Free ITIL 4 Foundation Practice Exam – 2025 Updated

A. Target resolution times are performance goals (SLAs). They measure the speed of resolution but do not, by themselves, provide the means to achieve it.

B. Escalating all incidents is inefficient. It creates bottlenecks for specialized support teams and bypasses the service desk's ability to resolve many issues at the first point of contact.

D. While procedures are useful, overly detailed and rigid steps can slow down experienced staff and may not be suitable for novel or complex incidents, thus hindering quick resolution.

1. AXELOS. ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office), 2019.

For Correct Answer (C): Section 4.3.2, "Collaborate and promote visibility," states, "When initiatives involve the right people in the correct roles, efforts benefit from better buy-in, more relevance... and an increased likelihood of long-term success." This principle is directly applicable to incident resolution, where collaboration between, for example, the service desk, technical support, and developers is crucial for speed.

For Incorrect Option (A): Section 5.2.5, "Incident management," discusses the need to resolve incidents "within a timescale that has been agreed with the user." This confirms that target times are an objective, not a method for achieving speed.

For Incorrect Option (B): Section 5.2.5 describes a typical incident management process where escalation occurs only when necessary, not for every incident.

For Incorrect Option (D): Section 4.3.5, "Keep it simple and practical," advises against processes that are overly complex, stating that "If a process, service, action or metric fails to provide value or produce a useful outcome, then eliminate it." This supports the idea that overly detailed procedures can be counterproductive.

A. Service level management focuses on negotiating and monitoring service levels, which are strategic activities requiring human negotiation and analysis, not chatbot interaction.

B. Change enablement involves the assessment of risks and authorization of changes, processes that require complex human judgment beyond a chatbot's capabilities.

C. Continual improvement uses data from many sources to identify improvement opportunities; a chatbot is a potential source of data, not a primary tool for the practice itself.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.14, "Service desk": This section explicitly states, "New technologies are supporting the service desk, such as... chatbots." It further explains that service desks use chatbots "to reduce the contact that is needed with the service desk staff," directly confirming that this practice is the most likely to benefit.

B. Service requests: These are formal user requests for something to be provided, such as information or a pre-approved change, not a document defining performance outcomes.

C. Service components: These are the individual parts of a service, such as applications, infrastructure, or processes, not the agreement that defines their collective performance targets.

D. Service offerings: This is a description of one or more services designed for a target consumer group; while it describes the service, the specific, measurable performance targets are detailed in the SLA.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.15, Service level management practice: "A service level agreement (SLA) is a documented agreement between a service provider and a customer that identifies both services required and the expected level of service." This section explicitly links SLAs to defining and measuring expected service levels.

Glossary, Appendix A: Defines a service level agreement as the tool for documenting "the expected level of service."

Section 2.3.3, Service offerings: Describes service offerings as a way to present services to consumers, but the detailed performance metrics are the domain of SLAs.

B. Improve: This activity focuses on the continual improvement of products, services, and practices, rather than establishing the overall strategic direction and shared understanding.

C. Design and transition: This activity ensures products and services meet stakeholder expectations for quality, cost, and time-to-market during their creation and deployment.

D. Deliver and support: This activity is concerned with the operational aspects of ensuring services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.5.1, Plan: "The purpose of the plan value chain activity is to ensure a shared understanding of the vision, current status, and improvement direction for all four dimensions and all products and services across the organization." (This directly supports the correct answer).

Section 4.5.3, Improve: "The purpose of the improve value chain activity is to ensure continual improvement of products, services, and practices..."

Section 4.5.4, Design and transition: "The purpose of the design and transition value chain activity is to ensure that products and services continually meet stakeholder expectations..."

Section 4.5.6, Deliver and support: "The purpose of the deliver and support value chain activity is to ensure that services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications..."

B: Deployment management has a much lower frequency of direct interaction with the service desk compared to incident management.

C: The service desk's core function is user support, not the management of deployments or the authorization of changes.

