a result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs1. A service provider produces outputs that allow customers to achieve outcomes2. A service consumer utilizes the outputs and benefits from the outcomes2.

A change that must be implemented as soon as possible without strictly following the standard process e.g. to resolve an incident or implement a security patch.

The process for assessment and authorization is expedited to ensure quick implementation, so scheduling and documentation is not a priority.

The change authority may be separate from what is standard or normal practice, typically smaller in number but with greater capacity to expedite approval.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-change-enablement/

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

In ITIL 4, the monitoring and event management practice is concerned with the systematic observation of services and service components. Its purpose is described as:

Continuously monitoring services and infrastructure.

Identifying and capturing changes of state in these components.

Classifying certain changes of state as events, which are then recorded, reported, and, where necessary, acted upon.

This practice enables early detection of issues, supports automated responses where appropriate, and helps maintain the normal operation and performance of services.

Option C accurately reflects this purpose, so it is correct.

The other options describe the purposes of different ITIL practices:

A – This is the purpose of incident management (restoring normal service operation quickly to minimize impact).

B – This is the purpose of service request management (handling user-initiated service requests effectively).

D – This is the purpose of change enablement (ensuring successful changes through proper risk assessment and authorization).

Relevant ITIL 4 Foundation references:

Monitoring and event management practice: purpose and key activities.

Purpose statements for incident management, service request management, and change enablement practices (for comparison).

In ITIL 4, the guiding principle “Keep it simple and practical” advises organizations to:

Always use the minimum number of steps necessary to achieve objectives

Eliminate activities that do not create value

Avoid over-complication and unnecessary work

This principle explicitly supports removing unnecessary processes, steps, or documentation that do not contribute to value. That is exactly what the question describes as “the elimination of unnecessary work,” so A is correct.

Why the others are not correct in this context:

B. Think and work holistically focuses on seeing the organization as an integrated system and considering end-to-end value creation, not specifically on eliminating unnecessary work.

C. Start where you are emphasizes using and understanding existing practices, capabilities, and data before creating something new, but it does not directly focus on removing unnecessary work.

D. Progress iteratively with feedback promotes working in small, manageable iterations and learning from feedback; it is about how to approach change, not specifically about eliminating unnecessary work.

Therefore, the guiding principle that proposes eliminating unnecessary work is “Keep it simple and practical”, making A the correct answer.

Each activity contributes to the value chain by transforming specific inputs into outputs. The inputs could be demand from outside the value chain, or outputs of other activities, while the transformation is facilitated by ITIL practices, undertaken using internal or third-party resources, processes, skills, and competencies.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-value-chain/

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract (Aligned with ITIL 4 Foundation Study Guide)

The correct answer is IT asset management, because its core purpose directly addresses the management of financially valuable assets that support the delivery of IT services.

In ITIL 4, the purpose of the IT asset management practice is to:

ensure that the organization’s IT assets are properly managed throughout their lifecycle

ensure that assets provide value

control the financial, legal, and operational risks associated with IT assets

maximize the value derived from those assets

ITIL defines an IT asset as any financially valuable component that contributes to the delivery of an IT service.

This includes hardware, software, networks, cloud resources, licenses, and other items that have financial value and support service delivery.

This wording directly matches the question, making A. IT asset management the correct choice.

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. Deployment management: Concerned with moving new or changed components into live environments; not focused on financial value or asset lifecycle.

C. Continual improvement: Focuses on ongoing enhancement of products, services, and practices; not about managing financially valuable components.

D. Monitoring and event management: Focuses on identifying events and ensuring services are observed for normal and abnormal conditions; not asset-focused.

References (Aligned with ITIL 4 Foundation Concepts)

ITIL 4 Foundation: Practice purpose of IT Asset Management

Definition of IT asset as a financially valuable component supporting IT service delivery

ITIL 4 Foundation: Practice summaries for the 15 ITIL practices

In ITIL 4 terminology, a problem is defined as the cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents. Incident management deals with restoring service as quickly as possible, while problem management focuses on finding and addressing the underlying causes so that incidents do not recur.

