ITIL4F ITIL Guiding Principles Practice Question
A service desk team notices that many incidents are related to password issues. They decide to implement a self-service password reset tool. Which ITIL guiding principle is being applied?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse 'automation' with 'simplification', leading them to choose 'Keep it simple and practical' (Option B) when the core action is actually replacing human effort with technology, not just reducing steps.
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
✓
Optimise and automate
Implementing a self-service password reset tool automates a repetitive manual process (password reset requests), which directly aligns with the ITIL guiding principle 'Optimise and automate'. The team is not just making the process simpler; they are replacing human intervention with technology to reduce incident volume and improve efficiency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Collaborate and promote visibility
Why it's wrong here
Collaboration is not the main focus here.
- ✗
Keep it simple and practical
Why it's wrong here
While the tool may simplify, the principle directly applied is optimization and automation.
- ✓
Optimise and automate
Why this is correct
Implementing self-service automation optimizes the process and reduces manual work.
- ✗
Progress iteratively with feedback
Why it's wrong here
Iterative progress is not the primary principle; automation is.
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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.