ITIL

Question 1

Services

Answer 1

Services are a means of delivering value to customers without requiring the customer to own specific costs and risks.

Question 2

Service Management

Answer 2

Service Management is a set of specialized capabilities for delivering value to customers in the form of services. ITIL® is a framework for IT Service Management.

Question 3

Good Practices

Answer 3

Good practices are best practices which have gained wide acceptance and adoption. In short, Good Practices have withstood the test of time.

Good Practices may come from a number of sources including:

 Standards
 Public frameworks
 Academic research
 Proprietary knowledge

Question 4

The Service Lifecycle

Answer 4

The Service Lifecycle organizes activity around services as the services move from concept through the live environment and into retirement.

Question 5

Processes

Answer 5

Processes are structured sets of activities designed to achieve a specific objective. Processes have four basic characteristics:

1. They transform inputs into outputs
2. They deliver results to a specific customer or stakeholder
3. They are measurable
4. They are triggered by specific events

Question 6

Functions

Answer 6

Functions are self-contained subsets of an organization intended to accomplish specific tasks. They usually take the form of a team or group of people and the tools they use. Whereas processes help organizations accomplish specific objectives–often across multiple functional groups–functions add structure and stability to organizations.

Functions generally map fairly directly to the organizational chart of an organization and are usually supported by budgets and reporting structures. Processes, by contract, typically do not have budgets and reporting structures. Both functions and processes involve roles.

Question 7

Roles

Answer 7

Roles are defined collections of specific responsibilities and privileges. Roles may be held by individuals or teams. Individuals and teams may hold more than one role. ITIL® emphasizes a number of standard roles include, most importantly:

 Service Owner – Accountable for the overall design, performance, integration, improvement, and management of a single service.
 Process Owner – Accountable for the overall design, performance, integration, improvement, and management of a single process.
 Service Manager – Accountable for the development, performance, and improvement of all services in the environment.
 Product Manager – Accountable for development, performance, and improvement of a group of related services.

Question 8

The Service Desk

Answer 8

The Service Desk provides a single point of contact between users and the IT organization. The Service Desk processes inbound incidents, service requests, change requests, etc. It usually (but not always) owns and executes the Incident Management process. The Service Desk also acts as a hub for all communications internal to the IT Service Provider.

Question 9

What are the four basic Service Desk configurations discussed within ITIL?

Answer 9

Four basic Service Desk configurations are discussed within ITIL®:
 Local – Users and support staff are located on the same premises or campus.
 Centralized – Multiple user locations are serviced by a single support location.
 Virtual – Multiple user location are serviced by multiple support locations which by virtue of call routing and other technology are able to appear and respond to user requests as a single entity.
 Follow-the-Sun – Identical to a virtual Service Desk, but organized in such a way as to utilize support staff shifts working during normal daylight hours for all user requests coming from any time zone.

Question 10

Technical Management

Answer 10

The Technical Management function is charged with procurement, development, and management of the technical skill sets and resources required to support the infrastructure and the IT Service Management effort.

Technical Management is typically divided into specialty areas representing different specialized teams or functions within an IT organization, e.g. Networking, Security, Database, Storage, Servers, etc. The primary objective of Technical Management is to ensure that the Service Provider has the right skill sets available to deliver the services it offers.

Question 11

Application Management

Answer 11

Application Management is concerned with the end-to-end management of applications in the environment. Like Technical Management, a big part of what it does involves cultivation of the specialized skill sets required to support the organization’s applications. Application Management does not replace, but rather executes and is supported by core processes such as Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Availability Management, etc.

Question 12

IT Operations Management

Answer 12

IT Operations Management is concerned with the day-to-day maintenance of the IT infrastructure and the facilities which house it. It is divided into two sub-functions: Operations Control and Facilities Management.

Question 13

The Operations Control

Answer 13

The Operations Control sub-function is concerned with regular maintenance cycles associated with infrastructure management. These include such activities as:

 Console Management
 Backup and restore operations
 Media management
 Batch job execution

Question 14

Facilities Management

Answer 14

Facilities Management is concerned with maintenance of the facilities which house IT operations, e.g. data centers, call centers, development facilities, etc. Its areas of responsibility include things like:

 HVAC
 Fire suppression
 Facilities access
 Power

Question 15

The RACI Model

Answer 15

In addition to discussing the four primary functions described above, ITIL also utilizes the RACI model as a generic tool for reviewing and assigning four key roles to any important task or activity. Whereas role assignments are often well-defined within functions, the RACI model holds particular value for ensuring that roles are appropriately filled or covered within processes.