A problem is therefore directly associated with the cause behind one or more incidents, matching the wording in the sentence.

A known error is a problem that has been analyzed and has a documented root cause and workaround; it is not simply “the cause or potential cause” but a further state of a problem.

A change is the addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services, not specifically the cause of incidents.

An event is any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or other configuration item; again, not defined as the cause of incidents.

Because ITIL 4 explicitly associates the phrase “cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents” with problem, the correct answer is D.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract (Aligned with ITIL 4 Foundation Study Guide)

In ITIL 4, improvement work is performed using iterative cycles, supported by continuous feedback. This idea comes from the ITIL Guiding Principle: “Progress iteratively with feedback.”

A feedback loop ensures that each iteration remains aligned with stakeholder needs, performance data, and contextual changes.

Why Feedback Loop is Correct:

Feedback loops provide information about:

the performance of activities

the needs and expectations of stakeholders

whether the current approach is still suitable

issues or improvements identified during the iteration

This continuous flow of information allows the team to adjust the iteration early, ensuring improvement activities remain relevant even when circumstances change.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Analysis paralysis: ITIL specifically warns against over-analysis that prevents progress.

B. Direct observation: Helpful for understanding work but does not keep iteration aligned with changing circumstances.

C. Minimum viable product: Useful for early delivery but not for continuous alignment during iterations.

Therefore, the concept that keeps improvement iteration activities appropriate under changing conditions is the feedback loop.

References (Aligned With ITIL 4 Foundation Publications — No URLs)

ITIL 4 Foundation: Guiding Principle “Progress iteratively with feedback”

ITIL 4 Foundation: Continual Improvement concepts

ITIL 4 Foundation: Service Value System emphasis on feedback mechanisms for adaptation

The change enablement practice maximizes the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring that risks have been properly assessed, authorized, and managed within a schedule1. Change authorization is the activity of verifying that a proposed change is desirable, viable, and achievable before committing to its implementation2. The change type (standard, normal, or emergency) and model (a predefined approach for handling a specific type of change) is the basis for assigning the change authority (the role that can authorize a change)2. The other statements are incorrect because:

A standard change is a low-risk, pre-authorized change that follows an agreed procedure and does not require authorization at the point of implementation2.

An emergency change is a high-priority change that must be implemented as soon as possible to resolve an incident or implement a security patch2. An emergency change must be authorized by an emergency change authority (ECA), which is usually a subset of the normal change authority (CAB)2.

Ensuring that changes are authorized before their deployment is done by the change enabler (the role that coordinates all aspects of a change)2. References: ITIL Foundation - ITIL 4 Edition, page 16; ITIL® 4 – A Pocket Guide, page 39; ITIL® 4 Practice Guide: Change Enablement, page 7.

To protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business. This includes understanding and managing risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, as well as other aspects of information security such as authentication and non-repudiation.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-management-practices/

This is one of the most important questions for continual improvement. This question helps to define measurable targets for the IT service provider that will help to reach the vision of the company in the long-term. At this stage, we look at the identified key performance indicators from the previous step and determine what values we want to target for each of these indicators. This decision must be made with the business’s vision in mind, but also with a sense of what is practically possible.

https://blog.masterofproject.com/continual-improvement-model/

More complex incidents will usually be escalated to a support team for resolution, or even suppliers and partners who offer support for products and services they provide.

IT asset is any financially valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of an IT product or service. The scope of IT asset management typically includes all software, hardware, networking, cloud services, and client devices

https://wiki.process-symphony.com.au/framework/lifecycle/process/it-asset-management-itil-4/#:~:text=IT%20asset%20is%20any%20financially,cloud%20services%2C%20and%20client%20devices.

Sponsor: A person who authorizes budget for service consumption; e.g., the Finance Manager

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-key-concepts-service-management/#:~:text=Sponsor%3A%20A%20person%20who%20authorizes,%3B%20e.g.%2C%20the%20Finance%20Manager.

