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220-1102 Practice Question: A small business has no formal change management…
A small business has no formal change management process. A technician installs a new antivirus program on a server, which later conflicts with the existing backup software, causing backups to fail. Which principle of change management was most clearly violated?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between formal processes (like CAB approval or staging environments) and the fundamental principle of communication and documentation, leading candidates to overthink and select a more 'technical' or 'formal' answer when the scenario clearly lacks any formal structure.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The change was not documented or communicated to stakeholders
The scenario describes a small business with no formal change management process. The core failure is that the technician installed new antivirus software without documenting the change or communicating it to stakeholders (such as the backup administrator or other IT staff). If the change had been documented and communicated, the potential conflict with the existing backup software could have been identified and avoided. This directly violates the principle that all changes must be documented and communicated to relevant parties, even in the absence of a formal CAB or staging environment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The change was not tested in a staging environment
Why it's wrong here
While testing changes in a dedicated staging environment is a critical best practice for minimizing risk, its absence does not represent the most fundamental violation when a business lacks any formal change management process. Many small businesses may not possess the resources or infrastructure to maintain a separate staging environment. The core issue is the complete absence of a structured approach, of which testing is merely one component.
- ✗
The change was not approved by the change advisory board
Why it's wrong here
The absence of approval by a Change Advisory Board (CAB) is not the primary violation, especially since a small business often lacks the organizational structure to establish a formal CAB. While the principle of seeking appropriate authorization for changes is crucial, the fundamental problem described is the complete lack of any structured process that would even define who or what entity is responsible for approving changes.
- ✓
The change was not documented or communicated to stakeholders
Why this is correct
Documentation and communication are foundational elements of even the most rudimentary change management practices, regardless of business size. Without a record of what was changed, when, and by whom, troubleshooting becomes significantly more challenging, and the impact on other systems or users remains unknown. Failing to document or communicate changes directly violates the core principle of transparency and control inherent in any structured approach to modifications.
- ✗
The technician did not create a rollback plan
Why it's wrong here
While creating a comprehensive rollback plan is an essential risk mitigation strategy within any well-defined change management framework, its absence is a symptom rather than the root cause of the problem described. The fundamental issue is the complete lack of a formal process that would mandate the creation and review of such a plan, along with other critical steps like documentation and approval.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Change Management Procedures
Key term
Antivirus
Antivirus is software that detects, prevents, and removes malicious software (malware) from a computer or network.
Key term
Change management
Change management is the structured process of planning, approving, implementing, and reviewing changes to IT systems to minimize risk and disruption.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.