C846 Chapter 1 Questions
Q: Which of the following is someone with a vested interest in what IT has to offer? A A stakeholder B An internal service provider C A process manager D An external customer
A Explanation: Answer option A is correct. A stakeholder is someone with a vested interest in what IT has to offer. Stakeholders can be viewed individually/grouped together. For example, Allen Ryan in accounts payable is a stakeholder of IT and he has a computer, printer, and uses a variety of applications. He can likely be grouped with all of accounts payable to create a general picture as to the needs of that team. A corporate stakeholder is a party that can affect or be affected by the actions of the business as a whole. It defined stakeholders as "those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist." Answer option C is incorrect. The Process Manager is responsible for planning and coordinating all Process Management activities. He supports all parties involved in managing and improving processes, in particular the Process Owners. This role will also coordinate all Changes to processes, thereby making sure that all processes cooperate in a seamless way. Answer option D is incorrect. External customers are the customers outside of the organization. These may also include other customers in the chain of distribution. In an outsourced situation, external customers often refer to those outside the scope of the contract but still within the organization. External customers are those persons who come from the outside to fulfill their needs, i.e., the common people. Answer option B is incorrect. An internal service provider is embedded within a business unit e.g. one IT organization within each of the business units. The key factor is that the IT Services provide a source of competitive advantage in the market space the business exists in. Business functions such as finance, administration, logistics, human resources, and IT provide services required by various parts of the business. They are supported by overheads and are needed to operate strictly within the mandates of the business. Internal service providers have the benefit of tight coupling with their owner-customers, avoiding certain costs and risks associated with conducting business with external parties. The primary objectives of internal service providers are to achieve functional excellence and cost-effectiveness for their business units.
Q: Which of the following is a customer who works for the same business as the IT Service Provider? A An internal customer B An external customer C An internal service D A business function
A Explanation: Answer option A is correct. An internal customer is a customer who works for the same business as the IT Service Provider. This means if one department, individual, or process within an organization supplies to another department or individual within the same organization with goods, information, or services, then the latter is described as the internal customer of the former. Answer option B is incorrect. External customers are the customers outside of the organization. These may also include other customers in the chain of distribution. In an outsourced situation, external customers often refer to those outside the scope of the contract but still within the organization. External customers are those persons who come from the outside to fulfill their needs, i.e., the common people. Answer options C and D are incorrect. An internal service provider is embedded within a business unit e.g. one IT organization within each of the business units. The key factor is that the IT Services provide a source of competitive advantage in the market space the business exists in. Business functions such as finance, administration, logistics, human resources, and IT provide services required by various parts of the business. They are supported by overheads and are needed to operate strictly within the mandates of the business. Internal service providers have the benefit of tight coupling with their owner-customers, avoiding certain costs and risks associated with conducting business with external parties. The primary objectives of internal service providers are to achieve functional excellence and cost-effectiveness for their business units.
Q: Who "owns" ITIL? A The U.K. government B The Open Group C The U.S. government D Microsoft
A Explanation: Answer option A is correct. 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 Lesson 1.