D: While incident management is a key interaction, change enablement is a separate process with less frequent, direct engagement with the service desk's user-facing duties.

1. Axelos. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.14, 'Service desk': "The purpose of the service desk practice is to capture demand for incident resolution and service requests." This sentence directly links the service desk to these two practices as its main purpose.

Section 5.1.3, 'Service desk' (in the context of the service value chain): The text highlights the service desk's role in the 'engage' and 'deliver and support' value chain activities, which are primarily driven by user-initiated incidents and service requests.

2. University of Washington, UW-IT Service Management Office. (n.d.). ITIL v4 Practices. IT Connect.

In its description of the Service Desk practice, it states, "The Service Desk is the entry point and single point of contact for the service provider for all users... to report issues, queries, and requests." This aligns with the core functions of incident and service request management.

B. A normal change: Normal changes require a full, formal authorization process based on a risk assessment and are managed through the change control practice, not as a simple service request.

C. An emergency change: Emergency changes are implemented to resolve an incident or security vulnerability and follow an expedited process, which is distinct from service request fulfillment.

D. An organizational change: This is a broad, business-level change focusing on people and culture, managed by the organizational change management practice, not as a routine IT service request.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.4, Change control: "Standard changes are pre-authorized changes that are low risk... Initiation of a standard change is typically a service request or generated from another system." (p. 151).

Section 5.2.16, Service request management: "Fulfilling these requests may include a change to services or their components; usually, these are standard changes." (p. 169).

A. Assessing and prioritizing improvement opportunities is a primary activity of the 'continual improvement' practice, although incidents can be a source for these opportunities.

B. Performing service reviews with customers is a key activity within the 'service level management' practice to ensure service delivery meets agreed-upon targets.

D. Automating service requests to the greatest degree possible is an activity of the 'service request management' practice, not incident management.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.5, Incident management: States, "...progress is tracked throughout the incident lifecycle to ensure that it is resolved in a timely way and that all stakeholders are kept informed." This directly supports option C.

Section 5.1.2, Continual improvement: Describes the activities of identifying, logging, assessing, and prioritizing improvement opportunities, which aligns with option A.

Section 5.2.15, Service level management: Details the practice's activities, including conducting service reviews and ensuring it captures and reports on service issues, which aligns with option B.

Section 5.2.16, Service request management: Mentions that "opportunities for automation should be identified and implemented to increase the efficiency of the practice," which aligns with option D.

A. Start where you are: This principle advises leveraging existing processes and resources as the starting point for improvements, focusing on the current state rather than the consumer.

B. Optimize and automate: This principle focuses on maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of resources and work, which is a means to an end, not the consumer-centric goal itself.

C. Keep it simple: This principle advocates for using the minimum necessary steps and avoiding complexity in processes and services, focusing on the design of the work.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.3.1, "Focus on value": "All activities conducted by the organization should link back, directly or indirectly, to value for itself, its customers, and other stakeholders... The first step in focusing on value is to know who the service consumers are. The provider must then understand what is of value to the consumer." (p. 41)

Section 4.3.2, "Start where you are": "When engaging in any improvement initiative, do not start over without first considering what is already available to be leveraged." (p. 43)

Section 4.3.6, "Keep it simple and practical": "Always use the minimum number of steps to accomplish an objective. Outcome-based thinking should be used to produce practical solutions that deliver valuable outcomes." (p. 48)

Section 4.3.7, "Optimize and automate": "Optimization means to make something as effective and useful as it needs to be... Before an activity can be effectively automated, it should be optimized to whatever degree is possible and reasonable." (p. 49)

A. This is the purpose of the 'release management' practice, which focuses on making new and changed services and features available for use.

C. This describes the 'monitoring and event management' practice, which observes services and records selected changes of state as events.

D. This is the purpose of the 'IT asset management' practice, which is to plan and manage the full lifecycle of all IT assets.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Correct Answer B & Explanation: The purpose of change enablement is defined in Section 5.2.4, page 187: "to maximize the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring that risks have been properly assessed, authorizing changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule."