 Those in the R = RESPONSIBLE role for a given activity are charged with actually executing or performing the activity or task.
 The single entity in the A = ACCOUNTABLE role owns the task or activity and must answer for its outcomes. Only one party can be accountable for a given task/activity.
 Those in the C = CONSULTED role review and provide advice and authorization around the task or activity.
 Those in the I = INFORMED role receive updates as the task or activity progresses.

Question 16

Service Strategy

Answer 16

Service Strategy is about the selection of services a Service Provider will offer to customers. Services are selected so that they:

 Provide value to customers
 Enable the Service Provider to capture value
 Fall within cost parameters acceptable to the Service Provider
 Fall with risk parameters acceptable to the Service Provider
Service Strategy is also about establishment and management of the broadest policies and standards which govern the way a Service Provider operates.

Question 17

Business Value of Service Strategy

Answer 17

Service Strategy offers value to Service Providers and customers by:

 Ensuring that the services they offer align with business objectives.
 Ensuring that the services they offer are likely to offer value.
 Ensuring that customers can be charged for the services or that some mechanism exists by which the services allow the value offered by the Service Provider to be recognized.
 Ensuring that the Service Provider is in a position to handle the costs and risks associated with the services it offers.

Question 18

Business Case

Answer 18

A Business Case is a structured and documented justification for investment in something expected to deliver value in return, e.g. an IT Service. Business Cases are used during Service Strategy to evaluate the feasibility and desirability of creating and providing various IT Services.

Question 19

Value Utility and Warranty

Answer 19

The value of service consists of two components: utility and warranty. Services must offer both utility and warranty in order to have value.

 Utility, also called ‘fitness for purpose’ involves the ability of the service to remove constraints or increase the performance of the customer.
 Warranty, also called ‘fitness for use’ is the ability of the service to operate reliably.

Question 20

Service Assets

Answer 20

Service Assets or (more generally) assets refer to the resources and capabilities which a Service Provider must allocate in order to offer a service.

Question 21

Resources

Answer 21

Resources are the raw materials which contribute to a service, such as money, equipment, time, staff, etc. Capabilities are the specialized skills or abilities an organization applies to resources in order to create value. Capabilities include such things as skills, organization, processes, management, etc. Resources and capabilities are both types of assets.

Question 22

Service Portfolio

Answer 22

The Service Portfolio is the entire set of services under management by a Service Provider. It consists of three major parts: Service Pipeline, Service Catalog, and Retired Services.
Services in the Service Portfolio may be:

 Under consideration
 In design
 In development
 In testing
 In operation

The purpose of the Service Portfolio is to help the Service Provider understand how its resources are allocated toward maximizing the value it offers to customers in the form of services.

Question 23

Service Belt

Answer 23

In the course of delivering services, Service Provider assets are engaged with customer assets as a means of increasing the performance of customer assets. This causes customer demand for services. Customers express that demand by purchasing services which in turn transfers resources to the Service Provider. The Service Provider uses payment to replace or augment assets it uses to provide the services. This cycle is known as the Service Belt.

Question 24

Service Strategy

Answer 24

The Service Strategy process (yes, it has the same name as the lifecycle phase!) is concerned with the development of service concepts in preparation for selection of services to be provided. It consists of four major activities:

1. Understand the market
   a. Who is the customer?
   b. What do they value?
   c. How do they define value?
2. Develop the offerings
   a. What service offerings would provide value to customers as defined above?
   b. How can we as a service provider offer unique or distinctive value?
3. Develop strategic assets
   a. What resources would be required to offer the services identified?
   b. What capabilities would be need to offer the services identified?
4. Prepare for execution
   a. How can we prepare to build or develop the service?
   b. What are our specific objectives for the service?
   c. What specific critical success factors must we meet in order to achieve those objectives?