Q: Which of the following parts of the Service Lifecycle considers the business outcomes and value creation as its principles? A Service Strategy B Service Transition C Service Design D Continual Service Improvement
A Explanation: Answer option A is correct. Service Strategy considers the business outcomes and value creation as its principles. Service Strategy is the center and origin point of the ITIL Service Lifecycle. It provides guidance on how to design, develop, and implement service management not only as an organizational capability but also as a strategic asset. Service Strategy provides guidance on clarification and prioritization of service provider investments in services. More generally, Service Strategy focuses on helping IT organizations improve and develop over the long term. In both cases, Service Strategy relies largely upon a market-driven approach. Service Strategy is useful in the framework of Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation, and Continual Service Improvement. Service Strategy ensures that organizations are in a position to deal with the costs and risks associated with their Service Portfolios. Service Strategy is set up for operational effectiveness as well as for distinctive performance. Decisions made with respect to Service Strategy have broad consequences including those with the delayed effect. Answer option C is incorrect. Service Design provides good practice guidance on the design of IT services, processes, and other aspects of the service management effort. It covers design principles and methods for converting strategic objectives into portfolios of services and service assets. The scope of Service Design is not limited to new services. Significantly, design within ITIL is understood to encompass all elements relevant to technology service delivery, rather than focusing solely on design of the technology itself. As such, Service Design addresses how a planned service solution interacts with the larger business and technical environments. Service management systems require supporting the service and processes, which interacts with the service, technology, and architecture required to support the service, and the supply chain required to support the planned service. Within ITIL, design work for an IT service is aggregated into a single Service Design Package (SDP). Service Design Packages (SDP), along with other information about services, is managed within the Service Catalog. Answer option B is incorrect. Service Transition relates to the delivery of services required by the business into live/operational use, and often encompasses the "project" side of IT rather than Business As Usual (BAU). It provides guidance for the development and improvement of capabilities for transitioning new and changed services into operations. Service Transition provides assistance on how the necessities of Service strategy determined in Service design, thus the necessities are effectively understood in Service operation while controlling the risks of failure and disruption. Service Transition provides assistance on managing the complication related to changes in services and service management processes, preventing undesired consequences while allowing for improvement. Assistance is provided on transferring the control of services between customers and service providers. Answer option D is incorrect. Continual Service Improvement (CSI) aligns and realigns IT Services to changing business needs by identifying and implementing improvements to the IT services that support the Business Processes. The perspective of CSI on improvement is the business perspective of service quality, even though CSI aims to improve process effectiveness, efficiency and cost effectiveness of the IT processes through the whole lifecycle. To manage improvement, CSI should clearly define what should be controlled and measured. Assistance is provided for linking improvement efforts and outcomes with Service Strategy, Design, and Transition. A closed-loop feedback system, based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model specified in ISO/IEC 20000, is established and capable of receiving inputs for change from any planning perspective. CSI needs to be treated just like any other service practice. There needs to be upfront planning, training and awareness, ongoing scheduling, roles created, ownership assigned, and activities identified to be successful. CSI must be planned and scheduled as process with defined activities, inputs, outputs, roles and reporting.
Q: What is defined as "delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the specific ownership of costs and risks"? A Service B Contract C Business agreement D Service agreement
A Explanation: Answer option A is correct. This is the ITIL definition of a service. The customers want to achieve the business objective (for example, by selling more books and therefore making more profit) without having to be concerned about how the technology enables this (the systems behind the website, credit-card processing, warehouse systems and so on).
Q: Processes provide transformation towards a goal. They make use of feedback for self-reinforcing and self-counteractive action to function as closed-loop systems. Which of the following are the characteristics of processes? Processes are measurable Processes have specific results Processes have customers Processes respond to specific events Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply. A 1, 2, and 3 B 1, 2, 3, and 4 C 2, 3, and 4 only D 1 and 2 E 3 and 4 only
A B D Explanation: Answer options D, A, and B are correct. The characteristics of processes are as follows: Processes are measurable: They are performance driven. Managers are required to measure cost, quality, and other variables whereas practitioners are concerned with duration and productivity. Processes have specific results: The reason processes exist is to deliver a specific result. The result has to be independently identifiable and countable. Processes have customers: Every process delivers its prime results to a customer or stakeholder. Processes respond to specific events: While a process can be iterative, it should be traceable to a definite trigger. Answer options E and C are incorrect. All the mentioned points are characteristics of processes.
Q: There are four commonly used terms when discussing service improvement outcomes, what are those? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply. A Return on Investment B Value on Investment C Service on Investment D Sale on Investment E Improvements F Benefits
A B E F Explanation: Answer options E, F, A, and B are correct. There are four commonly used terms when discussing service improvement outcomes, which are as follows: Improvements Benefits ROI (Return on Investment) VOI (Value on Investment) Much of the angst and confusion surrounding IT process improvement initiatives can be traced to the misuse of these terms. Below is the proper use: Improvements are outcomes that when compared to the previous state and shows a measurable increase in a desirable metric or decrease in an undesirable metric. Benefits are the gains achieved through realization of improvements, although not always expressed in monetary terms. ROI is the difference between the benefit achieved and the amount expended to achieve that benefit, expressed as a percentage. VOI are the extra value created by the establishment of benefits that comprise non-monetary or long-term outcomes. ROI is a sub-component of VOI.
