Free Practice Questions for ITIL ITIL-4-Foundation Exam

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/

Don’t start from scratch and build something new without considering what you already have. It’s almost always better to improve what you currently have than to throw it all away and start again, although you must also be able to recognise when a complete replacement is, in fact, needed.

Not only is this approach less wasteful than starting from scratch – because it preserves value that you already have – but it also helps you to keep your people on board. They’re much more likely to support the changes you need if their previous contributions have been appropriately valued.

Don’t rely on metrics and reports to tell you what the current situation is. When you carry out an assessment you should observe what is happening for yourself, and just use the metrics to support your observations.

https://www.sysaid.com/blog/itil/the-7-guiding-principles-of-itil-4-practical-advice-to-help-you-make-decisions

The incident management practice aims to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible1. A major incident is an incident that has a significant impact or urgency for the business and requires a high level of coordination and resources to resolve2. The most likely way of resolving major incidents is by forming a temporary team working together to identify a resolution, such as a major incident team or a swarming team3. The other statements are not true because:

Users establishing a resolution using self-help: Self-help is an option for users to resolve their own incidents with minimal or no assistance from the service provider, but it is not suitable for major incidents that require urgent and expert attention3.

The service desk identifying the cause and a resolution: The service desk is responsible for logging, categorizing, prioritizing, and escalating incidents, but it may not have the skills or authority to identify the cause and a resolution for major incidents that involve multiple teams or suppliers3.

A support team following detailed procedures for investigating the incident: A support team may follow detailed procedures for investigating the incident, but it may not be able to resolve major incidents that require cross-functional collaboration or escalation3. References: ITIL Foundation - ITIL 4 Edition, page 14; ITIL® 4 – A Pocket Guide, page 32; ITIL® 4 Practice Guide: Incident Management, page 8.

Individual metrics without a specified service context are unhelpful. They should relate to defined outcomes and not simply operational metrics. This can be achieved with balanced bundles of metrics, such as customer satisfaction and key business outcomes.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-level-management/#:~:text=Service%20Level%20Agreements%20(SLAs) &text=Individual%20metrics%20without%20a%20specified,satisfaction%20and%20key%20business%20outcomes.

In ITIL 4, the service desk practice is defined as the single point of contact between the service provider and its users. One of its key responsibilities is to ensure that:

Users can contact the service provider easily

There are multiple communication channels available (phone, email, chat, self-service portal, mobile app, etc.)

Calls, messages, and contacts from users about incidents, service requests, and inquiries are captured and handled

This means the service desk is the practice that guarantees users have a range of access channels to report problems and requests.

Why the other options are not correct:

B. Service level managementFocuses on setting, agreeing, and managing service level targets and ensuring that services meet agreed performance levels. It does not primarily manage user contact channels.

C. Incident managementFocuses on restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible after incidents occur. It uses information gathered by the service desk but does not itself guarantee multiple channels for users.

D. Change enablementDeals with ensuring that changes are properly evaluated, authorized, and managed. It is not about user-facing communication channels.

Therefore, A. Service desk is correct because it is explicitly responsible for providing and managing the channels through which users report issues and make requests.

References (ITIL 4 Foundation):

ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition – Service desk practice (purpose and key activities)

ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition – Overview of incident management and relationship with the service desk

In ITIL 4, “user” is a specific stakeholder role in the context of service management.

A user is defined as:

The role that uses services.

This is distinct from other roles involved in service relationships:

A customer is typically the person or role who defines the requirements for a service and/or authorizes the budget for its consumption.

A sponsor is the person or role that authorizes the funding for service consumption.

Governance roles (such as senior management or a board) are those who direct and control the organization.

Looking at the options:

A. The role that directs and controls an organizationThis describes governance or management roles, not the user role.

B. The role that uses services ✅This exactly matches the ITIL 4 definition of a user.

C. The role that authorizes budget for service consumptionThis better matches a customer or sponsor, not a user.

D. The role that defines the requirements for a serviceThis also aligns with the customer role.

Therefore, according to ITIL 4 terminology, a user is:

The role that uses services.

So the correct answer is B.

Service management is a set of specialized organizational capabilities for enabling value for customers in the form of services. These capabilities include tangible things like capital, people, and equipment, and can also include intangible things like knowledge, management and skills. These capabilities can also include intangible things, like knowledge, management, and skills.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-key-concepts-service-management/#:~:text=Service%20management%20is%20a%20set,like%20knowledge%2C%20management%20and%20skills.

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.

This question is testing your understanding of the ITIL 4 guiding principle “Start where you are.”

The essence of this principle is that an organization should not start from scratch when making improvements. Instead, it should first look at and assess what already exists — current services, processes, tools, and methods — before deciding what to keep, change, or replace.

The ITIL 4 Foundation guidance explains that organizations should carefully consider the existing state before designing the future state. It stresses that existing practices, services, and tools may already contain value, and that blindly discarding them can lead to waste, increased risk, or loss of useful knowledge.

In that context, the most accurate word to complete the sentence is:

An organization which is undertaking an improvement initiative should consider the existing methods and services when building for the future.

“Consider” reflects the idea of evaluating and understanding what already exists before making decisions.

The principle does not state that everything must be re-used or improved; some things may be retained, some modified, and some removed. But the key is that they must be considered first.

B. DiscardThis directly contradicts the principle “Start where you are.” ITIL explicitly warns against discarding existing methods and services without first understanding and assessing them.

C. Re-useWhile re-use is often a possible outcome of applying this principle, it is not mandatory that all existing methods and services be re-used. The principle is about assessing and considering them first, then deciding what to keep, change, or retire. Therefore, “re-use” is too narrow for the sentence.

D. ImproveImprovement may be needed, but you cannot decide how to improve something until you have considered and understood its current state. The guiding principle’s wording focuses first on consideration/evaluation of what already exists.

Therefore, the correct choice that best matches the intent and wording of the ITIL 4 guiding principle “Start where you are” is:

A. Consider

References (Aligned with ITIL 4 Foundation Concepts)

ITIL 4 Foundation: Guiding principles – Start where you are (discussion on assessing and considering existing services, processes, and methods before designing the future state)

ITIL 4 Foundation: Emphasis on avoiding starting from scratch and avoiding unnecessary waste by considering the current situation before making changes.

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.