Question 25

Service Portfolio Management

Answer 25

The Service Portfolio Management process is concerned with management of the information concerning services in the Service Portfolio. Service Portfolio Management organizes the process by which services are identified, described, evaluated, selected, and chartered.

Question 26

Demand Management

Answer 26

The Demand Management process is concerned with understanding and influencing customer demand. Unmanaged demand is a source of both cost and risk to Service Providers.
Demand Management models demand in terms of:

 User Profiles which characterize different typical groups of users for a given service.
 Patterns of Business Activity which represent the way that users in different user profiles access a service over the course of a given time period.

Question 27

IT Financial Management

Answer 27

IT Financial Management provides a means of understanding and managing costs and opportunities associated with services in financial terms. At a minimum, IT Financial Management provides a clear means of generating data useful for decision support around the management of services.
IT Financial Management includes three basic activities:

 Accounting – tracking how money is actually spent by a Service Provider
 Budgeting – planning how money will be spent by a Service Provider
 Charging – securing payment from customers for services provided

Question 28

The Service Design Lifecycle phase

Answer 28

The Service Design lifecycle phase is about the design of services and all supporting elements for introduction into the live environment.

Question 29

Business Value of Service Design

Answer 29

Service Design offers value by:

 Ensuring that services are aligned with business objectives
 Ensuring that services are able to provide the utility and warranty required for them to meet the objectives outlined during Service Strategy
 Ensuring that service management systems and tools are capable of supporting service offerings
 Ensuring that service-e management processes are capable of supporting service offerings
 Ensuring that services are constructed according to agreed architectural standards
 Ensuring that services are designed so as to be implemented efficiently
 Ensuring that services are designed so that their performance can be measured

Question 30

Quality must be built in

Answer 30

ITIL® stresses the importance of purposefully building quality into IT services, processes, and other aspects of the Service Management effort. The Service Design lifecycle phase is structured to support this emphasis by including processes for clear specification of quality targets (Service Level Management) followed by processes for achieving the major warranty ingredients of quality: Availability, Capacity, IT Service Continuity, and Security Management. Targeting quality during Service Design ensures that quality can be delivered during Service Operations.

Question 31

The Service Catalog

Answer 31

The Service Catalog is the subset of the Service Portfolio which contains services currently available to customers and users. The Service Catalog is often the only portion of the Service Portfolio visible to customers. Typically the Service Catalog is implemented as a database and is often web-accessible. The Service Catalog commonly acts as the entry portal for all information regarding services in the live environment.

Question 32

The Four P’s of Service Design

Answer 32

The ‘Four P’s of Service Design’ represent areas which should be taken into consideration when designing a service. They are:

1. People – Human resources and organizational structures required to support the service
2. Processes – Service Management Processes required to support the service
3. Products – Technology and other infrastructure required to support the service
4. Partners – Third parties which provide services required to support the service

Question 33

The ‘Five Aspects of Service Design’

Answer 33

The ‘Five Aspects of Service Design’ are areas which should also receive design focus as part of the overall effort design a service. The areas include:

1. The new or changed service itself – with special attention to service requirements
2. Service Management processes required to support the service
3. Service Management systems and tools required to support the service (especially the Service Portfolio)
4. Technology Architectures used or referenced by the service
5. Measurement systems and metrics necessary to understand the performance of the service

Question 34

The Service Catalog Management

Answer 34

Service Catalog Management involves management and control of the Service Catalog which contains information about services currently available to customers for use. Typically such information includes:

 Features of the service
 Guidelines for appropriate use of the service
 Means of accessing the service
 Pricing information (where relevant)
 Key contact information
 Service Level Agreement information

The Service Catalog Management process is included within the Service Design lifecycle phase primarily because design activity typically generates a large volume of documentation and information which should be included in the Service Catalog. Associating management of the Service Catalog with Service Design makes a good deal of practical sense as it provides a means of capturing and organizing relevant information about services early on in their lifecycle.

Question 35

Service Level Management

Answer 35

Service Level Management is the process charged with securing and managing agreements between customers and the service provider regarding the levels of performance (utility) and levels of reliability (warranty) associated with specific services. Service Level Management is part of the Service Design lifecycle phase primarily because it provides an opportunity to establish performance requirements early on so that design work may be specifically directed to meet such requirements.

