ITIL4F ITIL Management Practices Practice Question
An organization is implementing a new IT service. Which practice is responsible for negotiating and agreeing on service level targets with the customer?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Service Level Management with Supplier Management, mistakenly thinking that negotiating targets with external vendors is the same as negotiating with the customer, but ITIL clearly separates these practices: Service Level Management handles customer-facing SLAs, while Supplier Management handles supplier contracts that support those SLAs.
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
✓
Service Level Management
Service Level Management is the ITIL practice responsible for negotiating, agreeing, and documenting service level targets with the customer, ensuring that the service provider delivers measurable performance that meets business needs. This practice defines, monitors, and reports on service level agreements (SLAs), operational level agreements (OLAs), and underpinning contracts, directly linking customer expectations to technical metrics such as availability, response time, and throughput.
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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Change Enablement
Why it's wrong here
While implementing a new IT service certainly involves changes that would be managed by Change Enablement (e.g., deploying new infrastructure or software), this practice focuses on the authorization and scheduling of those changes to minimize risk and disruption. It does not encompass the crucial activity of defining, negotiating, or agreeing upon the performance targets and responsibilities with customers, which are core to Service Level Agreements for the new service.
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Supplier Management
Why it's wrong here
Supplier Management is primarily concerned with establishing and managing relationships with external third parties who provide goods or services necessary for the organization's own service delivery. While a new IT service might rely on external suppliers, this practice focuses on contracts and performance with those suppliers, not on the negotiation and agreement of service levels with the organization's customers for the new service itself.
- ✓
Service Level Management
Why this is correct
Service Level Management is the dedicated practice responsible for defining, documenting, and agreeing upon service levels with customers for new and existing services. When implementing a new IT service, this practice ensures that realistic and measurable performance targets are established, negotiated, and formally agreed upon with stakeholders, forming the basis for ongoing service delivery and improvement. It bridges the gap between customer expectations and service provider capabilities.
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Service Desk
Why it's wrong here
The Service Desk serves as the single point of contact for users, primarily handling incidents, service requests, and providing information. While the Service Desk operates within the framework defined by Service Level Agreements, its role is operational support and user interaction, not the strategic negotiation, definition, or formal agreement of the service level targets themselves when a new IT service is being introduced.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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