Assessment Test

This test checks your level of understanding of service management before you undertake your study. It will form a baseline of your current knowledge. Each question has only one correct answer, and there are no “trick questions.” Read the questions carefully.

1. What is ITIL?

A. Rules for achieving recognized IT standards

B. Good advice about how to manage IT services

C. Advice on managing projects

D. Advice on the technical requirements for infrastructure

2. What is an IT service provider?

A. An internal IT department

B. An external outsourced IT department

C. Either an internal IT department or an external IT department

D. A business unit

3. Who “owns” ITIL?

A. The U.S. government

B. Microsoft

C. The U.K. government

D. The Open Group

4. Which of these is not a stage in the ITIL service lifecycle?

A. Service design

B. Service implementation

C. Continual service improvement

D. Service operation

5. The knowledge management process maintains and updates a tool used for knowledge management. What is this system called?

A. The service management tool

B. The knowledge base for service management

C. The service knowledge management system

D. The service management database

6. A service must provide which of the following to deliver business value?

A. Sufficient capacity, the agreed level of security, and alignment to the organization’s project management methodology

B. Sufficient capacity and the agreed level of security

C. The agreed level of security and alignment to the organization’s project management methodology

D. The agreed level of security

7. In the ITIL guidance on incident management, what is one of the key purposes of the incident management process?

A. The purpose of incident management is to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible.

B. The purpose of incident management is to prevent incidents from occurring by identifying the root cause.

C. The purpose of incident management is to prevent changes from causing incidents when a change is implemented.

D. The purpose of incident management is to ensure that the service desk fulfills all requests from users.

8. A service catalog contains which of the following?

A. Details of all services being developed

B. Details of all services being considered

C. Details of all services currently available to the users

D. Details of all services

9. The predicted costs and benefits of a proposed new service are documented in which of the following documents?

A. The project plan

B. The service strategy

C. The business case

D. The improvement register

10. The agreement between an IT service provider and their customers regarding the services provided is called what?

A. Service charter

B. Service contract

C. Service level agreement

D. Service targets

11. What is meant by the term request fulfillment in the ITIL framework?

A. Request fulfillment is a means of managing the changes that users request in the IT environment.

B. Request fulfillment is used to deliver non-IT-related business components to the users.

C. Request fulfillment is a process for managing the requests from users to the IT department.

D. Request fulfillment is the report produced on the number of password resets carried out by the IT department.

12. Which of the following should be considered when drawing up a capacity plan?

1. The business plan to streamline its operations

2. The possibility of moving a business operation such as a call center overseas

3. New advances in technology

4. Plans to restructure the IT department

13. An availability plan should consider the requirements for what period?

A. For the next 24 hours

B. For the next week

C. For the next month

D. For the next 12 to 18 months

14. Which of the following is true about change management?

A. All changes, however small, must be approved by the change advisory board before implementation.

B. Emergency changes are too urgent to need approval before implementation.

C. Low-risk changes may be preapproved.

D. The change advisory board is for technical assessment and approval of changes only.

15. Which of the following is not a category of supplier described in ITIL?

A. Strategic

B. Operational

C. Preferred

D. Commodity

Strategic: Partnering relationships, sharing confidential information to facilitate long-term plans

Tactical: Those involving significant commercial activity (for example, server hardware maintenance organization)

Operational: Suppliers of operational products or services

Commodity: Providers of standard or low-value products and services (for example, paper or toner suppliers)

More information can be found on supplier management in Chapter 6.

16. Who should have access to the security policy?

A. Business users

B. IT staff

C. Senior management

D. Everyone

17. Which of the following statements is false?

A. Planning for a number of different disaster scenarios that could affect IT services is essential.

B. Ensuring the business is able to continue operation is the responsibility of IT.

C. It is impossible to plan for disasters, because there are too many different possibilities. The IT department should be ready to quickly devise a recovery plan following a disaster.

D. Continuity planning requires an understanding of the key business processes.

18. What is the purpose of the continual service improvement (CSI) stage of the service lifecycle?

A. The CSI stage is concerned with the management of improvement across the whole service lifecycle.

B. The CSI stage considers only the improvements needed for the business outputs.

C. The CSI stage focuses on improving the operational processes in the service lifecycle.

D. The CSI stage manages the improvements between project management and live operational services.

19. What is the Deming cycle?

A. The Deming cycle is a set of questions for managing processes.

B. The Deming cycle is a set of standards for quality management.

C. The Deming cycle is an approach for managing quality improvement.

D. The Deming cycle is concerned with the delivery of security controls.

20. What is the continual service improvement (CSI) approach?

A. The CSI approach is used to manage processes in the operational environment.

B. The CSI approach is focused on the delivery of quality management systems into IT.

C. The CSI approach is used to manage improvement activity in line with business requirements.

D. The CSI approach is focused on the introduction of projects into the operational environment.

21. Which of these statements about asset management and configuration management is not true?

A. Asset management is concerned only with purchased items such as hardware and software.

B. Asset management considers the value of items, and configuration management considers the interdependencies between items.

