220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A technician is implementing a planned change that has been approved by the CAB. The change management plan includes a backout plan. What should the backout plan specify?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse a backout plan with troubleshooting steps or success criteria, but the backout plan is strictly about reverting to a known good state, not diagnosing or documenting the change's outcome.
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 steps to return the system to its original state if the change fails
A backout plan is a predefined set of steps designed to revert a system to its pre-change state if the implementation fails or causes unexpected issues. This ensures business continuity by minimizing downtime and data loss, aligning with the change management process's goal of controlling risk. The plan must be specific and testable, not just a conceptual idea.
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 steps to return the system to its original state if the change fails
Why this is correct
A backout plan is a pre-defined set of rollback actions that restore the system to its pre-change baseline if the implementation fails mid-deployment. It specifically includes steps like reverting to a previous build, restoring database backups, and reactivating prior configuration files. This ensures that operations can resume with minimal downtime while the failed change is analyzed later.
- ✗
The reasons the change might fail and who approved it
Why it's wrong here
The probability of failure and the names of approvers are artifacts of a change request's risk assessment and authorization workflow, not components of a backout plan. A backout plan does not justify why the change was approved or predict failure causes; it assumes a failure may occur and provides a method to roll back. Approval details belong in the change record for audit and governance purposes.
- ✗
The new configuration settings after successful implementation
Why it's wrong here
The intended post-implementation state describing new configuration parameters, software versions, or hardware settings is the target state of the change. A backout plan is concerned with the transient, reversed state that occurs only if the change must be abandoned. Documenting the target state helps verify success, but it does not dictate how to undo partial changes.
- ✗
The troubleshooting steps to diagnose issues during the change
Why it's wrong here
Troubleshooting is an iterative diagnostic process used to identify and resolve issues while the change remains in place, such as examining log files or testing network connectivity. In contrast, a backout plan is a deterministic set of steps executed to abandon the change and restore the previous known-good condition. If troubleshooting fails, the backout plan becomes the fallback to protect availability.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Troubleshoot: iOS Common Issues
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.
Key term
Business continuity
Business continuity is the capability of an organization to continue delivering essential services during and after a disruptive event.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on 220-1102
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A technician is performing a scheduled task to decommission an old server. The change was approved as a standard change. During the process, the technician accidentally unplugs a network cable from a different, active server. What should the technician do first?
easy- A.Plug the cable back in and continue the decommission
- ✓ B.Report the incident to the manager and follow the backout plan
- C.Document the mistake in the change log and continue
- D.Power down the old server immediately to prevent further mistakes
Why B: The technician must immediately report the incident to the manager and follow the backout plan. This aligns with the change management process: any deviation from the approved change, especially one that impacts an active server, requires escalation and a controlled rollback to restore service and prevent further disruption. The backout plan is specifically designed for such scenarios to revert changes safely.
Variation 2. A technician is replacing a server's power supply under an approved change. After removing the old power supply, the technician discovers the new unit has a different connector type and cannot be installed. What should the technician do first?
medium- ✓ A.Reinstall the old power supply and report the issue
- B.Proceed with installation using adapter cables
- C.Contact the supervisor to initiate an emergency change
- D.Order the correct power supply and leave the server offline
Why A: The technician discovered a hardware incompatibility (different connector type) during a planned change. Per change management best practices, if a planned change cannot be completed as approved, the technician must back out the change by reinstalling the old power supply to restore the server to its original state, then report the issue so the change can be properly re-evaluated and corrected. This prevents unauthorized modifications and ensures the change process remains controlled.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 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 220-1102 exam.