220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A technician is planning to apply a critical security patch to a production file server. The patch has been fully tested in a lab environment and the Change Advisory Board (CAB) has approved the change. The maintenance window begins in one hour. According to change management best practices, which of the following should the technician do NEXT?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'approved' with 'ready to execute' and skip the critical communication step, or they assume a backout plan can be created after approval, when it must be part of the original change request documentation.
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
✓
Notify all users that the server will be unavailable.
Change management best practices require notifying stakeholders—including users—before implementing an approved change, even within a maintenance window. The patch has been tested and approved by the CAB, so the next operational step is to communicate the planned downtime to users so they can save work and log off, preventing data loss or corruption. This notification aligns with the 'communicate and coordinate' phase of the change management process.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Notify all users that the server will be unavailable.
Why this is correct
Notifying users is a required communication step in change management, ensuring they can save work and plan around the scheduled downtime. This minimizes business disruption and aligns with the approved maintenance window by setting expectations for the file server's unavailability. Without prior notice, users may lose unsaved data or experience unexpected interruptions during critical operations.
- ✗
Begin the patch installation immediately to ensure it completes within the window.
Why it's wrong here
Starting the patch installation before the approved change window violates change control policy and can impact active users who still expect the file server to be available. Early implementation also reduces the effective time for troubleshooting if the patch causes unexpected behavior, and any rollback may extend beyond the scheduled downtime. The window is specifically reserved for this work, so deviation is not permitted without re-approval.
- ✗
Send a reminder to the CAB that the change is about to be implemented.
Why it's wrong here
The CAB has already reviewed and approved the change; sending a reminder to them at implementation time adds no value because they are not part of the operational execution team. Their involvement is limited to evaluation and approval, and further notification to the CAB is not a predefined step in the change implementation process. Any required post-implementation review is separate and conducted after the patch is installed.
- ✗
Prepare a detailed backout plan in case the patch fails.
Why it's wrong here
A detailed backout plan is a mandatory artifact of the change request and must be created and reviewed during the planning phase, not deferred until just before implementation. Preparing it now would be too late to influence the approval decision, and the plan should already be documented in the change record. The immediate action after approval is to follow the approved implementation and communication plan, not to create missing documentation.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Password Managers and Best Practices
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
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
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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.