ITIL4F ITIL Guiding Principles Practice Question
A large organization is planning a major digital transformation initiative. The CIO wants to ensure that the transformation is approached in a way that balances speed, cost, and quality while managing risks. The organization has a limited budget and cannot afford to pursue every improvement idea at once. Which TWO of the following actions best demonstrate the application of the ITIL guiding principle 'Optimize and automate'? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that 'Optimize and automate' means automate everything as quickly as possible, when the principle actually requires optimization first and selective, phased automation.
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
✓
Before automating a manual approval workflow, the team analyzes the workflow to remove unnecessary steps and streamline the process.
The 'Optimize and automate' principle advises organizations to optimize processes before automating them and to apply automation where it is most beneficial. Analyzing and simplifying a workflow before automation ensures efficiency, while a phased approach starting with high-volume, repetitive tasks maximizes return and minimizes risk. Automating without optimization or avoiding automation entirely fails to apply the principle effectively.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The organization implements automation only for the most complex, low-volume tasks that are poorly understood and frequently change.
Why it's wrong here
Automating complex, low-volume, poorly understood tasks is generally not advised, as it can be costly and error-prone. The principle suggests optimizing and automating where it adds most value, often starting with simple, repetitive, high-volume tasks. This option contradicts the recommended approach and would likely waste resources.
- ✗
The organization automates every manual task it can identify, regardless of whether the task is efficient or necessary, to reduce human effort.
Why it's wrong here
Automating every manual task without first assessing its value or efficiency contradicts 'Optimize and automate'. Automating inefficient or unnecessary tasks can amplify waste and increase complexity. The principle explicitly advises optimizing before automating, so blind automation is the opposite of the intended behavior.
- ✓
Before automating a manual approval workflow, the team analyzes the workflow to remove unnecessary steps and streamline the process.
Why this is correct
Optimize and automate means optimizing human and technical resources before automating. Analyzing and simplifying a manual approval workflow before automating it ensures that automation is applied to an efficient process, not a wasteful one. This directly follows the principle's guidance to optimize first, then automate, thereby maximizing the value of automation efforts.
- ✓
The team uses a phased approach to automation, starting with high-volume, repetitive tasks that are well understood and stable.
Why this is correct
Optimize and automate encourages using automation where it is most effective, such as for high-volume, repetitive tasks. A phased approach allows the organization to learn and adjust, and starting with stable, well-understood tasks reduces risk. This aligns with the principle's guidance to automate what is appropriate and to do so incrementally.
- ✗
The organization decides to keep all manual processes unchanged to avoid the risk of automation failures and job displacement.
Why it's wrong here
Refusing to automate at all ignores the 'Optimize and automate' principle. While risk management is important, the principle encourages using automation to improve efficiency and free up human resources for more complex work. Avoiding automation entirely can lead to stagnation and missed opportunities for improvement.
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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
This ITIL4F practice question is part of Courseiva's free PeopleCert certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ITIL4F exam.