This ITIL4F practice question tests your understanding of itil management practices. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which THREE of the following are key activities of Problem Management?
Restoring service as quickly as possible
Why wrong: This is Incident Management.
Problem identification
Correct.
Creating known error records
Part of error control.
Authorizing changes
Why wrong: This is Change Enablement.
Root cause analysis
Part of problem control.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Problem identification
Problem identification (B) is a key activity of Problem Management because it involves detecting and logging problems before they cause major incidents. This proactive approach relies on analyzing incident trends, monitoring alerts, and reviewing known error data to identify underlying issues. Without problem identification, the process cannot initiate root cause analysis or create known error records.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Restoring service as quickly as possible
Why it's wrong here
This is Incident Management.
Problem identification
Why this is correct
Correct.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Creating known error records
Why this is correct
Part of error control.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Authorizing changes
Why it's wrong here
This is Change Enablement.
Root cause analysis
Why this is correct
Part of problem control.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is confusing the activities of Problem Management with those of Incident Management or Change Enablement, as candidates often mistakenly select 'restoring service' (an Incident Management goal) or 'authorizing changes' (a Change Enablement task) as Problem Management activities.
Detailed technical explanation
Problem Management operates through two sub-practices: reactive and proactive. Reactive Problem Management responds to incidents already occurring, while proactive Problem Management uses trend analysis and monitoring (e.g., from IT monitoring tools like Nagios or SolarWinds) to identify potential problems before they impact services. The creation of known error records (C) is a key activity that documents the root cause and workaround, enabling faster incident resolution and reducing mean time to repair (MTTR).
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the ITIL4F exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
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FAQ
ITIL Management Practices — This question tests ITIL Management Practices — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Problem identification — Problem identification (B) is a key activity of Problem Management because it involves detecting and logging problems before they cause major incidents. This proactive approach relies on analyzing incident trends, monitoring alerts, and reviewing known error data to identify underlying issues. Without problem identification, the process cannot initiate root cause analysis or create known error records.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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