Service Level Management results in the creation of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between customers and the provider.

Question 36

Operational Level Agreements (OLA’s)

Answer 36

Operational Level Agreements (OLA’s) are performance agreements nearly identical in nature to SLAs except that they exist between parts of the service provider organization specifically for the purpose of supporting ‘upstream’ SLAs which require dependable performance by multiple business units, functions, or teams within the service provider organization.

Question 37

The Availability Management

Answer 37

The Availability Management process is concerned with management and achievement of agreed availability requirements as established in Service Level Agreements. In ITIL®, availability is defined as the ability of a system, service, or configuration item to perform its function when required.
Among other things, Availability Management may assist with:

 Development of availability Service Level Targets which make up part of an overall Service Level Agreement
 Design of services capable of meeting or exceeding agreed availability requirements
 Measurement and monitoring of availability achievements
 Responses to availability-related incidents

Question 38

Capacity Management

Answer 38

Capacity Management is concerned with ensuring that cost-effective capacity exists at all times which meets or exceeds the agreed needs of the business as established in Service Level Agreements. In ITIL®, capacity is defined as the maximum throughput a service, system, or device can handle.

Question 39

Capacity Management is divided into three major activities

Answer 39

Business Capacity Management (BCM) addresses capacity factors which exist primarily at the business level such as mergers, acquisitions, plans for new facilities, reductions in force, etc. Typically, BCM factors are addressed first in the overall Capacity Management effort.

Service Capacity Management (SCM) addresses capacity factors at the service level. Business capacity factors in turn drive Service capacity requirements. The primary task of Service Capacity Management is to translate business capacity factors into capacity requirements for services.

Component Capacity Management (CCM) addresses capacity factors at the level of components or Configuration Items. The primary task of CCM is to translate Service Capacity Management factors into capacity requirements for individual components or Configuration Items.

Question 40

The IT Service Continuity Management process (ITSCM)

Answer 40

The IT Service Continuity Management process (ITSCM) is responsible for ensuring that the IT Service Provider can always provide minimum agreed Service Levels. ITSCM is largely concerned with management of risks and with planning for the recovery of IT Services in the event of disaster. IT Service Continuity Management uses techniques such as Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and Management of Risk (MOR) and is driven by the larger Business Continuity Management effort. ITSCM results in the production of the IT Service Continuity Plan which is an aspect of the overall Business Continuity Plan.

Question 41

IT Security Management

Answer 41

IT Security Management is the process concerned with the protection of IT assets (including services) from security threats. IT Security Management is driven the larger security management efforts and policies of the organization. IT Security Management is charged development and management of the IT Security Policy which is executed and implemented as a part of the Access Management process in Service Operations.
IT Security Management focuses on protection of five basic qualities of information assets:

 Confidentiality – Assurance that the asset is only available to appropriate parties
 Integrity – Assurance that the asset has not been modified by unauthorized parties
 Availability – Assurance that that asset may be utilized when required
 Authenticity – Assurance that transactions and the identities of parties to transactions are genuine
 Non-Repudiation – Assurance that transactions, once completed, may not be reversed without approval

Question 42

Supplier Management

Answer 42

Supplier Management is the process charged with obtaining value for money from third-party suppliers. Supplier Management plays a very similar role to that of Service Level Management, but with respect to external suppliers rather than internal suppliers and internal/external customers. Supplier Management is critical to effective design because for nearly all IT organizations, dependency on external suppliers is increasingly central to their ability to deliver services to their own customers.
Supplier Management handles supplier evaluation, contract negotiations, performance reviews, renewals and terminations.

Question 43

Service Transition

Answer 43

Service Transition is concerned with management of change and, more specifically, with the introduction of new and changed services into the live environment.

Question 44

Service Transition Business Value

Answer 44

Service Transition provides value to the business by:

 Enabling business change
 Minimizing impact to the business which might otherwise result from unmanaged change
 Enabling the business to make use of new and changed services
 Ensuring that designs for services are implemented as intended
 Ensuring that the Service Management organization is prepared to support new and changed services
 Reducing the number of defects introduced into the live environment

Question 45

The Service V-Model

Answer 45

The Service V-Model defines progressive levels activity and corresponding levels of testing/valid toward a define objective such as a release or major change. Testing at each level prior to moving to the next level helps progressively reduce risk.

