The answer is no, because the allowed downtime for a 99.9% uptime SLA is approximately 43 minutes, and the actual outage of 45 minutes exceeds that threshold. This calculation is based on the fundamental concept that 99.9% uptime guarantees only 0.1% downtime per month; for a 30-day month with 43,200 total minutes, 0.1% equals 43.2 minutes, meaning any outage beyond that violates the SLA. On the CISA exam, this type of question tests your ability to apply SLA uptime calculation to real-world compliance scenarios, often appearing in the IT governance and service management domain. A common trap is forgetting to convert the percentage to minutes correctly or using a 31-day month instead of 30, so always confirm the month length. Memory tip: think of 99.9% as “three nines” and remember that 0.1% of 43,200 minutes is just over 43 minutes—if the outage is longer than 43 minutes, the SLA is broken.
CISA Governance and Management of IT Practice Question
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of governance and management of it. 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.
An IT manager is reviewing the service level agreements (SLAs) for a cloud-based email service. The SLA guarantees 99.9% uptime per month. The service experienced an outage of 45 minutes in a 30-day month. Did the service meet the SLA?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
No, because the allowed downtime for 99.9% uptime is approximately 43 minutes.
The SLA guarantees 99.9% uptime per month. For a 30-day month (43,200 minutes), 99.9% uptime allows only 0.1% downtime, which is 43.2 minutes. The actual outage of 45 minutes exceeds this threshold, so the SLA was not met. Option D correctly identifies the allowed downtime as approximately 43 minutes.
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.
✗
Yes, because 45 minutes is within 0.1% of the total time.
Why it's wrong here
0.1% of 30 days is 43.2 minutes, so 45 minutes exceeds the allowed downtime.
✗
Yes, because the SLA is calculated per day, not per month.
Why it's wrong here
SLAs are typically calculated over the billing period; per-day calculation would be even stricter.
✗
No, because any downtime exceeding 30 minutes is a violation.
Why it's wrong here
The SLA does not specify a 30-minute threshold; it is based on percentage.
✓
No, because the allowed downtime for 99.9% uptime is approximately 43 minutes.
Why this is correct
The SLA allows 43.2 minutes; 45 minutes is over the limit.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may incorrectly round 43.2 minutes to 43 minutes and then assume 45 minutes is close enough, or they may mistakenly think 0.1% of a month is 30 minutes, leading them to choose option C.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Uptime calculations are based on total minutes in the period: for a 30-day month, total minutes = 30 × 24 × 60 = 43,200. Allowed downtime for 99.9% uptime = 43,200 × (1 - 0.999) = 43.2 minutes. In real-world SLAs, providers often use monthly uptime percentages, and exceeding the allowed downtime may trigger service credits. Note that some SLAs exclude planned maintenance or use a rolling 30-day window, but this question assumes a straightforward monthly calculation.
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 practitioner preparing for the CISA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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.
Governance and Management of IT — This question tests Governance and Management of IT — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: No, because the allowed downtime for 99.9% uptime is approximately 43 minutes. — The SLA guarantees 99.9% uptime per month. For a 30-day month (43,200 minutes), 99.9% uptime allows only 0.1% downtime, which is 43.2 minutes. The actual outage of 45 minutes exceeds this threshold, so the SLA was not met. Option D correctly identifies the allowed downtime as approximately 43 minutes.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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