ITIL ITIL-4-Foundation - ITIL 4 Foundation Exam

A service request is defined as a request from a user or a user’s authorized representative that initiates a service action which has been agreed as a normal part of service delivery.

The purpose of the service request management practice is to support the agreed quality of a service by handling all pre-defined, user-initiated service requests in an effective and user-friendly manner. Service request management is dependent upon well-designed processes and procedures, which are operationalized through tracking and automation tools to maximize the efficiency of the practice. To be handled optimally, service request management should follow these guidelines:

Service requests and their fulfilment should be standardized and automated to the greatest degree possible.

Policies should define which service requests will be fulfilled with limited or even no additional approvals so that fulfilment can be streamlined.

The expectations of users regarding fulfilment times and costs should be clearly set, based on what the organization can realistically deliver.

Opportunities for improvement should be identified and implemented to produce faster fulfilment times and take advantage of automation.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-request-management/

ITIL® has defined four dimensions that collectively are critical to the effective and efficient delivery of value to customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services. These dimensions are:

Organizations and People

Information and Technology

Partners and Suppliers

Value Streams and Processes

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-four-dimensions-service-management/

The purpose of the release management practice is to make new and changed services and features available for use.

Release: A version of a service or other configuration item, or a collection of configuration items, that is made available for use.

https://wiki.process-symphony.com.au/framework/lifecycle/process/release-management-itil-4/

In ITIL 4, service request management is one of the 7 practices described in more detail.

A service request is defined as a user request for something to be provided – for example:

access to an application or file

information or advice

a standard change that is preapproved

a new or replacement item of equipment

The key idea is:

A service request is a formal request from a user for something they are entitled to receive as part of a service.

Looking at each option:

This describes an incident.

An incident is an unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in its quality.

A request to restore normal service operation after something has gone wrong is handled by the incident management practice, not by service request management.

So this is not a service request.

This normally relates to a change.

Implementing a patch modifies the live environment.

This is usually handled through the change enablement practice (and then deployment management), often as a normal change or standard change, depending on the organization’s policies.

Although some standard changes can be triggered via service requests, ITIL Foundation typically uses clearer examples (such as access requests). This option is not the best example.

This is a classic example of a service request:

A user is asking for access (permission) to something as part of an existing service.

It is not fixing something broken, it is asking for something to be provided.

ITIL 4 explicitly lists access requests (for example, to applications, services, or data) as a common type of service request within the service request management practice.

Therefore, C is the correct answer.

This describes problem management:

When we investigate the root cause of one or more incidents, we are using the problem management practice.

The aim is to understand and remove the underlying cause, not to provide a standard service action requested by a user.

So this is not a service request.

This aligns with ITIL 4 Foundation descriptions of:

Service request – a user request for something to be provided.

Service request management practice – managing all types of service requests in a user-friendly and efficient way.

Incident management – restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible.

Problem management – identifying and managing the causes of incidents.

Change enablement – ensuring that changes are evaluated, authorized, and managed.

That is why “a request for access to a file” is the correct example of a service request.

This is one of the most important questions for continual improvement. This question helps to define measurable targets for the IT service provider that will help to reach the vision of the company in the long-term. At this stage, we look at the identified key performance indicators from the previous step and determine what values we want to target for each of these indicators. This decision must be made with the business’s vision in mind, but also with a sense of what is practically possible.

https://blog.masterofproject.com/continual-improvement-model/

Problem Control. Problem control activities include problem analysis and documenting workarounds and known errors.

Just like incidents, problems will be prioritized based on the risk they pose in terms of probability and impact to services. Focus should be given to problems that have highest risk to services and service management.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-problem-management/#:~:text=2.,probability%20and%20impact%20to%20services.

In ITIL 4, the service level management practice is responsible for:

Setting clear, business-based targets for service performance

Monitoring and reporting on service delivery

Conducting regular reviews with customers and stakeholders

Ensuring that services and service performance meet agreed needs and expectations

Part of this practice explicitly involves reviewing services with customers to validate that the services are still meeting their needs and agreed service levels. These reviews are used to confirm whether the services remain fit for purpose and to identify improvement opportunities.

The other options have different focuses:

Monitoring and event management focuses on observing services and infrastructure, identifying events, and determining their significance.

Change enablement controls risks related to changes and ensures that changes are properly assessed and authorized.

Service desk is the main point of contact between service provider and users, handling incidents and service requests, but it is not primarily responsible for formal reviews of service coverage against customer needs.

Because the described activity—conducting reviews to ensure services cover customer needs—is a core responsibility of service level management, the correct answer is B.

Service desks provide a variety of channels for access including:

Phone calls, which can include specialized technology, such as interactive voice response (IVR), conference calls, voice recognition, and others.

Service portals and mobile applications, supported by service and request catalogues, and knowledge bases.

Chat, through live chat and chatbots.

Email for logging and updating, and for follow-up surveys and confirmations.

Walk-in service desk (which are becoming more prevalent in some sectors, such as higher education, where there are high peaks of activity that demand physical presence).,

Text and social media messaging, which are useful for notifications in case of major incidents and for contacting specific stakeholder groups, but can also be used to allow users to request support.

Public and corporate social media and discussion forums for contacting the service provider and for peer-to-peer support.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-desk/

Emergency changes. These are changes that must be implemented as soon as possible; for example, to resolve an incident or implement a security patch. Emergency changes are not typically included in a change schedule, and the process for assessment and authorization is expedited to ensure they can be implemented quickly. As far as possible, emergency changes should be subject to the same testing, assessment, and authorization as normal changes, but it may be acceptable to defer some documentation until after the change has been implemented, and sometimes it will be necessary to implement the change with less testing due to time constraints. There may also be a separate change authority for emergency changes, typically including a small number of senior managers who understand the business risks involved.”

https://itsm.tools/why-what-change-management/#:~:text=Emergency%20changes. &text=Emergency%20changes%20are%20not%20typically,they%20can%20be%20implemented%20quickly.

Error control also regularly re-assesses the status of known errors that have not been resolved, taking account of the overall impact on customers and/or service availability, and the cost of permanent resolutions, and effectiveness of workarounds

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-problem-management/#:~:text=Error%20control%20also%20regularly%20re,resolutions%2C%20and%20effectiveness%20of%20workarounds.