Question 46

Change

Answer 46

ITIL® defines a change as the addition, removal, or modification of anything that could have an effect on an IT service. All changes involve risk.

Question 47

A Request for Change or RFC

Answer 47

A Request for Change or RFC is a documented request to alter a service or other Configuration Item. RFCs may be issued by any one: customers, IT staff, users, etc. and are received by the Service Desk and handled via the Change Management process.

Question 48

Change Types

Answer 48

 Normal Changes are changes which meet predefined criteria that qualify them for handling via the Normal Change Management process.

 Standard Changes are changes which are pre-approved for implementation. Generally, Standard Changes are low risk and occur frequently in the environment. Examples might include such things as:
o Password resets
o New hire procedures
o Office moves
 Emergency Changes are changes which meet predefined criteria that qualify them for handling via the Emergency Change Management process. In most environments, Emergency Changes are those which cannot be foreseen and which unless addressed quickly put the environment at high risk of impact. Emergency Changes are reviewed by the Emergency Change Advisory Board (ECAB).

Question 49

Change Authority

Answer 49

In ITIL® the entity charged with approval of a Request for Change is called the Change Authority. In most environments, the identity of the Change Authority varies with the type of change under consideration. For many ordinary changes, the Change Manager may act as the Change Authority. However, for extremely large changes, the Change Authority may be an executive or even the board of directors.

Question 50

The Change Advisory Board

Answer 50

The Change Advisory Board or CAB is a group of experts convened by the Change Manager to advise on the approval/rejection and planning for a specific change. The membership of the CAB usually varies with the change under consideration.

Question 51

The Emergency Change Advisory Board

Answer 51

The Emergency Change Advisory Board or ECAB is a special group convened by the Change Manager to advise on the approval/rejection and planning for Emergency Changes as part of the Emergency Change Management Process. The membership of the ECAB usually includes persons with the experience and organizational authority required to make rapid and often difficult decisions and to accept the consequences of those decisions.

Question 52

A Change Model

Answer 52

A Change Model is a template or pre-defined set of steps, procedures, and guidelines for execution a specific type of change. Change Models are used to help minimize risk, save costs, and improve the consistency of execution around changes.

Question 53

A Release

Answer 53

A release is a collection of changes which must be implemented together in order accomplish a specific objective or set of objectives.

Question 54

A Release Unit

Answer 54

A Release Unit is the particular set of configuration items released together for a specific deployment effort. The Release Unit for a release is selected as part of the Release and Deployment Management process based upon both technical and business criteria. For example, for the deployment of an accounting package the release unit might be determined to be the accounts payable and payroll modules, but not the tax computation module.

Question 55

Baseline

Answer 55

In the context of Service Transition generally and, more specifically, in the context of the Service Asset and Configuration Management process, the term Baseline refers to the documented and validated configuration of a component, system, service, etc. Baselines are used within Service Asset and Configuration Management to provide a roll-back point useful in managing risk around changes in the environment.

Question 56

The Configuration Management System

Answer 56

The Configuration Management System is the controlled repository and interfaces for management of information concerning items under configuration control (Configuration Items) in the environment. The purpose of the CMS is to provide accurate and up-to-date information regarding how the environment is configured. The CMS stores records of Configuration Items in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). Importantly, the CMS/CMDB differs from a traditional asset database in that it also provides information regarding how Configuration Items are related to each other.

Question 57

A Configuration Item

Answer 57

A Configuration Item or CI is anything which has significance for the delivery of an IT Service. Configuration Items can include hardware and software, but also documentation, process definitions, facilities, etc. Configuration Items are tracked using the Configuration Management System which stores records of them in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). At a bare minimum, the record of a Configuration Item should include a unique identifier and the location of the CI.