C. Configuration management may include locations and documents.

D. Configuration management information is held in a database called the configuration repository.

22. How is the seven-step improvement process in the continual service improvement lifecycle stage used?

A. The seven-step improvement process is used to manage improvement initiatives in line with business requirements.

B. The seven-step improvement process is used to gather, analyze, and present data to assist in decision making.

C. The seven-step improvement process is used to format the improvement reports delivered to the business.

D. The seven-step improvement process is used to manage the improvement program across the organization.

23. The ITIL framework refers to a number of operational functions. What is meant by the term function?

A. A function is a collection of technical infrastructure elements designed to manage an IT service.

B. A function manages the requirement of controlling costs in an IT department.

C. A function is used to deliver the security requirements across the service lifecycle.

D. A function is a unit of the organization specialized to deliver particular processes or activities.

24. Event management is a key operational process in the service operation lifecycle stage. What is the purpose of event management?

A. Event management detects events that are significant for the management of the service and ensures the appropriate actions are taken.

B. Event management monitors the infrastructure of the IT services and guarantees that no outages occur in peak times of business usage.

C. Event management manages failures in the infrastructure and ensures that services are restored to normal working as quickly as possible.

D. Event management monitors the underlying causes of failures and ensures that changes are made to prevent further failures from taking place.

25. How is the process of access management used in the service operation stage of the service lifecycle?

A. Access management is used to manage the security technology in the infrastructure.

B. Access management is used to ensure the correct people are able to use the correct systems in the correct way.

C. Access management is used to ensure the active directory entries are audited for accuracy.

D. Access management is used to maintain security controls over the business environment.

26. Problem management is an important process in the service operation lifecycle stage. How does the process define a problem?

A. A problem is an incident that has become extremely serious and is causing significant business impact.

B. A problem is an issue that has no solution and needs to be raised to the senior management for a decision.

C. A problem is the unknown, underlying cause of one or more incidents.

D. A problem is a set of incidents that have been linked together in a customer report.

27. The service operation lifecycle stage has a number of key objectives. Which of these statements best reflects the key objectives of service operation?

A. Service operation should ensure the day-to-day service is delivered according to the agreed requirements of the business.

B. Service operation ensures the financial obligations of the IT department are met and reported to the business.

C. Service operation should ensure the details of the IT infrastructure are captured in the service asset database.

D. Service operation should agree on the strategy for delivering IT services to the business.

28. The release and deployment process covers a concept called early-life support. What is meant by early-life support?

A. Early-life support refers to the end of the project lifecycle and the management of the post-implementation project review.

B. Early-life support refers to the handoff between service transition and service operation, ensuring support for the new or changed service in the initial stages of operation.

C. Early-life support refers to the introduction of new processes into the operational environment, using service transition processes to ensure a complete integration of the new processes.

D. Early-life support refers to the step in the release and deployment process where the project team deliver the documentation of the infrastructure to the service management team.

29. An important focus for the service lifecycle is the capture and management of knowledge relating to IT service provision. How does the process of knowledge management work in the service lifecycle?

A. Knowledge management is solely concerned with the transfer of knowledge when implementing new or changed services.

B. Knowledge management is used across the lifecycle stages of continual service improvement and service operation to ensure that improvements are managed effectively.

C. Knowledge management is used solely in the service operation stage of the lifecycle to ensure that operation issues are managed efficiently.

D. Knowledge management is used across the whole service lifecycle to ensure that appropriate knowledge is delivered to enable informed decision making.

30. The service transition stage of the service lifecycle has a number of different processes. Which of these is the process most concerned with the management of the whole approach to service transition?

A. Transition management and support

B. Transition planning and support

C. Service transition release and deployment

D. Change management

Answers to Assessment Test

1. B. ITIL is a framework of best practice advice based on processes for the management of IT services that provide value to the business.

2. C. An IT service provider is the provider of IT services for the organization; it can be either internal or external. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 1.

3. C. ITIL is owned by the U.K. government, which drew up the guidance in the late 1980s, based on best practices used by successful IT organizations. It has been periodically refreshed, with the most recent edition being released in 2011. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 1.

4. B. The five stages of the ITIL service lifecycle are service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 1.

5. C. The tool is called the service knowledge management system (SKMS) and is a repository for information, data, and knowledge relating to service management. This has important connections for managing information and knowledge throughout the whole service lifecycle. More information can be found on the SKMS in Chapter 9.

