CISA Governance and Management of IT Practice Question
An IT manager needs to ensure that the organization's IT resources are used efficiently. Which of the following is the BEST metric to measure IT resource utilization?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse availability metrics (uptime) with utilization metrics, or they mistakenly equate operational outputs (tickets resolved, project completion) with resource efficiency, leading them to pick a superficially plausible but incorrect answer.
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
✓
Average server CPU utilization
Average server CPU utilization directly measures how much of the computing capacity is being consumed over time, making it the most relevant metric for assessing whether IT resources are being used efficiently. High or low CPU utilization can indicate over-provisioning, under-utilization, or potential performance bottlenecks, enabling the IT manager to optimize resource allocation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
System uptime percentage
Why it's wrong here
Measures availability, not resource utilization.
- ✓
Average server CPU utilization
Why this is correct
Directly measures how efficiently computing resources are used.
- ✗
Number of help desk tickets resolved per day
Why it's wrong here
Measures support productivity, not resource utilization.
- ✗
Percentage of projects completed on time
Why it's wrong here
Measures project management efficiency.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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