In ITIL 4, the continual improvement practice focuses on:

Aligning services and practices with changing business needs

Identifying and prioritizing improvement opportunities

Using appropriate methods and tools to assess and plan improvements

ITIL 4 explicitly notes that organizations should develop skills in assessment and improvement techniques, such as SWOT analysis and balanced scorecard reviews, to support continual improvement. These methods help assess the current state, opportunities, risks, and performance from multiple perspectives, and they feed into the continual improvement model.

Why the others are incorrect:

Incident management concentrates on restoring service after incidents; it does not specifically emphasize methodologies like SWOT or balanced scorecard.

Service request management deals with handling user requests efficiently and effectively, not with improvement analysis techniques.

Change enablement is about controlling and enabling beneficial changes; while it may use some analysis, it is not the practice highlighted for competencies in SWOT and balanced scorecard.

Therefore, the practice that encourages organizations to develop competencies in techniques such as SWOT analysis and balanced scorecard review is continual improvement, making B the correct answer.

When a supplier modifies the contract they offer to your organization, this represents a change that can affect services, service components, costs, risks, and agreed service levels.

In ITIL 4, the purpose of the change enablement practice is to maximize the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring that risks are properly assessed, authorizing changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule. This includes changes that arise from external parties such as suppliers, not just technical changes inside IT.

A contract modification by a supplier can:

alter delivery terms or service performance

introduce new risks (financial, operational, compliance)

require changes to service design, support, or architecture

Because of this, it should go through change enablement, where:

the risk to services is assessed

the impact on existing services and customers is evaluated

a decision is made whether to approve, reject, or modify the proposed change

coordination with other practices (like supplier management and service level management) may occur, but the formal risk assessment and authorization of the change are part of change enablement.

Why the other options are less appropriate:

A. Incident management

Focuses on restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible after an unplanned interruption or reduction in quality.

It reacts to incidents; it does not manage contractual changes or assess risks from supplier contract modifications.

B. Service level management

Ensures SLAs and service targets are defined, agreed, and monitored with customers.

While it may be involved in understanding how a supplier change affects SLAs, it is not the primary practice responsible for overall risk assessment and authorization of such changes.

C. Service request management

Deals with predefined, user-initiated requests, such as password resets or standard access requests.

It is operational and transactional and not concerned with supplier contract changes or service risk assessment.

D. Change enablement

Specifically designed to assess, authorize, and manage changes to services and service components, including those triggered by changes in supplier contracts.

Therefore, it is the MOST appropriate practice for assessing the risk to services in this scenario.

So, the practice that would be most involved in assessing the risk to services when a supplier modifies their contract is D. Change enablement.

AXELOS – ITIL Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition, Change Enablement practice purpose and description

AXELOS – ITIL 4 Practice Guides (Change Enablement, Service Level Management, Incident Management, Service Request Management)

Nonrepudiation provides an assurance that the sender of data is provided with proof of delivery and the recipient is provided with proof of the sender's identity, so neither can later deny having processed the data. Further, this concept can apply to any activity, not just the sending and receiving of data; in a more general sense, it is a mechanism to prove that an activity was performed and by whom. Nonrepudiation is typically comprised of authentication, auditing/logging, and cryptography services.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/nonrepudiation

The purpose of the problem management practice is to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes of incidents and managing workarounds and known errors1. Workarounds are temporary solutions that reduce or eliminate the impact of an incident or problem for which a full resolution is not yet available2. Known errors are problems that have a documented root cause and a workaround3. References: ITIL Foundation - ITIL 4 Edition, page 15; ITIL® 4 – A Pocket Guide, page 35; ITIL® 4 Practice Guide: Problem Management, page 7.

ITIL® defines a problem as a cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents. A known error is a problem that has been analyzed but not resolved.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-problem-management/

In ITIL 4, the IT asset management practice is concerned with managing IT assets so that their value is maximized, and financial, legal, and operational risks are controlled. An IT asset is defined as any financially valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of a service.