Incorrect Option A: The purpose of release management is defined in Section 5.2.14, page 199: "to make new and changed services and features available for use."

Incorrect Option C: The purpose of monitoring and event management is defined in Section 5.2.11, page 195: "to systematically observe services and service components, and record and report selected changes of state identified as events."

Incorrect Option D: The purpose of IT asset management is defined in Section 5.2.8, page 192: "to plan and manage the full lifecycle of all IT assets..."

A. Identifying the cause of incidents and recommending related improvements is a primary activity of the 'problem management' practice, which then provides these recommendations as input to continual improvement.

B. Authorizing changes to implement improvements is a core responsibility of the 'change enablement' practice, which manages all changes to services and components in a controlled manner.

C. Logging and managing incidents that result in improvement opportunities is the main function of the 'incident management' practice, which focuses on service restoration.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

For Correct Answer (D): Section 5.1.2, "Continual improvement practice," describes the activities involved, including assessing and prioritizing improvement opportunities. The text states, "For each improvement, a business case should be created to justify the action." This confirms that making business cases is a core activity of the practice.

For Incorrect Option (A): Section 5.2.8, "Problem management," details its purpose as reducing the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes. This is where incident cause identification occurs.

For Incorrect Option (B): Section 5.2.4, "Change enablement," explains that the practice's purpose is to maximize the number of successful IT changes by ensuring risks are assessed and then authorizing changes to proceed.

For Incorrect Option (C): Section 5.2.5, "Incident management," defines its purpose as minimizing the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible, which includes logging and managing them.

A. Deployment management focuses on the technical activity of moving new or changed components to live environments, not on the assessment and authorization of the change itself.

B. Release management is concerned with making new and changed services and features available for use, often bundling multiple authorized changes into a single release.

D. Service configuration management tracks and manages information about configuration items (CIs) and their relationships, but it does not authorize changes to them.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.5, Change enablement: "The purpose of the change enablement practice is to maximize the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring that risks have been properly assessed, authorizing changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule." (Supports Correct Answer C)

Section 5.2.6, Deployment management: "The purpose of the deployment management practice is to move new or changed hardware, software, documentation, processes, or any other component to live environments." (Supports rationale for A being incorrect)

Section 5.2.14, Release management: "The purpose of the release management practice is to make new and changed services and features available for use." (Supports rationale for B being incorrect)

Section 5.2.16, Service configuration management: "The purpose of the service configuration management practice is to ensure that accurate and reliable information about the configuration of services, and the CIs that support them, is available when and where it is needed." (Supports rationale for D being incorrect)

A. This describes the authorization process for a normal change, which requires case-by-case review, unlike a pre-authorized standard change.

B. This is an example of an emergency change, which must be implemented as soon as possible to address a critical issue like a security vulnerability.

D. This is also an example of an emergency change, as it is an immediate response required to resolve a major incident and restore service.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.4, Change enablement: This section defines the three types of changes. It states, "Standard changes are low-risk, pre-authorized changes that are well understood and thoroughly documented... The authorization for a standard change is given before its implementation... A standard change is initiated by the creation of a service request." This directly supports option C as the correct answer and distinguishes it from normal and emergency changes.

Section 5.2.4, Change enablement: The text describes emergency changes as those that "must be implemented as soon as possible; for example, to resolve an incident or implement a security patch." This directly invalidates options B and D as examples of standard changes.

A. The four dimensions of service management are perspectives that must be considered for the holistic management of services; they are not an operating model.

C. The ITIL guiding principles are universal recommendations that guide an organization in all circumstances, providing a foundation for its culture and behavior, not an operational workflow.