6. B. Every new or changed service must be capable of delivering the service without running out of capacity. It must also be secure enough to protect the organization’s data. There is no requirement to use any particular project management methodology. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 1.

7. A. The purpose of the incident management process is to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible, while minimizing the adverse impact to the business of outages in service. Normal service operation is the agreed level of service documented for the delivery of the service. More information can be found on the incident management process in Chapter 11.

8. C. The catalog includes services that are available to users. The services being considered or developed are in the service pipeline. Details of all services, including those being developed, the operational services, and the retired services, are in the service portfolio. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 6.

9. C. The business case contains the justification for a significant item of expenditure. It includes information about costs, benefits, options, issues, risks, and possible problems. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 2.

10. C. The service level agreement contains information about the service to be provided, the targets that need to be met, and the responsibilities of both customer and IT provider. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 5.

11. C. Request fulfillment is a key operational process in the service operation stage of the service lifecycle. This process is used to ensure that requests made by users for information, advice, or standard components are handled efficiently. More information on request fulfillment can be found in Chapter 12.

12. B. Plans by the business to reduce its head count or number of locations would affect the capacity required. New technology may offer increased capacity at the same or lower cost. The structure of the IT department should have no effect on capacity requirements of the business. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 6.

13. D. The availability plan looks ahead to ensure that the design that is delivered meets the availability requirements when the service is delivered and for the next 12 to 18 months. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 6.

14. C. Low risk, or “standard,” changes may be preapproved by the change manager and require only to be logged before being implemented; only higher-risk changes need approval before implementation. Emergency changes need to be approved by a small number of key people who make up the emergency change advisory board. The change advisory board should include business representatives and others (such as training department representatives) to ensure that all aspects of the change have been considered. More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 8.

15. C. ITIL describes four types of supplier.

16. D. The security policy should be communicated to all users and staff. More information can be found on information security management in Chapter 6.

17. B. Ensuring that the required IT services are available to help the business to continue operation is the responsibility of IT; it is the responsibility of the business to have a business continuity plan. IT services are only part of that plan. More information can be found on IT service continuity management in Chapter 6.

18. A. The CSI stage applies across the whole of the service lifecycle and is key in the management of all improvements across all service stages. More information on CSI can be found in Chapter 13.

19. C. The Deming cycle is used to manage the ongoing quality improvement of services and processes, as part of the stage of continual service improvement. More information on the Deming cycle can be found in Chapter 13.

20 C. The CSI approach is a set of steps that can be used to manage improvement initiatives in line with the requirements of the business. More information on the CSI approach can be found in Chapter 13.

21. D. Configuration management information is held in a configuration management system (CMS), which may contain a number of federated configuration management databases (CMDBs). More information regarding this can be found in Chapter 9.

22. B. The seven-step improvement process is the process used as part of the CSI lifecycle stage to ensure that the correct data is gathered, analyzed, and presented to the correct audience in order to enable informed decision making. More information on the seven-step improvement process can be found in Chapter 13.

23. D. The ITIL framework identifies four different functions, which are units of the organization specialized to deliver certain processes, activities, or capabilities. An example of this is the service desk, which is used as the single point of contact for the users to IT. More information on functions can be found in Chapter 10.

24. A. Event management is the process that uses the automated monitoring capability of the infrastructure to identify significant issues that require management. It is used to ensure that proper notification of issues is received and the appropriate action taken. More information on the event management process can be found in Chapter 12.

25. B. The process of access management ensures that access to systems and services is managed and controlled according to the security policy in place. This includes providing access to users and monitoring their actions. More information on access management can be found in Chapter 12.

26. C. A problem is defined as the unknown, underlying cause of one or more incidents. Problem management is the process that investigates the root cause of incidents so that the incidents may be prevented from recurring. More information on the problem management process can be found in Chapter 11.

27. A. Service operation ensures the day-to-day running of the services is managed according to the agreed requirements of the business. This is where the business sees the value of the services being delivered, and it is service operation that should maintain the status quo. More information on the service operation lifecycle stage can be found in Chapter 10.

28. B. Early-life support is the handoff that takes place between service transition and service operation, during the deployment phase of release and deployment. It ensures the support of the deployment and development teams is still available as the new or changed service is introduced to the live environment. More information on release and deployment can be found in Chapter 9.

29. D. Knowledge management is a process that has influence across the whole of the service lifecycle. It is used to capture and present ideas, perspectives, data, and information to all stages of the lifecycle, ensuring that the appropriate decisions can be made. More information on knowledge management can be found in Chapter 9.

30. B. Transition planning and support is a process that enables all activity taking place in the service transition lifecycle to be managed. This includes understanding the allocation of resources and resolving conflicting demands for resources. More information on transition planning and support can be found in Chapter 9.