The purpose of IT asset management includes:

Making sure IT assets are used effectively

Ensuring that IT assets are accounted for and controlled

Supporting decision-making about purchase, re-use, retirement, and disposal of IT assets

This matches option B exactly:

“Supporting decision-making about purchase, re-use, retirement, and disposal of assets.”

Why the other options are not correct:

A. Moving assets to live or other environments for testing or stagingThis is part of deployment management, whose purpose is to move new or changed components to live or test environments.

C. Making new and changed assets available for useThis relates more to release management and deployment management — getting releases into use and making them available to customers and users.

D. Providing information on how assets are configured and the relationships between themThis is the core of service configuration management, which focuses on configuration items, their attributes, and relationships in configuration records (often stored in a CMDB or CMIS).

Therefore, B is correct because it reflects the core decision-support and lifecycle focus of IT asset management.

References (ITIL 4 Foundation):

ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition – Practice guide overview, IT Asset Management (purpose and definition of IT assets)

ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition – Summary of the 15 ITIL practices

CIs are simply any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service. A server, a virtual server, or even the configuration of an application could be considered a CI, for example

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-asset-configuration-management/#:~:text=among%20your%20CIs-,Configuration%20items%20(CIs),considered%20a%20CI%2C%20for%20example.

The incident management practice aims to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible1. This practice involves logging, categorizing, prioritizing, investigating, resolving, and closing incidents2. The service desk practice provides a single point of contact for users and customers to report issues, make requests, or seek guidance1. This practice involves providing communication with users, capturing feedback, managing user satisfaction, and facilitating continual improvement3. References: ITIL Foundation - ITIL 4 Edition, page 14; ITIL® 4 – A Pocket Guide, page 32; ITIL® 4 Practice Guide: Incident Management, page 7.

An outcome is a result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs1. Outputs are tangible or intangible deliverables of an activity1. For example, a service provider may produce a report (output) that helps a customer make a decision (outcome)2. References: ITIL Foundation - ITIL 4 Edition, page 3; ITIL® 4 – A Pocket Guide, page 13.

Effective incident management often requires a high level of collaboration within and between teams as this can facilitate information-sharing and learning, as well as helping to solve the incident more efficiently and effectively. There may also be a need for good collaboration tools so that people working on an incident can work together effectively. One technique that takes advantage of collaboration is termed swarming. This brings many different stakeholders together to work on the issue. Management of incidents may require frequent interaction with third party suppliers, and routine management of this aspect of supplier contracts is often part of the incident management practice.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-incident-management/

Problem Control. Problem control activities include problem analysis and documenting workarounds and known errors.

Just like incidents, problems will be prioritized based on the risk they pose in terms of probability and impact to services. Focus should be given to problems that have highest risk to services and service management.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-problem-management/#:~:text=2.,probability%20and%20impact%20to%20services.

A service relationship is defined as the cooperation between a service provider and service consumer. Service relationships are established between two or more organizations to co-create value. An organization can play the role of provider or consumer interchangeably, depending on the situation.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-key-concepts-service-management/#:~:text=and%20stakeholder%20management.-,Service%20Relationships,interchangeably%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20situation.

Utility is the term used to describe the functionality of a service, or how well it meets the needs and expectations of the customers and users. Utility can be expressed as ‘what the service does’ or 'the functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need’1. Utility is one of the two elements of service value, along with warranty2. References: ITIL Foundation - ITIL 4 Edition, page 4; ITIL® 4 – A Pocket Guide, page 14.

In ITIL 4, a service request is defined as a user request for information, advice, or a standard change, or for access to a service.

A user asking, “How do I create a report?” and contacting the service desk is:

Requesting information/advice

A normal, expected interaction with the service

Not reporting a service failure or interruption

Handling such requests is the purpose of the service request management practice, which ensures that:

Service requests are handled efficiently and user-friendly

Users receive help, information, or access according to agreed procedures

Requests follow pre-defined workflows where possible

Therefore, the practice most likely to help in solving this issue is C. Service request management.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Incident managementIncident management deals with unplanned interruptions, reductions in service quality, or failures. Here, the service is working; the user just needs guidance, not restoration of service.