Question 58

Change Management

Answer 58

Change Management is concerned with recording, evaluating, approving, testing, and reviewing changes to services, systems, and other Configuration Items.
ITIL® reminds us that all changes involve risk. As such Change Management is largely concerned with managing risk associated with change. The major activities which make up the Change Management process include:

 Recording of RFCs involves logging of the RFC in the Change Management system. Recording must include all details required to assess the RFC.
 Review of RFCs involves checking to see if the RFC is complete and free of obvious defects which would make it impractical or impossible to implement.
 Assessment and Evaluation of RFCs involves further review and consideration of the RFC, usually by the Change Advisory Board, for the purpose of determining the desirability and feasibility of the requested change.
 Authorization of RFCs involves identification of the appropriate Change Authority and the determination by the Change Authority to approve or deny the RFC.
 Planning involves identification and scheduling of the activities required to implement the change, including any testing which may be required to manage risk associated with the change.
 Implementation Coordination
 Review and Closure

Question 59

Service Asset and Configuration Management

Answer 59

Service Asset and Configuration Management

 Planning
 Identification
 Control
 Status Accounting
 Verification and Audit

Question 60

Additional Service Transition processes

Answer 60

Four additional Service Transition processes are included within ITIL®, but are not covered in detail on the Foundation exam. For exam purposes, candidates are only required to recognize that the processes exist within the Service Transition lifecycle phase and to understand that in many environments the processes provide additional support for the three primary Service Transition processes described earlier.

Question 61

Transition Planning and Support

Answer 61

Transition Planning and Support provides broader support for large-scale transitions and releases and would be helpful for an organization anticipating an unusual volume of change, as for example would be the case during a merger or acquisition scenario.

Question 62

Service Validation and Testing

Answer 62

Service Validation and Testing provides separate and more focused support for testing prior to release. Organizations for which quality and error control are of paramount importance might especially benefit from implementation of Service Validation and Testing as a separate process. In such a scenario, Release and Deployment Management would focus more exclusively on deployment/release logistics and testing would become the domain of the new process.

Question 63

Evaluation

Answer 63

Evaluation provides support for post-release evaluation and confirmation of customer acceptance of new and changed services. It would be useful in situations characterized by customer satisfaction challenges and in situations where other factors might require closer management of customer acceptance.

Question 64

Knowledge Management

Answer 64

Knowledge Management provides support for the capture and effective publishing of knowledge which surfaces during the Service Transition lifecycle phase and elsewhere. From a practical perspective, Knowledge Management belongs in Service Transition simply because Service Transition has responsibility for most testing and validation where the most valuable operational data is gathered prior to release into the live environment.

Question 65

The Service Operation

Answer 65

The Service Operation phase of the Service Lifecycle is concerned with ensuring that services operate within agreed parameters. When service interruptions do occur, Service Operation is charged with restoring service as quickly as possible and with minimizing the impact to the business.

Question 66

The Service Operation Business Case

Answer 66

Service Operation is the only lifecycle phase in which value is actually realized by customers. Whereas all other phases of the Service Lifecycle contribute to and enable value, it is only experienced during Service Operation.
Service Operation also adds business value by:
 Ensuring that services are operated within expected performance parameters
 Restoring services quickly in the event of service interruption
 Minimizing impact to the business in the event of service interruption
 Providing a focal point for communication between users and the Service Provider organization

Question 67

Service Operation Balance

Answer 67

Because Service Operation is the first lifecycle phase in which the Service Provider organization must respond to rather than plan for and drive user and customer demand, balance is difficult to maintain. Accordingly, ITIL® emphasizes the importance of striving to achieve and maintain balance during Service Operation in the form of specific balances between:
 Reactive and Proactive Focus
 Internal and External Focus
 Cost and Quality
 Stability and Flexibility

Question 68

Service Operation Communication

Answer 68

During Service Operation, the importance and criticality of communication is especially acute. ITIL stresses the importance of communication:

 Between users and the IT Service Provider
 Between customers and the IT Service Provider
 Between different processes, functions, teams, etc. within the IT Service Provider
 Between the IT Service Provider and its suppliers

Question 69

Incident

Answer 69

An incident is any occurrence which causes or may cause interruption or degradation to an IT Service.

Question 70

Problem

Answer 70

A problem is the unknown underlying cause of one or more incidents. A problem is NOT just a particularly serious incident.

Question 71

Error

Answer 71

An error is the known underlying cause of one or more incidents.

