PeopleCert ITIL 4 Create Deliver & Support Exam Questions 2025

CDS Certification for Real-World IT Service Delivery Excellence

The ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support (CDS) certification stands out as a module that speaks directly to professionals handling real-world IT service delivery. It belongs to the Managing Professional stream within the ITIL 4 certification path and is administered globally by PeopleCert. This module is designed for individuals deeply involved in service creation, planning, operational execution, and ongoing support processes.

What makes this certification different is its tight alignment with practical frameworks used in IT operations today. It addresses core delivery mechanisms through lenses like Agile, Lean, and DevOps, offering professionals the capability to manage services across the lifecycle. If you are responsible for cross-team coordination, process improvement, or delivery pipeline optimization, then the CDS cert directly complements your workflow.

Professionals working in service desk management, application support, systems operations, or IT delivery roles will benefit the most. The certification also serves those aiming to move into higher-level roles where a broader understanding of service value streams and organizational performance is required. CDS is also a mandatory component for those pursuing the ITIL Managing Professional designation, making it a stepping stone in a wider certification journey.

CDS has global relevance. Whether you work in a digital startup or a traditional enterprise, the ability to streamline value creation and reinforce service delivery standards is consistently in demand. Job markets reflect this importance. In the United States alone, certified individuals in this track commonly earn median salaries between $90,000 and $105,000, depending on their organization and level of responsibility. The credential also aligns with roles like ITSM Consultant, Service Operations Lead, Delivery Manager, and Support Team Supervisor, giving it considerable reach across verticals.

A Straightforward Yet Demanding Exam Structure

Before jumping into the preparation phase, it’s useful to understand how the CDS exam is built. PeopleCert has standardized its exam structure across ITIL modules, and this one follows that same tested format. However, unlike foundational-level tests, this exam demands analytical thinking and process-based decision-making.

The CDS exam includes 40 multiple-choice questions, all of which are single-answer format. You are given 90 minutes to complete the test. To pass, you must achieve a minimum score of 70 percent, which equates to correctly answering 28 questions. Candidates can attempt the exam online using remote proctoring or go through an accredited training center if preferred.

Most of the questions are tied to situations you’d actually encounter in service delivery settings. They’re framed to reflect the challenges that come with backlog management, support workflow optimization, or value stream orchestration. This isn’t a knowledge recall test. Instead, it leans heavily on how well you understand service flow interactions and your ability to navigate decision-making paths based on ITIL principles.

There’s also an emphasis on multi-domain overlaps. A question might touch both Lean practices and knowledge management simultaneously. This multi-layered approach forces you to think clearly about which process takes priority in each context. The exam may not be long, but it is packed with scenario pressure and time sensitivity, requiring you to be quick yet careful.

Areas the CDS Exam Targets Most

The exam blueprint for the CDS certification breaks down into several core domains. Each area is focused on a different aspect of delivering and supporting IT services within the ITIL framework. Here’s a summary table of what each domain includes:

Each of these domains introduces different layers of process thinking. For instance, in the Service Value Streams domain, you’re expected to know how to remove redundancy between delivery checkpoints and build tighter, faster feedback systems. Meanwhile, in Tools and Tech, the focus is more on ensuring your teams use monitoring tools smartly, not just consistently.

If your job involves service onboarding, bug resolution, sprint planning, or CI/CD pipelines, you’ll likely find the domains highly familiar. However, the exam wants you to see these processes through ITIL-standard approaches, not just organizational preference. Understanding where ITIL fits, even in an Agile or DevOps-heavy environment, is key to answering correctly.

Situations and Scenarios That Shape the Exam

CDS doesn’t test abstract concepts it tests your ability to apply knowledge to actual operational problems. To do this, PeopleCert uses a narrow set of question types that appear across most of its advanced exams. Here’s a breakdown of the patterns you can expect:

• Scenario-driven decision making: Often presents a real-world event or problem and asks what your next step should be.

• Compare and choose: You’ll see two answers that sound valid but only one fits better contextually.

• Prioritization tasks: You may be asked to decide which process, change, or response should happen first.

• Cause-and-effect reasoning: You’ll be given an action and must determine the most likely outcome or impact.

• Role-centric framing: Questions are posed from the lens of a specific role like an incident coordinator, product owner, or release manager.

What makes these questions tricky is that every option often feels technically sound. But only one aligns tightly with ITIL’s expectations for response behavior, especially under pressure or in cross-team interactions. You’ll need to read each prompt carefully, analyze the implied problem, and respond with service value thinking in mind.

Smart Ways to Prepare for the CDS Exam

Preparation for the CDS module doesn’t demand high-budget bootcamps or extended training schedules. What you need is structured exposure to how ITIL 4 connects with the real workflows you already use. The more you recognize parallels between your daily work and what the exam tests, the faster your confidence grows.

Use Your Own Workflows as Learning Examples

If you’re currently in a support, operations, or service delivery role, try mapping your workflows to ITIL domains. For example:

• Compare your incident management process to the ITIL approach

• Look at how your team handles handoffs or transitions between development and support

• Reflect on feedback loops in your Agile or DevOps pipeline are they optimizing value, or just habits?

This kind of reflection helps you absorb not just the material, but the context behind it.

Practice Should Be Timed and Analytical

Once you’re familiar with the exam domains and patterns, practice sessions become a critical part of your prep. They’re not about memorization but building decision stamina under time constraints. Here’s how to make that time count:

• Break down each question after your session and ask why your choice was right or wrong

• Focus on questions that overlap multiple domains they often represent the toughest calls

• Stick to timed batches of 10–15 questions to simulate pacing and build rhythm

Consistent, targeted practice helps you get comfortable with not just what’s being asked, but how and why it’s being framed that way. That shift in perspective is what usually helps people perform well under exam stress.