ITIL4F Key Concepts of IT Service Management Practice Question
This ITIL4F practice question tests your understanding of key concepts of it service management. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 company is experiencing a high number of recurring incidents due to a known error in a software application. Which ITIL practice should be used to permanently fix the underlying problem?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Problem management
Problem management is the ITIL practice responsible for identifying the root cause of incidents and implementing permanent fixes to prevent recurrence. Since the question describes a known error causing recurring incidents, problem management's role is to analyze the underlying problem and coordinate a permanent resolution, such as a code fix or configuration change.
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.
✓
Problem management
Why this is correct
Problem management focuses on diagnosing root causes and initiating permanent fixes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Incident management
Why it's wrong here
Incident management restores service quickly but does not address root causes permanently.
✗
Service request management
Why it's wrong here
Service request management handles standard requests, not problem resolution.
✗
Change enablement
Why it's wrong here
Change enablement implements changes but does not identify the need for a fix.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse incident management (restoring service quickly) with problem management (permanently fixing the root cause), especially when the question mentions 'recurring incidents' and 'known error' — the latter is a direct trigger for problem management, not incident management.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In ITIL 4, problem management includes both reactive and proactive activities: reactive problem management investigates incidents that have already occurred, while proactive problem management seeks to prevent incidents before they happen. The known error database (KEDB) is a key artifact used to document known errors and their workarounds, but a permanent fix requires root cause analysis (RCA) and a change request to implement the solution. In practice, problem management often collaborates with development teams to release a patch or update that eliminates the known error entirely.
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.
Key Concepts of IT Service Management — This question tests Key Concepts of IT Service Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Problem management — Problem management is the ITIL practice responsible for identifying the root cause of incidents and implementing permanent fixes to prevent recurrence. Since the question describes a known error causing recurring incidents, problem management's role is to analyze the underlying problem and coordinate a permanent resolution, such as a code fix or configuration change.
What should I do if I get this ITIL4F 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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