ITIL4F ITIL Management Practices Practice Question
A company wants to improve how it handles problems. The problem manager is reviewing the current process and wants to ensure it aligns with the ITIL 4 Problem Management practice. Which TWO activities are part of the Problem Management practice? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is conflating Incident Management's rapid restoration of service with Problem Management's slower root cause investigation, since the same people often perform both.
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
✓
Investigating and diagnosing the root cause of incidents to determine how they can be eliminated or worked around.
Problem Management identifies potential and actual problems by analysing incident and other data, then investigates their root causes so they can be eliminated or worked around. Restoring service quickly belongs to Incident Management, negotiating targets belongs to Service Level Management, and managing configuration item lifecycles belongs to Service Configuration Management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Negotiating and agreeing on service level targets with customers.
Why it's wrong here
Agreeing service level targets belongs to the Service Level Management practice, which defines, documents, and manages service levels. Problem Management may use service level data to prioritize its work, but it does not negotiate targets with customers. Confusing these two practices would misplace accountability and weaken both the service level and problem resolution efforts.
- ✓
Investigating and diagnosing the root cause of incidents to determine how they can be eliminated or worked around.
Why this is correct
Root cause investigation is central to Problem Management. Once a problem is logged, the practice analyses available data to determine why incidents are occurring and how to prevent recurrence. This may result in a permanent fix or a workaround, but the diagnostic work itself is a defining activity of the practice in ITIL 4.
- ✓
Detecting and logging problems by analysing incident records and other sources for recurring or significant issues.
Why this is correct
Problem identification is a core activity of Problem Management. It involves analysing incident records, supplier information, and other data to find the underlying causes of incidents, then logging those problems so they can be investigated. Without this activity, problems would remain hidden and recurring incidents would continue to disrupt services and consume support resources.
- ✗
Restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible after an incident.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring normal service operation quickly is the purpose of Incident Management, not Problem Management. While both practices interact closely and often share staff, Problem Management focuses on identifying and eliminating the root cause of incidents, which may take much longer than the immediate restoration of service that Incident Management prioritizes.
- ✗
Managing the lifecycle of configuration items in the configuration management database.
Why it's wrong here
Managing configuration item lifecycles is the responsibility of the Service Configuration Management practice, which maintains the CMDB and ensures configuration data is accurate. Problem Management consumes configuration information to support diagnosis, but it does not own or manage the lifecycle of configuration items, so this activity does not belong to the practice.
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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 PeopleCert exam blueprint
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