Q: Which of the following is not a type of service? A Type 1: Internal Service Provider B Type 0: Domain Service Provider C Type 3: External Service Provider D Type 2: Shared Service Provider
B Explanation: Answer option B is correct. There is no such service provider as Type 0: Domain Service Provider. Business and service units are the two primary parties in the service management environment. Business units expose the service receiver side, which is in-charge for the implementation of business processes, whereas the service units are the service providers. These two units do not essentially have to be part of the matching organization or the identical legal unit. ITIL draws a distinction between the following three types of business models for service providers: Type 1: Internal Service Provider Type 2: Shared Service Provider Type 3: External Service Provider Even though most aspects of service management apply for all types, it is essential to distinguish between them. The domains of contracts, customers, competition, income, market, and strategy have a little different meaning for the different types.
Q: A service must provide which of the following to deliver business value? A The agreed-upon level of security B Sufficient capacity, the agreed-upon level of security, and alignment to the organization's project management methodology C Sufficient capacity and the agreed-upon level of security D The agreed-upon level of security and alignment to the organization's project management methodology
C Explanation: Answer option C is correct. 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.
Q: Which of these are valid service provider types according to ITIL? Internal Shared services Fully outsourced A 1 and 2 B 1 and 3 C 1, 2, and 3 D 2 and 3
C Explanation: Answer option C is correct. ITIL describes all three types of service provider. Type I providers are service providers that are dedicated to, and often embedded within, an individual business unit. Type II providers are a single department with a service catalog that is available to multiple business units. A Type III service provider is a service provider that provides IT services to external customers.
Q: Which of these represents the correct sequence of the service lifecycle? A Service design, service transition, CSI, service strategy, service operation B Service strategy, service transition, continual service improvement, service operation, service design C Service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, continual service improvement D Service design, service strategy, service transition, continual service improvement, service operation
C Explanation: Answer option C is correct. The service lifecycle starts with service strategy, which decides which services to offer; followed by design, which develops them; and transition, which delivers them to the operational environment. Service operations run the service, optimizing it where possible. Finally, continual service improvement seeks to improve effectiveness and efficiency of all the lifecycle stages and all of the processes.
Q: Which of the following is a way of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcome that customers wish to get without the control of specific costs and risks? A Service Desk B Functions C Processes D Service
D Explanation: Answer option D is correct. A service is a way of delivering value to customers by facilitating the outcome that customers wish to get without the control of specific costs and risks. It is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction. Outcomes are probable from the performance of tasks and are limited by the existence of certain constraints. A service facilitates outcomes by enhancing the performance and by reducing the clutch of constraints. The result is an increase in the possibility of desired outcomes. Its importance varies by product, industry, and customer; defective or broken merchandise can be exchanged, often only with a receipt and within a specified time frame. A service is normally an integral part of customers' value proposition. In their book Rules to Break and Laws to Follow, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, write that "customers have memories. They will remember you, whether you remember them or not." Further, "customer trust can be destroyed at once by a major service problem, or it can be undermined one day at a time, with a thousand small demonstrations of incompetence." Answer option B is incorrect. Functions are units of organizations specialized to execute specific types of work and also accountable for specific outcomes. They are independent with capabilities and resources required for their performance and outcomes. Capabilities contain work methods internal to the functions. Functions have their own body of knowledge. They provide structure and stability to organizations and provide a way of structuring organizations to apply the specialization standard. Functions define roles and the related authority and responsibility for a specific performance and outcomes. Functions have a tendency to optimize their work methods locally to focus on assigned outcomes. Answer option C is incorrect. Processes provide transformation towards a goal. They make use of feedback for self-reinforcing and self-counteractive action to function as closed-loop systems. It is important to consider the complete process or how one process fits into another. Process definitions describe actions, dependencies, and sequence. Answer option A is incorrect. Service Desk is a primary IT capability called for in IT Service Management (ITSM) as defined by the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). It is intended to provide a Single Point of Contact ("SPOC") to meet the communication needs of both Users and IT, and to satisfy both Customer and IT Provider objectives. ("User" refers to the actual user of the service, while "Customer" refers to the entity that is paying for service)
Q: Which of these statements about the ITIL framework is/are correct? ITIL provides guidance that supports problem solving, controlling costs, and risks and improvement. ITIL provides a mandated methodology to address the needs of project management and IT delivery in the business environment. A 2 only B Both C Neither D 1 only
D Explanation: Answer option D is correct. ITIL provides guidance and advice to be adapted to your own environment; it is not prescriptive and does not directly address project management.
