ITIL4F Practice Question: Event types in Monitoring and Event Management
Which TWO of the following are types of events in Monitoring and Event Management?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the ITIL event types (Informational, Warning, Exception) with other ITIL practices (Incident, Problem, Service Request), leading them to incorrectly select Incident or Problem as event types.
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
✓
Informational
In Monitoring and Event Management, events are classified by their significance and required action, and the two event types here are Informational (D) and Warning (E). An Informational event (D) is a normal, expected notification that requires no action, such as a device coming online or a routine job completing, so it is a valid event type. A Warning event (E) signals that a threshold is approaching or a condition is abnormal but service is not yet failed, so it alerts staff to investigate before an incident occurs, making it a valid event type. By contrast, Incident (A) is a separate ITIL practice/record for an unplanned interruption or degradation of service, Problem (B) is the practice/record for the underlying root cause of one or more incidents, and Service request (C) is a user-initiated request handled by the Request Management practice; none of these are event types in Monitoring and Event Management.
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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Incident
Why it's wrong here
An Incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to an IT service or a reduction in the quality of an IT service. While an Incident *can be triggered by* an Exception event, an Incident itself is the *result* of an event (specifically an Exception event) that requires resolution, not an event type in the context of monitoring. Events are the raw signals, whereas an Incident is the formal record of a service disruption.
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Problem
Why it's wrong here
A Problem in ITIL 4 refers to a cause, or potential cause, of one or more Incidents. It is managed through the Problem Management practice, which focuses on identifying root causes and preventing recurrence, rather than being a real-time event signal generated by monitoring tools. Events are raw data points, whereas problems are a higher-level analytical construct derived from analysis.
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Service request
Why it's wrong here
A Service Request is a formal request from a user for something standard, like access to an application, a password reset, or information. It is a user-initiated demand for a pre-defined service offering, managed by the Service Request Management practice, and is distinct from an automated signal or notification generated by monitoring tools about system status. Events are system-generated, while service requests are user-generated.
- ✓
Informational
Why this is correct
Informational events signify the successful completion of an activity or a normal operational state within an IT service or component. These events typically do not require immediate intervention but are crucial for maintaining an audit trail, understanding system behavior over time, and supporting trend analysis for capacity planning or performance optimization. They confirm that everything is functioning as expected.
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Warning
Why this is correct
Warning events indicate that a service, system, or component is approaching a predefined threshold or operating outside normal parameters, but has not yet failed or caused a disruption. For instance, a server's CPU utilization consistently above 70% or disk space reaching 85% might trigger a warning. These events prompt proactive investigation or action to prevent a potential degradation or failure before it impacts users.
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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.