D. Continual improvement is a recurring organizational activity and a specific value chain activity ('Improve'), but it is not the complete operating model itself.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.5, The ITIL service value chain: "The central element of the SVS is the service value chain, an operating model which outlines the key activities required to respond to demand and facilitate value realization through the creation and management of products and services." (p. 47)

Section 3, The four dimensions of service management: This section describes the dimensions as critical perspectives for value co-creation, not as an operating model. (p. 23)

Section 4.2, The ITIL guiding principles: This section defines the principles as "recommendations that can guide an organization in all circumstances". (p. 39)

B. Change enablement: This practice focuses on maximizing successful service and product changes by assessing risks, authorizing changes, and managing the change schedule.

C. Service request management: This practice handles pre-defined, user-initiated service requests. While a survey may follow a fulfilled request, SLM is the practice that recommends and utilizes this feedback.

D. Problem management: This practice aims to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying root causes and managing workarounds and known errors.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.15, Service level management: "The purpose of the service level management practice is to set clear business-based targets for service performance... This involves gathering, analysing, storing, and reporting on relevant metrics for the identified services. A key activity is to provide end-to-end visibility of the organization’s services. To do this, it gathers and analyses information from a number of sources, including customer engagement and feedback."

Section 5.2.15.2, Key metrics for service level management: This section emphasizes the importance of a balanced view of service performance, which includes customer satisfaction. It states, "This can be achieved by using customer satisfaction surveys and by measuring key business outcomes." This directly supports the use of surveys to gather feedback as a core part of the practice.

A. Focus on value: This principle ensures that all activities link to value for stakeholders, but it does not specifically prescribe the iterative method of working described in the question.

C. Collaborate and promote visibility: This principle is about working together and sharing information, which supports iterative progress but is not the principle that defines the iterative method itself.

D. Optimize and automate: This principle focuses on maximizing efficiency and reducing waste through streamlining processes and technology, which is a different concept from iterative development.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.3.2, "Progress iteratively with feedback": "By organizing work into smaller, manageable sections that can be executed and completed in a timely manner, it is easier to maintain a sharper focus on each effort... Feedback loops allow the events of the past to be used to influence the actions of the future..." (p. 42). This directly supports the concepts of timeboxing and learning from outputs.

Section 4.3.1, "Focus on value": This section explains the importance of mapping all activities to the value they create for the consumer, which is the goal, not the method described. (p. 41).

Section 4.3.6, "Optimize and automate": This section describes maximizing the value of work by eliminating waste and leveraging technology. (p. 46).

A. Service request management: This practice handles pre-defined, user-initiated requests, which are a normal part of service delivery, not all organizational changes affecting a service.

B. Incident management: This practice focuses on restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible after an unplanned interruption, not on implementing planned changes.

C. Service desk: This is the entry point and single point of contact for the service provider with all its users, not the practice responsible for assessing and authorizing changes.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.4, Change enablement: "The purpose of the change enablement practice is to maximize the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring that risks have been properly assessed, authorizing changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule." (This directly supports the correct answer).

Section 4.6, Change: "The addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services." (This defines the core subject of the question).

Section 5.2.5, Incident management: "The purpose of the incident management practice is to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible." (This supports why option B is incorrect).

Section 5.2.14, Service request management: "The purpose of the service request management practice is to support the agreed quality of a service by handling all pre-defined, user-initiated service requests..." (This supports why option A is incorrect).

Section 5.2.13, Service desk: "The purpose of the service desk practice is to capture demand for incident resolution and service requests." (This supports why option C is incorrect).

A. Where no target resolution time exists: This is incorrect. All incidents should have target resolution times, typically defined in a Service Level Agreement (SLA), to ensure timely service restoration.

B. For low impact incidents: Low-impact incidents are the most common type and are handled through the standard incident management process, often using simplified procedures or automation.

C. Where the cause must be diagnosed: Diagnosing the cause to find a resolution is a normal part of incident management. A separate problem management process is used for in-depth root cause analysis.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.5, Page 103: "It is important that the incidents with the biggest business impact are resolved quickly. For this reason, there are often separate processes for managing major incidents and for managing information security incidents." This statement directly confirms that information security incidents are a common reason for a separate process.

