Free ITIL-4 flashcards

In ITIL 4, what does it mean for a problem to be recorded as a known error?

The known error state records the outcome of problem analysis: the cause has been identified so workarounds and future handling are informed, but because a permanent resolution has not yet been implemented the problem stays open rather than closed.

A known error is a problem that has been permanently resolved, so its cause can no longer generate any further incidents.

Tempting because both terms live within problem management, but a resolved problem is closed, not a known error. A known error specifically means the cause is understood while the problem is still open and unfixed.

In ITIL 4, what is the defining purpose of the change enablement practice?

It is the authorisation-and-scheduling gate. It weighs the benefit of a change against the risk to users and the business, so its purpose is safe, authorised, well-scheduled change, not the physical act of building, releasing, or deploying anything.

Isn't change enablement the practice that moves new and changed hardware and software into live environments so they are available for use?

Tempting because moving components into live environments is a core delivery activity, but that describes deployment management. Change enablement is concerned with assessing risk, authorising, and scheduling change, not moving components.

In ITIL 4, what does it mean that the guiding principles are described as 'universal recommendations'?

Their relevance does not depend on any particular initiative, maturity level, or organisational structure. They are meant to hold across changing circumstances, applying in almost any situation regardless of changes to goals, strategy, type of work, or structure, rather than being conditional or mandatory.

Discard the existing services, processes and tools and rebuild from a clean sheet so old problems are not carried forward.

A fresh start feels cleaner, but Start where you are warns against wholesale removal. Discarding what already works wastes value that has already been created.

In ITIL 4, what makes something a service rather than just a product handed to a customer?

A service enables value co-creation by facilitating the outcomes a customer wants. The provider takes on specific costs and risks on the customer's behalf, so the customer achieves those outcomes without having to own or manage them. That risk transfer is why value is co-created rather than simply handed over.

A service is a set of specialised organisational capabilities for enabling value to customers.

Tempting because it is genuine ITIL wording. But that is the definition of service management, not of a service itself, so it answers a different question.