CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience
An IS auditor is reviewing capacity management practices. Which TWO indicators suggest that proactive capacity management is being performed effectively?
⚠ Common exam trap
CISA often tests the distinction between proactive and reactive activities, and candidates may confuse business continuity or cost analysis tasks with capacity management indicators.
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
✓
Monitoring resource utilization trends over time.
Option C is correct because proactive capacity management depends on continuously collecting and analyzing resource utilization metrics (CPU, memory, disk, network, I/O) over time to identify growth trends and forecast future demand before performance degrades. Option D is correct because configuring threshold alerts for CPU, memory, and disk usage enables early detection of approaching capacity limits, allowing remediation actions to be taken before service levels are impacted. Together, trend monitoring and threshold alerting are the hallmarks of a proactive, forecast-driven capacity management process. Option A is not correct because a BIA is a business continuity/disaster recovery activity that identifies critical processes and recovery requirements, not a capacity management indicator. Option B is not correct because reviewing backup logs addresses backup integrity and recoverability, which is unrelated to capacity planning. Option E is not correct because analyzing historical cost data supports IT financial management and budgeting, not the technical forecasting of resource capacity needs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Conducting business impact analysis (BIA) annually.
Why it's wrong here
A BIA identifies critical business processes and recovery priorities; it does not measure resource utilisation trends or forecast demand against thresholds. It is tempting because BIA underpins continuity planning, and it would be the right choice when scoping recovery objectives, not when evidencing proactive capacity management.
- ✗
Reviewing backup logs for errors.
Why it's wrong here
Backup logs evidence data protection and recoverability, not the trend analysis, forecasting or threshold monitoring that capacity management requires. Reviewing them is tempting because log review is a genuine audit technique, and it would be correct when verifying backup completeness or restoration success.
- ✓
Monitoring resource utilization trends over time.
Why this is correct
Tracking utilisation trends over time reveals gradual growth before thresholds are breached, enabling forecasting and timely scaling. This satisfies the stem's requirement for proactive capacity management, since trend analysis anticipates future demand rather than reacting to incidents. Point-in-time monitoring alone would be reactive, whereas historical baselines support informed planning decisions.
- ✓
Setting threshold alerts for CPU, memory, and disk usage.
Why this is correct
Threshold alerts on CPU, memory and disk provide early warning before saturation, enabling intervention ahead of user impact. This satisfies the stem's requirement for proactive capacity management, since monitoring triggers action rather than merely recording historical utilisation after degradation has already occurred.
- ✗
Analyzing historical cost data for IT infrastructure.
Why it's wrong here
Historical cost data reflects past spending, not whether capacity is forecast, monitored and provisioned ahead of demand. It is tempting because cost trends can hint at utilisation growth, and it would be correct when the indicator sought is budget or chargeback analysis rather than proactive capacity planning.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CISA exam.