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CISA Practice Question: Which TWO of the following are guiding principles…
Which TWO of the following are guiding principles of ITIL 4? (Select TWO)
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
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Progress iteratively with feedback
ITIL 4 has seven guiding principles. 'Focus on value' and 'Progress iteratively with feedback' are two of them. 'Centralize decision making' and 'Standardize services' are not ITIL 4 principles, and 'Automate everything' is not a principle.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Progress iteratively with feedback
Why this is correct
Progress iteratively with feedback is an ITIL 4 guiding principle advocating small, incremental improvements cycled with stakeholder feedback. It replaces big-bang change with continuous adjustment, reducing risk and enabling services to evolve as requirements and evidence emerge.
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Automate everything
Why it's wrong here
"Automate everything" is not one of ITIL 4's seven guiding principles; the closest, "optimise and automate", requires automating only after simplifying and eliminating waste, so blanket automation contradicts it. It tempts because automation genuinely reduces manual effort, making it a valid answer when a question asks about improving service efficiency rather than naming ITIL 4 principles.
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Focus on value
Why this is correct
Focus on value is an ITIL 4 guiding principle directing every activity toward outcomes stakeholders perceive as worthwhile. It shapes decisions about service design, improvement and resource allocation, ensuring effort delivers measurable benefit rather than mere process compliance.
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Standardize services
Why it's wrong here
ITIL 4's guiding principles are focus on value, start where you are, progress iteratively with feedback, collaborate and promote visibility, think and work holistically, keep it simple and practical, and optimise and automate. Standardising services is a service design practice activity, not a guiding principle.
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Centralize decision making
Why it's wrong here
Centralising decision making contradicts ITIL 4's guiding principle of "collaborate and promote visibility", which distributes authority to where value is created. It is tempting because centralised governance genuinely suits regulatory compliance or standardising controls across business units, but ITIL 4 guiding principles describe culture and improvement approach, not organisational structure.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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