Question 72

Known Error

Answer 72

A known error is the known cause of an incident for which a workaround also exists.

Question 73

Event

Answer 73

An event is any change of state of an infrastructure or other item which has significance for the delivery of a service.

Question 74

Incident Management

Answer 74

Incident Management is concerned with the rapid restoration of services and with minimization of impact to the business. In most but not all cases the Incident Management process is owned and executed by the Service Desk.
Within ITIL®, Incident Management consists of a number of basic activities or steps:

 Detection – The incident becomes known by any mechanism, e.g. user call, system alert, etc.
 Logging – Details of the incident are recorded in the incident management system.
 Classification – The incident is categorized according to predefined criteria for the purpose of facilitating diagnosis and prioritizing its handling relative to other incidents.
 Prioritization – The impact and urgency of the incident are determined and factored together to determine its relative priority among other incidents.
 Investigation and Initial Diagnosis – Additional details regarding the incident are gathered and used along with tools such as the Known Error Database to attempt resolution.
 Escalation – If necessary, the incident may be forwarded to the appropriate handling group.
 Resolution and Recovery – Service is restored and users are provided assistance to allow them to resume work.
 Closure – Successful resolution of the incident is verified with the user, the incident resolution details are recorded, and the incident is flagged as being closed in the incident management system.

Question 75

Problem Management

Answer 75

Problem Management is concerned with the identification and correction of flaws or errors in the environment which cause incidents. Problem Management helps reduce and prevent incidents. Problem Management is broadly divided into two major sub-processes:

 Reactive Problem Management, which is charged with responding to problems as they arise in the environment, usually driven by the Incident Management process.
 Proactive Problem Management, which is charged with proactively seeking out improvements to services and infrastructure before incidents occur.
Problem Management uses techniques such as Kepner-Tregoe, Ishikawa diagramming, and Fault Tree Analysis to identify the root cause of incidents. Once the root cause of an incident is determined, Problem Management may issue a Request For Change to initiate action toward implementation of a permanent fix for the underlying cause or, if a permanent solution is not feasible, may assist in the development of a Work Around for use in restoring service and minimizing the impact of associated incidents.
The production and maintenance of the Known Error Database (KEDB) is one of the most important outputs of the Problem Management process. The Known Error Database is used by the Incident Management process to more rapidly resolve incidents.

Question 76

Event Management

Answer 76

Event Management is concerned with detection of events in the infrastructure and with selection of appropriate response actions. By facilitating early detection of incidents, Event Management helps reduce the number of incidents which impact users and can greatly improve the performance of the Incident Management process itself.
As described earlier, an Event is any change of state which has significance for the delivery of a service. As such, Event Management mainly focuses on IT detecting and addressing issues at the infrastructure level and is most commonly a largely automated process.
Events may be one of three basic types:

 Informational – No action is required. The event information is logged for potential future reference.
 Warning –An infrastructure item is approaching a predefined performance or capacity threshold which could cause an incident or require intervention.
 Exception—An infrastructure item has exceeded a threshold or is no longer operating within defined parameters. Intervention is required.

Question 77

Service Request Fulfillment

Answer 77

Service Request Fulfillment is the process charged with assisting users in situations where no service degradation or interruption is involved. Service Request Fulfillment provides a means of addressing common user requests for non-incident support, new equipment, training, etc. Service Request Fulfillment frequently makes use of Standard Changes and automation to meet user requests more efficiently.
In much the same way that Event Management supports the Incident Management process by addressing incidents before they impact users, Service Request Fulfillment can reduce the load on the Incident Management process by providing a means of addressing non-incident related requests before they enter the Incident Management stream.

Question 78

The Access Management

Answer 78

The Access Management process is charged with is providing authorized parties with appropriate access to service and information as specified in the Information Security Policy. Access Management executes the Information Security Policy as defined by the Information Security Management process, but does not itself set policy.

Question 79

Continual Service Improvement

Answer 79

Continual Service Improvement is about the alignment and re-alignment of services, processes, functions, etc. with changing business needs. It is also concerned with the consistent application of quality management methods to the overall Service Management effort.