Q: In the ITIL framework, what is a customer defined as? A A group of people who use IT services on a daily basis B Business users who manage projects C Third-party suppliers of services D Someone who buys goods or services
D Explanation: Answer option D is correct. The official ITIL glossary defines a customer as someone who buys goods or services. The customer of an IT service provider is the person or group who defines and agrees the service level targets.
Q: Which process is primarily supported by the analysis of Patterns of Business Activity (PBA)? A Capacity Management B Access Management C IT Financial Management D Demand Management
D Explanation: Answer option D is correct. There can be no planning of IT Service Delivery without understanding the expected demands for such services. The concept of Patterns of Business Activity (PBA) is introduced as part of the Demand Management process within Service Strategy. PBA is the primary source of information regarding the expected service demand. PBA analysis needs a watchful study of the customers business for actually understanding the customer demand cycle. Service management is faced with the task of discovering a continual balance between utilization and delivery of services. Demand management is used to calculate the demands for the service capacity in good times and thus, it controls the necessary capacity with the anticipated flexibility. Demand management is a significant process inside the service strategy lifecycle stage. The lack of demand management can become a hazard for the service provider as it cannot timely regulate the service demand. Answer option B is incorrect. Access Management is used to grant authorized users the right to use a service while preventing access to non-authorized users. The Access Management process essentially executes policies defined in IT Security Management. It is sometimes also referred to as Rights Management or Identity Management. It is part of Service Operation and the owner of Access Management is the Access Manager. Access Management is added as a new process to ITIL V3. The sub-processes of Access Management are as follows: Maintain Catalog of User Roles and Access Profiles Manage User Access Requests Answer option A is incorrect. Capacity management ensures that the service provider has, at all times, sufficient capacity so that the current and the future needs of the customer get fulfilled. The capacity management process is the focal point for all performance and capacity issues. The sub-processes of capacity management are as follows: Business capacity management Service capacity management Resource capacity management Answer option C is incorrect. IT Financial Management is the discipline of ensuring that the IT infrastructure is obtained at the most effective price (which does not necessarily mean cheapest) and calculating the cost of providing IT services so that an organization can understand the costs of its IT services. Costs are divided into costing units: Equipment; Software; Organization (staff, overtime; accommodation; transfer costs (costs of 3rd party service providers)). These costs are divided into Direct and Indirect costs and may be Capital or Ongoing. These costs may then be recovered from the customer of the service.
Q: Which of the following does not represent a stage in the Service Lifecycle? A Service Operation B Service Strategy C Continual Service Improvement D Service Implementation
D Explanation: Answer option D is correct. There is no such stage as Service Implementation in the Service Lifecycle. Answer options C, B, and A are incorrect. These are all stages of the Service Lifecycle. The two other lifecycle stages are "Service Design" and "Service Transition". The structure of ITIL is based on a Service Lifecycle. Each volume of ITIL is represented in the Service Lifecycle. Service Design, Service Transition, and Service Operation are progressive phases of the Lifecycle representing change and transformation. Service Strategy representing policies and objectives. Continual Service Improvement representing learning and improvement. Service Strategy (SS) is the axis around which the lifecycle is used to rotate. Service Design (SD), Service Transition (ST), and Service Operation (SO) implement strategy. Continual Service Improvement (CSI) helps to place and prioritize improvement programs and projects based on strategic objectives.