B. Service level managementThis focuses on defining, negotiating, and managing service level agreements (SLAs) and overall service performance, not answering “how to” questions.

D. Change enablementThis practice manages changes to services and components, reducing risk. A user asking how to create a report is not requesting a change to the service.

References (Aligned with ITIL 4 Foundation concepts)

ITIL 4 Foundation: Definition of service request and service request management

ITIL 4 Foundation: Distinction between incidents and service requests

In ITIL 4, an incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to a service, or a reduction in the quality of a service. Unplanned maintenance that results in a service being unavailable for two hours clearly represents an unplanned interruption, so it is managed as an incident.

The incident management practice is responsible for:

Managing the lifecycle of incidents

Restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible

Minimizing the negative impact on business operations

That makes incident management the practice most likely to be involved in handling and coordinating communication about this unplanned downtime.

Why the others are less appropriate here:

Problem management aims to manage causes of incidents and reduce their likelihood or impact over time; it does not primarily manage the immediate unplanned outage.

Change enablement manages changes (including emergency changes), but the question is focused on managing the service unavailability to users, which falls under incident management.

Service request management deals with pre-defined, user-initiated requests (such as password resets, information requests), not with unplanned outages.

Therefore, the practice most likely to manage this unplanned unavailability is incident management, so A is correct.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

ITIL 4 defines four dimensions of service management that are critical for the effective and efficient co-creation of value:

Organizations and people

Information and technology

Partners and suppliers

Value streams and processes

The “Organizations and people” dimension addresses:

Organizational structure – how the organization is arranged.

Roles and responsibilities – who does what and who is accountable.

Systems of authority and communication – how decisions are made and communicated.

Culture and competencies – behaviors, skills, and capabilities of people involved in service management.

Because this dimension specifically covers roles, responsibilities, and systems of authority, the correct answer is A. Organizations and people.

The other dimensions focus on different aspects:

Information and technology – data, information, and technological solutions used in service management.

Partners and suppliers – relationships and agreements with third parties that support service delivery.

Value streams and processes – how activities and processes are organized to create and deliver value.

Relevant ITIL 4 Foundation references:

The four dimensions of service management chapter.

Detailed description of the “Organizations and people” dimension (structure, roles, responsibilities, authority).

The ITIL guiding principle ‘focus on value’ states that everything an organization does should link back, directly or indirectly, to value for itself, its customers, and other stakeholders1. A good way to apply this principle is to understand why services are used by service consumers, what outcomes they enable, and how they contribute to value creation2. This helps to align the service provider’s activities and resources with the needs and preferences of the service consumers3. References: ITIL Foundation - ITIL 4 Edition, page 6; ITIL® 4 – A Pocket Guide, page 24; ITIL® 4 Practice Guide: Focus on Value, page 9.

The purpose of the SLM practice is to set clear business-based targets for service performance, so that the delivery of a service can be properly assessed, monitored, and managed against these targets. SLM involves service level activities, including:

Defining service levels

Documenting

Actively managing them

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-level-management/

Emergency changes. These are changes that must be implemented as soon as possible; for example, to resolve an incident or implement a security patch. Emergency changes are not typically included in a change schedule, and the process for assessment and authorization is expedited to ensure they can be implemented quickly. As far as possible, emergency changes should be subject to the same testing, assessment, and authorization as normal changes, but it may be acceptable to defer some documentation until after the change has been implemented, and sometimes it will be necessary to implement the change with less testing due to time constraints. There may also be a separate change authority for emergency changes, typically including a small number of senior managers who understand the business risks involved.”

https://itsm.tools/why-what-change-management/#:~:text=Emergency%20changes. &text=Emergency%20changes%20are%20not%20typically,they%20can%20be%20implemented%20quickly.