Question 80

Continual Service Improvement Business Value

Answer 80

Continual Service Improvement offers value to Service Provider and customer organizations by:

 Ensuring that services, processes, and other aspects of the Service Management effort are aligned with business objectives
 Ensuring that services meet agreed levels of performance
 Ensuring that the efficiency (cost) of service delivery improves steadily
 Ensuring that all aspects of the Service Management effort undergo regular and consistent reviews

Question 81

The Role of Measurement

Answer 81

Measurement plays a critical role within ITIL®, both as a part of Continual Service Improvement, but also within Service Level Management and as an essential part of all processes. Measurements can be used for four basic purposes as shown below:

 To JUSTIFY a proposed course of action
 To DIRECT activity
 To INTERVENE when corrective action is required
 To VALIDATE actions which have already been taken

Question 82

Types of Measurements

Answer 82

 Objectives establish the reason for measurement. Measurement in itself has no value. Rather, it only has value inasmuch as it supports achievement of specific objectives.
 Critical Success Factors define specific things that must happen if objectives are to be achieved.
 Key Performance Indicators are metrics which specifically indicate progress or performance around or toward Critical Success Factors.
 Metrics are the definitions of what will be measured and how it will be measured.
 Measurements are the actual readings taken based upon a specific metric.

Question 83

The Deming Cycle

Answer 83

The Deming Cycle is an improvement model originally created by W. Edwards Deming and used to great success in the Japanese auto industry. It consists of four simple steps (Plan, Do, Check, Act)

Question 84

The Continual Service Improvement Model

Answer 84

The Continual Service Improvement Model is a simple set of guiding questions which can be used to organize and perpetuate an improvement program. It closely mirrors the basic approach also used in the ITIL® 7-Step Improvement Process.

Question 85

A Service Improvement Plan or Service Improvement Program

Answer 85

A Service Improvement Plan or Service Improvement Program is the primary output of periodic service reviews carried out as part of Continual Service Improvement or as part of the Service Level Management process. The SIP maps specific improvement objectives for an identified time period between one service review and the next.

Question 86

The Seven Step Improvement Process

Answer 86

The Seven Step Improvement Process provides a simple means of using measurement to guide the improvement and correction of service performance. The steps are:
 Decide what should be measured
 Decide what can be measured
 Gather the data
 Process the data
 Analyze the data
 Present and use the data
 Implement corrective action

Question 87

Service Level Management and Continual Service Improvement

Answer 87

Although Service Level Management is one of the processes within the Service Design lifecycle phase, it shares many activities and objectives with Continual Service Improvement. In particular, both Service Level Management and Continual Service Improvement emphasize regular measurement and review of services and other aspects of the Service Management effort.

Question 88

The Role of Automation

Answer 88

ITIL® introduces the concept of ‘bounded rationality’ in its discussion of the role of automation in IT Service Management. ‘Bounded rationality’ refers to the limits which constrain humans’ ability to entertain more than a few factors at a time when seeking to make decisions in complex situations.
In the most fundamental sense, automation and technology play an important role in IT Service Management by helping human decision makers effectively confront vastly more complex scenarios than they might otherwise be able to. Some examples include:
 Use of automation to identify patterns and trends in large data sets such as event logs, incident logs, etc.
 Use of automation to help guarantee consistency during design efforts
 Use of automation to accurately record high volumes of detailed data, e.g. incident logs
 Use of automation to avoid arbitrary assignment of priority to incidents, problems, changes, etc.
 Use of automation to respond to events in real time
ITIL® urges the point that all phases of the Service Lifecycle can be supported very effectively using technology and automation.

Question 89

Automation Tips

Answer 89

ITIL® offers some discussion of how automation can best be used to support processes. It’s most essential recommendations include:

 Process definition should precede attempts to purchase or apply technology to processes
 Processes should be simplified prior to automating them

Question 90

Information systems discussed within ITIL

Answer 90

ITIL® describes a number of information systems which represent the application of technology/automation to the IT Service Management effort. The most important of these include:
 Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS)
 Service Portfolio/Catalog
 Availability Management Information System (AMIS)
 Configuration Management System/Configuration Management Database (CMS/CMDB) Capacity Database (CDB) or Capacity Management Information System (CMIS)
 Known Error Database (KEDB)
 Security Management Information System (SMIS)