B. Change enablement: This practice manages planned changes to services, ensuring risks are assessed and changes are authorized. It does not deal with unplanned service quality reductions.

C. Service level management: This practice sets, monitors, and manages service performance targets. It defines what "normal service" is but does not manage the response to disruptions.

D. Continual improvement: This practice focuses on the ongoing improvement of services and practices over time, rather than the immediate response to a specific unplanned event.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.5 (Incident management): "The purpose of the incident management practice is to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible." It also defines an incident as "an unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service."

Section 5.2.4 (Change enablement): "The purpose of the change enablement practice is to maximize the number of successful service and product changes..."

Section 5.2.15 (Service level management): "The purpose of the service level management practice is to set clear business-based targets for service performance..."

Section 5.1.2 (Continual improvement): "The purpose of the continual improvement practice is to align the organization’s practices and services with changing business needs..."

A. Service desk: This practice's primary purpose is to be the single point of contact for users, capturing demand for incident resolution and service requests.

C. Problem management: This practice focuses on reducing the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying and managing their root causes and known errors.

D. Incident management: This practice is focused on minimizing the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.1.2, Continual improvement: "There are many methods that can be leveraged to support continual improvement activities. For example, many organizations use Lean methods to optimize process flows and identify waste, Agile methods to maintain a backlog of improvement opportunities, and DevOps methods to automate and integrate improvement activities into the work of the organization."

Section 5.2.5, Incident management: Defines the purpose as restoring normal service operation.

Section 5.2.8, Problem management: Defines the purpose as reducing the likelihood and impact of incidents.

Section 5.2.14, Service desk: Defines the purpose as capturing demand and being the single point of contact.

B: Goods are transferred from the provider to the consumer, not the other way around. The term "prowler" is also incorrect, likely a typo for "provider".

C: This statement describes a 'service relationship', which is the cooperation between a service provider and a service consumer to co-create value.

D: A single service offering can be composed of one or more services, and a single service can be part of multiple different service offerings. The relationship is not one-to-one.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 2.3.3, Products and services: "A service offering is a description of one or more services, designed to address the needs of a target consumer group. A service offering may include goods, access to resources, and service actions." This section also clarifies that an organization's products are the basis for its service offerings, supporting option A.

Section 2.3.3, Figure 2.4: This figure explicitly shows how one or more products can be configured to create a service offering for a specific target consumer group, visually confirming that a product can be the basis for multiple offerings.

Section 2.2.2, Service relationships: "Service relationships are established between two or more organizations to co-create value." This definition directly aligns with the wording in option C, confirming it describes a service relationship, not a service offering.

A: Emergency changes are expedited to resolve incidents and are not typically planned on a change schedule due to their urgent nature.

C: Changes are initiated and assessed using change requests and the associated authorization workflow, not the change schedule itself.

D: This describes the purpose of a continual improvement register (CIR), which is the tool used to track and manage improvement ideas.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

For Correct Answer (B): Section 5.2.4, "Change control," states, "The change schedule is used to help plan changes, assist in communication, avoid conflicts, and assign resources." (p. 159). Furthermore, Section 5.2.5, "Incident management," notes that for diagnosis, it is important to have "information about recent changes." (p. 162). The change schedule is the primary source for this information.

For Incorrect Answer (A): Section 5.2.4 explains that emergency changes "are not typically included in a change schedule." (p. 159).

For Incorrect Answer (C): Section 5.2.4 clarifies that the process begins with a change request, which is then assessed and authorized before being scheduled. (p. 158).

For Incorrect Answer (D): Section 5.1.2, "Continual improvement," describes the continual improvement register (CIR) as the database or structured document "to track and manage improvement ideas." (p. 141).

A. A value stream is a combination of value chain activities, but it is not required to use all six for every scenario.

C. A value stream only incorporates the specific ITIL practices that are relevant and necessary to support the activities within that stream.

D. While many value streams involve suppliers, it is not a mandatory requirement; a value stream can be entirely internal.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.5, The ITIL service value chain: This section explains that a value stream is a "series of steps an organization undertakes to create and deliver products and services to consumers." It emphasizes that these are specific combinations of activities.

