ITIL4F ITIL Service Value System Practice Question
An organisation's IT service desk is receiving a high volume of calls about users being unable to log in to the payroll system following a scheduled maintenance window. According to ITIL 4, what type of record should be raised?
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
✓
An incident record, as users are experiencing an unplanned service interruption
An unplanned interruption to a service is an incident. Even though it occurred after maintenance, users are now unable to access the service, which constitutes a loss of service — the definition of an incident. Option A is wrong because a problem is the underlying cause of incidents, which is investigated after incidents are logged. Option C is wrong because a change request is used to modify IT infrastructure, not to record service disruptions. Option D is wrong because a service request is for pre-approved, routine fulfilments.
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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A problem record, to investigate the root cause of the login failure
Why it's wrong here
A problem record is initiated to identify the underlying cause of one or more incidents, aiming to prevent recurrence or minimize impact. While investigating the root cause of login failures is crucial for long-term stability, the immediate priority when users are experiencing an unplanned service interruption is to restore service as quickly as possible. Therefore, an incident record must be raised first to manage the service disruption before a problem record is created for deeper analysis.
- ✓
An incident record, as users are experiencing an unplanned service interruption
Why this is correct
An incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to a service or a reduction in the quality of a service. When users cannot access the payroll system due to login failures, they are experiencing an unplanned service interruption, directly aligning with the definition of an incident. The primary objective of incident management is to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimize the adverse impact on business operations.
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A change request, to reverse the changes made during the maintenance window
Why it's wrong here
A change request, or Request for Change (RFC), is a formal proposal for an alteration to a service, product, or system, typically pre-approved and planned. While reversing a recent change might be a potential resolution strategy for the login failures, the initial and immediate action for an unplanned service disruption is to log it as an incident. The change enablement practice is for *planned* modifications, not for the initial recording of an *unplanned* service outage.
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A service request, to fulfil the users' need to access the payroll system
Why it's wrong here
A service request is a formal request from a user for something standard and pre-defined, such as a password reset, information, or access to a specific IT service. The inability to log into the payroll system due to an unplanned failure is a disruption to an existing service, not a routine request for a new service or standard fulfillment. Therefore, it constitutes an incident, not a service request, as it represents an unplanned degradation of service.
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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.