220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A technician needs to replace a failed hard drive on a server that is under warranty. The replacement drive is an identical model and the procedure is documented and approved in advance. Which type of change is this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse a standard change with a normal change because both involve documentation and approval, but the key distinction is that standard changes are pre-approved and low-risk, while normal changes require a CAB review for each instance.
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
✓
Standard change
This is a standard change because it is a pre-approved, low-risk, and well-documented procedure. The replacement drive is identical, the steps are documented, and approval was obtained in advance, which matches the definition of a standard change in ITIL change management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Normal change
Why it's wrong here
A normal change is not pre-approved and requires review by the Change Advisory Board (CAB), which introduces delay and is inappropriate for a routine, low-risk task like replacing a failed hard drive. Because this replacement is a well-understood procedure with minimal impact, it does not meet the threshold for a normal change.
- ✓
Standard change
Why this is correct
A standard change is a pre-approved, low-risk change that follows a documented procedure, making it ideal for replacing a failed hard drive under warranty. The warranty ensures a clear, vendor-supported path, and the task is repetitive enough to be executed without calling a CAB meeting. This classification is the correct one for this scenario.
- ✗
Emergency change
Why it's wrong here
An emergency change is reserved for critical, unplanned incidents that need immediate implementation to restore service, often bypassing standard approval processes. While a failed hard drive can be urgent, it does not qualify as an emergency because it is a predictable failure with a standard, documented replacement procedure, and the system may even have redundancy in place.
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Service request
Why it's wrong here
A service request is a user-initiated request for something like access, information, or a new service, not an operational infrastructure task. Replacing a failed hardware component is a change to the IT infrastructure, not a request for a service, so it is not a service request.
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