Section 4.5.1, Value streams for service management: This section explicitly states, "To carry out a certain task, or to respond to a particular situation, organizations create value streams." This directly supports that value streams are designed for specific scenarios (Option B). The examples provided (e.g., resolving an incident vs. creating a new service) illustrate different value streams that use different combinations of value chain activities, refuting Option A.

Section 5, ITIL management practices: This chapter details the 34 practices, describing them as resources to support value chain activities. There is no text suggesting all practices must be used in every value stream, which would contradict the guiding principles (refuting Option C).

A. To ensure that agreements are written simply and are easy to understand

This activity is part of the initial negotiation and creation of the Service Level Agreement (SLA), not the purpose of a periodic service review.

B. To collect information about service consumer goals and objectives

While service reviews can touch upon evolving needs, the primary collection of goals occurs during business relationship management and the initial SLA negotiation.

D. To ensure continual improvement of services, so that they meet the evolving needs of service consumers

This is a key outcome of effective service level management, but the immediate purpose of the review itself is to assess performance (as stated in C), which then provides the input for continual improvement.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.15, Service level management: "The practice includes... service reviews to ensure that the current services continue to meet the needs of the organization and its users... The reviews compare the agreed performance levels with the actual performance, and may identify opportunities for improvement." This directly supports that the review's action is to compare performance (Option C) to enable improvement (Option D).

2. AXELOS. (2020). ITIL® 4: Create, Deliver and Support. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.3.6, Service level management: "Service reviews are a key tool for managing service levels. They provide an opportunity for the service provider and the service consumer to review and discuss the performance of the service against the agreed targets." This explicitly states the purpose is to review performance against targets, aligning perfectly with option C.

B. Incident: An incident is an unplanned service interruption. The flaw is the underlying cause of a potential interruption, not the interruption itself.

C. Event: An event is any significant change of state. While the flaw's discovery is an event, 'problem' is the specific ITIL term for a cause of incidents.

D. Known error: A known error is a problem that has been analyzed and a workaround is known. The analysis is still in progress, so it has not yet reached this status.

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1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.8, Problem management: "A problem is a cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents." This directly supports the correct answer.

Section 5.2.8, Problem management: "A known error is a problem that has been analysed and has not been resolved." This confirms why option D is incorrect as analysis is ongoing.

2. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Appendix A: Glossary, page 201: Defines an incident as "An unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service." This clarifies why the flaw is not an incident.

3. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.7, Monitoring and event management: Defines an event as "any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or other configuration item." This shows why 'problem' is the more precise term.

A. Plan: This activity focuses on creating a shared vision and strategic direction for the organization's products and services, not on the operational delivery to users.

B. Engage: This activity focuses on understanding stakeholder needs and fostering good relationships. While it gathers expectations, it does not perform the ongoing delivery and support.

C. Obtain/build: This activity is concerned with acquiring or developing service components. It occurs before the service is made available for ongoing use by consumers.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.5.5, Deliver and support: "The purpose of the deliver and support value chain activity is to ensure that services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications and stakeholders’ expectations." This directly supports the correct answer.

Section 4.5.1, Plan: Defines the purpose as ensuring "a shared understanding of the vision, current status, and improvement direction," which is strategic, not operational.

Section 4.5.2, Engage: States the purpose is to "provide a good understanding of stakeholder needs, transparency, and continual engagement," which is relational, not executional.

Section 4.5.4, Obtain/build: Describes the purpose as ensuring "service components are available when and where they are needed," which is related to development and acquisition.

B. Information security management's purpose is to protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business, focusing on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

C. Release management's purpose is to make new and changed services and features available for use, coordinating the deployment into the live environment.

D. Service configuration management's purpose is to ensure accurate and reliable information about services and their configuration items is available when and where needed.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Supplier Management: Section 5.1.15, "The purpose of the supplier management practice is to ensure that the organization’s suppliers and their performances are managed appropriately... This includes creating closer, more collaborative relationships with key suppliers to uncover and realize new value and reduce the risk of failure."

