ITIL4F ITIL Management Practices Practice Question
A software company is experiencing frequent production outages due to unauthorized changes. Which practice should be implemented to improve control over changes?
⚠ Common exam trap
PeopleCert often tests the distinction between 'doing the change' (Deployment/Release Management) and 'controlling the change' (Change Enablement), causing candidates to confuse the operational execution of changes with the governance and authorization of changes.
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
✓
Change Enablement
Change Enablement (option C) is the correct practice because it specifically governs the lifecycle of changes, including authorization, review, and control of changes to prevent unauthorized modifications. In a software company experiencing production outages due to unauthorized changes, implementing Change Enablement ensures that every change is assessed, approved, and logged before deployment, directly addressing the root cause of the outages.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Deployment Management
Why it's wrong here
Deployment Management is the practice responsible for moving new or changed hardware, software, documentation, processes, or any other component to live environments. Its primary focus is on the technical steps of deployment, such as scheduling, packaging, and installation, ensuring minimal disruption during the transition. This practice does not encompass the governance or authorization process that determines if a change should proceed, which is crucial for preventing unauthorized or risky modifications.
- ✗
Release Management
Why it's wrong here
Release Management focuses on making new and changed services and features available for use, often by grouping multiple changes into a single release package. This practice ensures that a coherent set of service components is delivered together, tested, and deployed to users. While it manages the deployment of these packages, its primary role is not the individual authorization and review of each underlying change request, nor does it directly govern the decision to implement a specific change.
- ✓
Change Enablement
Why this is correct
Change Enablement is the practice responsible for maximizing the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring risks are properly assessed, authorizing changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule. It establishes the policies and procedures for evaluating, approving, and scheduling changes, thereby preventing unauthorized modifications and reducing the likelihood of production outages caused by poorly managed changes. This practice directly addresses the need for control and authorization.
- ✗
Service Validation and Testing
Why it's wrong here
Service Validation and Testing is the practice of ensuring that new or changed services, products, or components meet defined requirements and expectations, and that they will function as expected in the target environment. This involves rigorous testing across various stages, including functional, performance, and user acceptance testing, to verify the quality and fitness for purpose. While critical for quality assurance, this practice focuses on verifying the outcome of a change, not on the initial decision-making and authorization process that governs whether a change should be implemented at all.
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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.