ITIL4F Key Concepts of ITIL 4 Practice Question
A major incident occurs when the database server fails. The team applies a fix to restore service. Later, they investigate the root cause and implement a permanent solution. Which ITIL 4 practices are involved?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse the 'fix to restore service' (Incident Management) with 'permanent solution' (Problem Management) and incorrectly select Change Management (Option B) because they think any fix requires a change, but the question specifically asks for the practices involved in the restoration and root cause investigation, not the change authorization process.
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
✓
Incident Management and Problem Management
The scenario describes two distinct ITIL 4 practices: Incident Management (restoring service quickly via a fix) and Problem Management (investigating the root cause and implementing a permanent solution). Incident Management focuses on minimizing impact by restoring normal service operation, while Problem Management aims to identify and eliminate the underlying cause to prevent recurrence.
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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Service Request Management and Problem Management
Why it's wrong here
Service Request Management focuses on fulfilling pre-defined user requests, such as password resets or software installations, which are planned and routine activities. A database server failure represents an unplanned disruption requiring immediate restoration, not a routine request. While Problem Management is correctly associated with investigating the root cause, its pairing with Service Request Management makes this option incorrect for a major incident scenario.
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Incident Management and Change Management
Why it's wrong here
Incident Management is indeed critical for restoring service after a database failure. However, Change Management primarily governs the planned addition, modification, or removal of IT services or components to minimize risk. While a change might have triggered the incident or a change might be needed to implement a permanent fix, Change Management itself is not the practice directly responsible for the immediate response to an unplanned outage or the subsequent root cause analysis.
- ✓
Incident Management and Problem Management
Why this is correct
Incident Management is the practice specifically designed to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible following an unplanned disruption, such as a database server failure. Concurrently, Problem Management is crucial for identifying the root causes of incidents, managing workarounds, and preventing recurrence. A major incident invariably triggers both practices: immediate restoration via Incident Management and subsequent investigation via Problem Management.
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Problem Management and Service Desk
Why it's wrong here
Problem Management is correctly identified as the practice for investigating the underlying causes of incidents to prevent their recurrence. However, the Service Desk is a function, not a management practice, primarily acting as the single point of contact for users to log incidents and service requests. While the Service Desk would log the major incident, it does not directly perform the technical restoration or the in-depth root cause analysis that constitutes the core activities of Incident and Problem Management practices.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.