The ITIL® 4 Foundation Examination
Sample Paper 2
Answers and Rationales
©AXELOS Limited 2019.
AXELOS®, ITIL® and the swirl logo are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited.
Reproduction of this material requires the permission of AXELOS Limited.
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Page 1 of 18
EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_Rationale_v1.0
, The ITIL® 4 Foundation Examination
For exam paper: EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_QuestionBk_v1.0
Q A Syllabus Ref Rationale
1 A 7.1.f A. Correct. "With increased automation… The impact on service desks is reduced
phone contact, less low-level work, and a greater ability to focus on excellent CX
when personal contact is needed". Ref 5.2.14
B. Incorrect. The effect of automation is to increase self-service, not to decrease it.
"With increased automation, AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and chatbots,
service desks are moving to provide more self-service logging and resolution
directly via online portals and mobile applications". Ref 5.2.14
C. Incorrect. The opposite is true. "With increased automation and the gradual
removal of technical debt, the focus of the service desk is to provide support for
‘people and business’ rather than simply technical issues". Ref 5.2.14
D. Incorrect. The use of automation will not eliminate the need to escalate incidents.
"A key point to be understood is that, no matter how efficient the service desk and
its people are, there will always be issues that need escalation and underpinning
support from other teams". Ref 5.2.14
2 B 1.2.g A. Incorrect. Cost is "The amount of money spent on a specific activity or resource."
Ref 2.5.2
B. Correct. Utility is "The functionality offered by a product or service." Ref 2.5.4
C. Incorrect. Warranty is "Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed
requirements". Ref 2.5.4
D. Incorrect. A risk is "A possible event that could cause harm or loss, or make it
more difficult to achieve objectives". Ref 2.5.3
3 B 6.1.e A. Incorrect. "The purpose of the service configuration management practice is to
ensure that accurate and reliable information about the configuration of services,
and the CIs that support them, is available when and where it is needed". Ref 5.2.11
B. Correct. "The purpose of the monitoring and event management practice is to
systematically observe services and service components, and record and report
selected changes of state identified as events". Ref 5.2.7
C. Incorrect. "The purpose of the information security management practice is to
protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business". Ref
5.1.3
D. Incorrect. "The purpose of the incident management practice is to minimize the
negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as
possible". Ref 5.2.5
©AXELOS Limited 2019.
AXELOS®, ITIL® and the swirl logo are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited.
Reproduction of this material requires the permission of AXELOS Limited.
All rights reserved.
Page 2 of 18
EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_Rationale_v1.0
, The ITIL® 4 Foundation Examination
Q A Syllabus Ref Rationale
4 B 7.1.a A. Incorrect. How services are measured is important, however only accurate data
can drive fact-based decisions for improvement. Ref 5.1.2
B. Correct. "Accurate data, carefully analysed and understood, is the foundation of
fact-based decision-making for improvement." The 'continual improvement' practice
should be supported by relevant data sources and by skilled data analytics to
ensure that each potential improvement situation is sufficiently understood. Ref
5.1.2
C. Incorrect. A balanced scorecard is one input to making a decision, but on its own
it does not serve as the foundation for fact-based decisions. Ref 5.1.2
D. Incorrect. Maturity assessments are useful but they provide only one piece of
information, as opposed to providing the foundations for decision-making in the
continual improvement practice. Ref 5.1.2
5 B 5.1 A. Incorrect. Demand is the input to the service value chain. Value chain activities
"represent the steps an organization takes in the creation of value. Each activity
contributes to the value chain by transforming specific inputs into outputs." Ref 4.5
B. Correct. "To convert inputs into outputs, the value chain activities use different
combinations of ITIL practices." Ref 4.5
C. Incorrect. It uses various resources from different practices when needed. "To
convert inputs into outputs, the value chain activities use different combinations of
ITIL practices (sets of resources for performing certain types of work), drawing on
internal or third-party resources, processes, skills, and competencies as required.
Ref 4.5
D. Incorrect. The 'optimize and automate' guiding principle recommends that
activities should be automated where this is practical but the service value chain
does not require automation. "Technology should not always be relied upon without
the capability of human intervention, as automation for automation's sake can
increase costs and reduce organizational robustness and resilience." Ref 4.3.7
©AXELOS Limited 2019.
AXELOS®, ITIL® and the swirl logo are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited.
Reproduction of this material requires the permission of AXELOS Limited.
All rights reserved.