Information Security Management: Section 5.1.4, "The purpose of the information security management practice is to protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business."

Release Management: Section 5.2.8, "The purpose of the release management practice is to make new and changed services and features available for use."

Service Configuration Management: Section 5.2.9, "The purpose of the service configuration management practice is to ensure that accurate and reliable information about the configuration of services, and the CIs that support them, is available when and where it is needed."

2. Products: Products are configurations of an organization's resources created within the service value chain to offer value to consumers; they are not an input to the SVS.

3. Value: Value is the primary output or outcome of the Service Value System. It is the result of the SVS activities, not the trigger for them.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.1, "Service value system overview," Figure 4.1: This diagram visually represents the SVS, clearly showing "Opportunity" and "Demand" as the inputs on the left side of the model and "Value" as the output on the right.

Section 4.1, Paragraph 2: "The SVS describes how all the components and activities of the organization work together as a system to enable value creation. These opportunities and demands are inputs to the SVS." This text explicitly confirms that opportunity and demand are the inputs.

B. Service desk agent: This is an operational role focused on first-line user support and incident logging, not strategic relationship management with senior business stakeholders and suppliers.

C. Change authority: This role is responsible for approving or rejecting changes. While it requires business and IT knowledge, its focus is on assessment and authorization, not ongoing relationship management.

D. Problem analyst: This role focuses on the technical investigation and root cause analysis of incidents, requiring strong analytical skills rather than high-level business relationship management.

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1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.15, "Service level management": This section details the practice's purpose, which involves setting business-based targets for service levels. It explicitly discusses the negotiation of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with customers and managing relationships to ensure targets are met. This directly aligns with the experience of managing relationships with business managers.

Section 5.2.15.3, "Service level management activities": This section describes key activities, including collecting and analyzing information from business managers, customers, and suppliers, which confirms the stakeholder management aspect of the role.

2. AXELOS. (2020). ITIL® 4: Create, Deliver and Support. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.2.3, "Service level management": This section elaborates on the role, stating, "The service level management practice requires practical skills in negotiation, communication, and relationship management." It emphasizes the need for a "business-focused view" and the ability to "engage with customers and users." This supports the requirement for combined IT and business experience.

B. An event: An event is any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or configuration item.

C. An incident: An incident is an unplanned interruption to a service or a reduction in the quality of a service.

D. A problem: A problem is the cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.5 (Change enablement): Defines a change as "The addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services."

Glossary (Appendix A): Provides the definitions for change, event, incident, and problem, confirming the distinctions used in the explanation.

2. AXELOS. (2020). ITIL 4: Create, Deliver and Support. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.1.4: Reinforces the definition of a change in the context of managing the value stream.

A. Focus on value – Centres on delivering stakeholder value; it does not specifically link the four dimensions to optimisation of activities.

B. Start where you are – Advises assessing current state first; no directive to apply four-dimension analysis for effectiveness/usefulness.

C. Think and work holistically – Promotes end-to-end view and four-dimension awareness, but its aim is integration, not the optimisation wording cited in the question.

1. AXELOS, “ITIL Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition”, TSO, 2019, section 4.3.7, pp. 87-88: defines optimisation quote and states “consider the four dimensions of service management.”

2. AXELOS, “ITIL 4 Guidance: High-velocity IT”, TSO, 2020, section 2.2.7, p. 38: reiterates that optimization requires analysing all four dimensions before automation.

3. Rance, S. & Colville, R., “An Introduction to ITIL 4”, ACM Queue, 17(4), 2019, p. 4: discusses Optimize and automate principle and its reliance on the four dimensions (https://doi.org/10.1145/3365916).

B. Continual improvement: This practice focuses on managing improvement initiatives; while it may use data analytics (a form of AI), it is not a primary user of chatbots or RPA.

