Question 455 of 750

Documentation and Change Management →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The correct first step is to document the unauthorized change and escalate it to the change advisory board. This is because change management policy dictates that any modification made without an approved record—such as a software update causing an accounting application to crash—must be formally logged and reported to the CAB for impact assessment and root cause analysis before any remediation begins. On the CompTIA A+ Core 2 220-1202 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of unauthorized change detection and escalation procedures, often appearing as a trap where test-takers jump to restore or reinstall the application, which violates change control protocols and could introduce further risk. A common memory tip is to remember the acronym “D.E.A.R.”: Document, Escalate, Assess, Remediate—always document and escalate before touching the system.

220-1102 Documentation and Change Management Practice Question

This 220-1202 practice question tests your understanding of documentation and change management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

A customer reports that after a recent software update, their accounting application crashes every time they try to generate a report. The technician checks the change log and finds no record of any update being approved for that application. What should the technician do first?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

Question 1easymultiple choice

Full question →

A
Restore the application from the last known good backup.
Why wrong: Restoring without documenting the unauthorized change bypasses the change management process and may hide the root cause.
B
Document the unauthorized change and escalate it to the change advisory board.
Proper change management requires documenting unauthorized changes and escalating them for review before any corrective action is taken.
C
Uninstall the update and reinstall the previous version of the application.
Why wrong: Reversing the change without following the change management process can lead to inconsistency and lack of accountability.
D
Contact the software vendor to request a patch for the crash.
Why wrong: Contacting the vendor is premature; the first step is to address the unauthorized change internally.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Document the unauthorized change and escalate it to the change advisory board.

The technician found an unauthorized change (the update) with no approval record. The first step in change management is to document and escalate the unauthorized change to the Change Advisory Board (CAB) to assess impact, determine root cause, and authorize remediation. Restoring or reinstalling without CAB approval could violate change control policies and introduce additional risks.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Restore the application from the last known good backup.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring without documenting the unauthorized change bypasses the change management process and may hide the root cause.
✓
Document the unauthorized change and escalate it to the change advisory board.
Why this is correct
Proper change management requires documenting unauthorized changes and escalating them for review before any corrective action is taken.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Uninstall the update and reinstall the previous version of the application.
Why it's wrong here
Reversing the change without following the change management process can lead to inconsistency and lack of accountability.
✗
Contact the software vendor to request a patch for the crash.
Why it's wrong here
Contacting the vendor is premature; the first step is to address the unauthorized change internally.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

CompTIA often tests the distinction between technical troubleshooting and process compliance, trapping candidates who jump to a technical fix (restore, uninstall, or patch) instead of following the documented change management procedure.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

In ITIL-based change management, an unauthorized change is a deviation from the approved baseline that must be logged as an incident or problem record. The CAB evaluates the change's impact on the configuration item (CI) and related services before any corrective action is taken. This process ensures that rollback or remediation does not violate service-level agreements (SLAs) or introduce security vulnerabilities, as the unauthorized update may have altered registry keys, DLL versions, or database schemas that require coordinated recovery.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this 220-1202 question test?

Documentation and Change Management — This question tests Documentation and Change Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Document the unauthorized change and escalate it to the change advisory board. — The technician found an unauthorized change (the update) with no approval record. The first step in change management is to document and escalate the unauthorized change to the Change Advisory Board (CAB) to assess impact, determine root cause, and authorize remediation. Restoring or reinstalling without CAB approval could violate change control policies and introduce additional risks.

What should I do if I get this 220-1202 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways this is tested on 220-1202

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 user reports that after a recent software update, their inventory management application crashes on launch. The change log shows the update was applied last night by a junior technician. What is the first step the technician should take according to change management best practices?

easy

A.Restore the user’s system from a backup taken before the update.
✓ B.Check the change log for the update details and rollback procedure.
C.Uninstall the update immediately to restore functionality.
D.Escalate the issue to the IT manager for a decision.

Why B: Option B is correct because change management best practices require that before any action is taken, the technician should first consult the change log to understand what was changed and identify the documented rollback procedure. This ensures a controlled, reversible approach rather than risking data loss or further instability by acting without full knowledge of the update's scope.

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