Page 3 of 18
EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_Rationale_v1.0
Sample Paper 2
Answers and Rationales
©AXELOS Limited 2019.
AXELOS®, ITIL® and the swirl logo are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited.
Reproduction of this material requires the permission of AXELOS Limited.
All rights reserved.
Page 1 of 18
EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_Rationale_v1.0
, The ITIL® 4 Foundation Examination
For exam paper: EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_QuestionBk_v1.0
Q A Syllabus Ref Rationale
1 A 7.1.f A. Correct. "With increased automation… The impact on service desks is reduced
phone contact, less low-level work, and a greater ability to focus on excellent CX
when personal contact is needed". Ref 5.2.14
B. Incorrect. The effect of automation is to increase self-service, not to decrease it.
"With increased automation, AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and chatbots,
service desks are moving to provide more self-service logging and resolution
directly via online portals and mobile applications". Ref 5.2.14
C. Incorrect. The opposite is true. "With increased automation and the gradual
removal of technical debt, the focus of the service desk is to provide support for
‘people and business’ rather than simply technical issues". Ref 5.2.14
D. Incorrect. The use of automation will not eliminate the need to escalate incidents.
"A key point to be understood is that, no matter how efficient the service desk and
its people are, there will always be issues that need escalation and underpinning
support from other teams". Ref 5.2.14
2 B 1.2.g A. Incorrect. Cost is "The amount of money spent on a specific activity or resource."
Ref 2.5.2
B. Correct. Utility is "The functionality offered by a product or service." Ref 2.5.4
C. Incorrect. Warranty is "Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed
requirements". Ref 2.5.4
D. Incorrect. A risk is "A possible event that could cause harm or loss, or make it
more difficult to achieve objectives". Ref 2.5.3
3 B 6.1.e A. Incorrect. "The purpose of the service configuration management practice is to
ensure that accurate and reliable information about the configuration of services,
and the CIs that support them, is available when and where it is needed". Ref 5.2.11
B. Correct. "The purpose of the monitoring and event management practice is to
systematically observe services and service components, and record and report
selected changes of state identified as events". Ref 5.2.7
C. Incorrect. "The purpose of the information security management practice is to
protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business". Ref
5.1.3
D. Incorrect. "The purpose of the incident management practice is to minimize the
negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as
possible". Ref 5.2.5
©AXELOS Limited 2019.
AXELOS®, ITIL® and the swirl logo are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited.
Reproduction of this material requires the permission of AXELOS Limited.
All rights reserved.
Page 2 of 18
EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_Rationale_v1.0
, The ITIL® 4 Foundation Examination
Q A Syllabus Ref Rationale
4 B 7.1.a A. Incorrect. How services are measured is important, however only accurate data
can drive fact-based decisions for improvement. Ref 5.1.2
B. Correct. "Accurate data, carefully analysed and understood, is the foundation of
fact-based decision-making for improvement." The 'continual improvement' practice
should be supported by relevant data sources and by skilled data analytics to
ensure that each potential improvement situation is sufficiently understood. Ref
5.1.2
C. Incorrect. A balanced scorecard is one input to making a decision, but on its own
it does not serve as the foundation for fact-based decisions. Ref 5.1.2
D. Incorrect. Maturity assessments are useful but they provide only one piece of
information, as opposed to providing the foundations for decision-making in the
continual improvement practice. Ref 5.1.2
5 B 5.1 A. Incorrect. Demand is the input to the service value chain. Value chain activities
"represent the steps an organization takes in the creation of value. Each activity
contributes to the value chain by transforming specific inputs into outputs." Ref 4.5
B. Correct. "To convert inputs into outputs, the value chain activities use different
combinations of ITIL practices." Ref 4.5
C. Incorrect. It uses various resources from different practices when needed. "To
convert inputs into outputs, the value chain activities use different combinations of
ITIL practices (sets of resources for performing certain types of work), drawing on
internal or third-party resources, processes, skills, and competencies as required.
Ref 4.5
D. Incorrect. The 'optimize and automate' guiding principle recommends that
activities should be automated where this is practical but the service value chain
does not require automation. "Technology should not always be relied upon without
the capability of human intervention, as automation for automation's sake can
increase costs and reduce organizational robustness and resilience." Ref 4.3.7
©AXELOS Limited 2019.
AXELOS®, ITIL® and the swirl logo are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited.
Reproduction of this material requires the permission of AXELOS Limited.
All rights reserved.
Page 3 of 18
EN_ITIL4_FND_2019_SamplePaper2_Rationale_v1.0