C. Problem management: This practice involves in-depth investigation and root cause analysis, which are complex cognitive tasks less suited to automation by chatbots or RPA.

D. Incident management: While AI can assist in diagnosing incidents, the service desk is the practice that most heavily utilizes the combination of these technologies for initial user contact and request handling.

AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.14, 'Service desk': "The service desk is also increasingly being automated, with the use of AI-powered chatbots, which can be used to answer simple queries and provide a more convenient user experience." This section details how technology, including intelligent telephony, live chat, and automation, is integral to the modern service desk.

Section 5.1.5, 'Service desk' (in the overview of practices): Mentions that the service desk provides a clear path for users to report issues, queries, and requests. The use of automation technologies like chatbots and RPA is a key enabler for this practice to function at scale.

A. Workaround: This is a temporary solution used to reduce or eliminate the impact of an incident or problem, not the analyzed problem itself.

B. Incident: This is an unplanned interruption or reduction in the quality of a service. It is the symptom, not the analyzed underlying cause.

D. Event: This is any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or configuration item; it is not necessarily a problem.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.2.8, Problem management: "A problem that has been analysed but has not been resolved is called a known error." (p. 103)

Appendix A, Glossary: "Known error: A problem that has been analysed and has not been resolved." (p. 221)

2. AXELOS. (2020). ITIL 4: Create, Deliver and Support. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.2.3, Problem control: "The activities of problem control include problem analysis and documenting workarounds and known errors... If a problem cannot be resolved, it is important that the details of the problem and any successful workaround are well documented in the known error record." (p. 101)

B. Warranty: This is the assurance that a service will meet agreed requirements, such as availability and capacity. It supports the service but does not directly facilitate the outcome.

C. Organization: An organization is the entity that provides services. The service itself is the means of facilitating outcomes, not the group of people providing it.

D. IT asset: An IT asset is any financially valuable component (e.g., hardware, software) used to deliver a service. It is a resource, not the end-to-end facilitation of an outcome.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Correct Answer (A): Section 2.3.1, "A service is a means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve, without the customer having to manage specific costs and risks."

Incorrect Option (B): Section 2.5.3, "Warranty is the assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements."

Incorrect Option (C): Section 2.2.1, "An organization is a person or a group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities, and relationships to achieve its objectives."

Incorrect Option (D): Section 5.2.5, "An IT asset is any financially valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of an IT product or service."

A. Incident management: This practice focuses on restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible after an unplanned interruption. It is reactive and operational, not strategic.

C. Service request management: This practice handles pre-defined, user-initiated demands for service. It is a transactional process and does not involve strategic analysis tools.

D. Change enablement: This practice maximizes successful service and product changes by assessing risks and managing the change schedule. It is focused on individual changes, not broad, strategic improvement.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.1.2, Continual improvement: "There are many methods that can be used for continual improvement... Organizations should not feel limited to a small set of prescribed methods, but should instead develop competencies in the techniques that best suit their needs. Examples include... SWOT analysis, balanced scorecards, and maturity assessments." This directly supports the correct answer.

A. Four dimensions of service management: These are perspectives to consider to ensure a holistic approach to service management, not the principles that guide the decision-making process itself.

C. Service value chain: This is an operating model that outlines the key activities for creating and delivering value; it describes a workflow, not a set of decision-making recommendations.

D. Practices: These are sets of organizational resources for performing specific work (e.g., incident management). They are not the overarching principles that guide all organizational decisions.

1. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.1, Introduction to the ITIL guiding principles: "A guiding principle is a recommendation that guides an organization in all circumstances... The guiding principles are used to guide organizations in their work...". This section explicitly links the principles to providing guidance for decisions and actions.

Section 3, The four dimensions of service management: Defines the dimensions as the perspectives that are "critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value," framing them as areas for consideration.

Section 4.5, The ITIL service value chain: Describes the service value chain as an "operating model" for the creation, delivery, and ongoing improvement of services.

Section 5, ITIL management practices: Defines practices as "sets of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective."