ITIL Intermediate Capability Stream:

Transcription

1 ITIL Intermediate Capability Stream: PLANNING, PROTECTION AND OPTIMIZATION (PPO) CERTIFICATE Sample Paper 1, version 5.1 Gradient Style, Complex Multiple Choice ANSWERS AND RATIONALES The Swirl logo is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce ITIL is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries Page 1 of 10

2 Answer Key: Scenario Question Correct: 5 Marks One Two Three Four 2 nd Best: 3 Marks 3 rd Best: 1 Mark Distracter: 0 Marks 1 C D A B 2 B C A D 3 D A C B 4 C A D B 5 B C A D 6 A C B D 7 B A D C 8 D A C B Page 2 of 10

3 QUESTION One Scenario One Question Rationale This question focuses on how availability requirements are determined and how to construct an approach to a review of availability requirements against the scenario given. Also to demonstrate an understanding of activities that would follow a review of availability requirements. MOST CORRECT (5) C This is the most correct answer as it starts with an assessment of the impact of the incident on SC s business targets. This answer recognizes that the duration of the outage is a significant factor, rather than the frequency of outages, hence the proposal that an additional target is added for MTRS. The answer also recognizes that, from a business perspective, slow performance can have the same impact as unavailability. SECOND BEST (3) D This is the second best answer as it recognizes the need to review the availability design and considers additional targets that may be meaningful to the customer. Though it may be valid to amend the availability figure for the previous month, this answer is not as good as answer C because it suggests that the review of the availability design should be with the CTG support team, and does not mention involvement of the business. THIRD BEST (1) A This is the third best answer as it focuses on a technical review of impact, rather than a review with the business. Whilst component availability measures would be of use to CTG in understanding trends and underlying causes of incidents, the suggestion is not customer-focused as SC would be interested in the overall service availability, not component availability. DISTRACTER (0) B This answer is the distracter as it suggests that the target should be determined by the availability manager, not by the business. It also states that a continuous availability solution should be implemented, although there is no evidence this would be cost-justified and there is no mention of undertaking cost-benefit analysis. Continuous availability is expensive and this level of availability may not be needed by the business to achieve its target. Syllabus Unit / ITIL SC: PPO03 Availability management Level 4 Analysis - The ability to use the practices and concepts in a situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Can apply what is learned in the classroom in workplace situations. Can separate concepts into component parts to understand structure and can distinguish between facts and inferences. Application The candidate must apply their knowledge of availability management and analyse the needs described in the scenario. Use of knowledge related to the approach for reviewing availability and the business implications of unavailability and degraded availability within the context of the scenario must be considered to select the correct answer option. Availability requirements SD Service design processes Availability management Policies/principles/basic concepts SD Service design processes Availability management Process activities, methods and techniques. Moderate Page 3 of 10

4 QUESTION Two Scenario One Question Rationale This question focuses on the service failure analysis (SFA) and how the technique should be used. MOST CORRECT (5) B This is the most correct answer as it describes the virtual team including both CTG resources and the SC users. Joint sponsorship between CTG and SC is the ideal solution to ensure this is a partnership between IT and the business. The structured approach and prioritized recommendations will ensure the improvement opportunities are identified and implemented effectively. It is correct that the prioritization should be based primarily on benefit to the customer. SECOND BEST (3) C This is the second best answer as it contains the correct description of the cross-functional team that would perform the SFA. However, this answer focuses on the involvement of the CTG staff and does not mention the involvement of the SC users. The sponsorship of the SFA by the CTG service director is not as ideal as the joint sponsorship proposed in answer B. It is appropriate to consider cost and timescales when prioritizing the recommendations - however, option B is more correct as this considers customer benefit as the main driver. As this answer only relates to CTG staff, it suggests that the priorities are determined by CTG and does not mention agreeing these priorities with the SC users. THIRD BEST (1) A This answer is the third best answer and correctly identifies the recommendations being incorporated into a service improvement plan. However, this assumes the unavailability and performance issues experienced are capacity related this is not known. Whilst capacity may be a factor that is investigated, the SFA should not assume the underlying cause before the assignment begins. DISTRACTER (0) D This answer is the distracter as one advantage of using the SFA technique is that it is becomes a form of internal consultancy. It would not be necessary to always involve an external consultant. It is also important that the scope of the assignment is explicit and is documented prior to commencement of the SFA. No mention is made of the need to involve the business/customer. Syllabus Unit / ITIL SC: PPO03 Availability management Level 4 Analysis - The ability to use the practices and concepts in a situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Can apply what is learned in the classroom in workplace situations. Can separate concepts into component parts to understand structure and can distinguish between facts and inferences. Application The candidate must analyse the scenario and apply knowledge of the Service Failure Analysis technique to determine the best way to do this within the context of the scenario. service failure analysis SD Service design processes Availability management Process activities, methods and techniques. Moderate Page 4 of 10

5 QUESTION Three Scenario Two Question Rationale This question focuses on IT service continuity requirements and strategy, focusing specifically on recovery options MOST CORRECT (5) D This is the most correct answer as it will ensure that service can be restored within a 24-hour period as agreed with the managing director. Storage of the backup media at the northern site will ensure the data is available quickly and can be restored onto the duplicate servers. This answer also includes the regular testing of the backup and restoration processes to ensure they are effective. SECOND BEST (3) A This is the second best answer as immediate recovery of the services will ensure they remain operational to the business. Whilst it would be appropriate to build a business case based on the recent power outage, the cost of this recovery option will be much higher than fast recovery and is not in line with the business need since it has been agreed that EC can operate for up to one day without these services. THIRD BEST (1) C This is the third best answer as warm standby would not be appropriate for the business need. Whilst the portable solution would be delivered within 24 hours, this will only provide the technology and it does not attempt to address the need to recover the service itself within 24 hours - the technology would need to be configured correctly, the data restored, and the service tested. DISTRACTER (0) B This is the distracter. The business has already agreed that service should be restored within one working day and a gradual recovery process such as this will take much longer - the equipment installation would be dependent on the hardware vendor or support provider s lead times and will then have to be built, configured and restored. Syllabus Unit / ITIL SC: PPO04 IT service continuity management Level 4 Analysis - The ability to use the practices and concepts in a situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Can apply what is learned in the classroom in workplace situations. Can separate concepts into component parts to understand structure and can distinguish between facts and inferences. Application The candidate must have an in-depth understanding of IT service continuity and the various recovery options and have correctly analysed the scenario to determine the best option for the organization. IT service continuity requirements SD Service design processes - IT service continuity management Stage 2 Requirements and strategy Moderate Page 5 of 10

6 QUESTION Four Scenario Two Question Rationale This question focuses on IT service continuity implementation, focusing specifically on the testing of IT service continuity plans. MOST CORRECT (5) C This is the most correct answer. The initial walk-through test will enable any inconsistencies to be identified and will highlight any potential operational issues without having an impact on the business operation. This will provide confidence in the plan before the full test is carried out. Involvement of relevant staff will increase awareness and the engagement with the managing director will allay their concerns. SECOND BEST (3) A This is the second best answer as performing a full test is recommended after development of a plan. Announcing the test to staff beforehand will reduce some of the risks involved. However, performing the full test may not alleviate the concerns of the managing director. It would also be more beneficial to involve the suppliers in all tests of the plan and not exclude them because this is the first test. THIRD BEST (1) D This is the third best answer as it does not recommend that a full test is performed at any stage. This is incorrect as, until it has been fully tested, the plan cannot be considered to be suitable to meet the needs of EC. The partial tests will prove the recovery of the components of the service but not the overall IT service continuity plan. DISTRACTER (0) B This is the distracter as walk-through scenario tests alone will not be sufficient to test the IT service continuity plan. The first suggested test is of a power failure to the computer room; however, the likelihood of this is low due to the recent implementation of the UPS. The answer also incorrectly states that the staff involved should be those most familiar with the systems this would not be representative of a real scenario, where less experienced engineers may be affected. Syllabus Unit / ITIL SC: PPO04 IT service continuity management Level 3 Applying Use ideas, principles and theories in new, particular and concrete situations. Behavioural tasks at this level involve both knowing and comprehension and might include choosing appropriate procedures, applying principles, using an approach or identifying the selection of options. Application The candidate must analyse the scenario and, using their knowledge of the ITSCM process and, in particular, the Implementation stage, determine which testing options are the most appropriate to address the issues described in the scenario. IT service continuity implementation SD Service design processes IT service continuity management Stage 3 Implementation Easy Page 6 of 10

7 QUESTION Five Scenario Three Question Rationale This question focuses on understanding the relationship between business capacity management, service capacity management, and component capacity management. It also addresses the need for capacity managers to identify opportunities to make appropriate use of new technologies and the need for understanding patterns of business activity. MOST CORRECT (5) B This is the most correct answer. The customer s experience is explicitly addressed in this approach. By taking this approach, you may identify that there is room to reduce capacity without sacrificing the one-minute rule. This is the only answer that anticipates future requirements. Use of modelling is much more effective because of the knowledge of the customer experience. New technologies are considered. SECOND BEST (3) C This is the second best answer. This approach involves the business, so you will gain an understanding of how the utilization of the service impacts upon the utilization of resources. The use of modelling will help to provide a realistic picture of the performance under real conditions. However, this approach fails to get at the customer s experience. THIRD BEST (1) A This is the third best answer. This approach at least includes an analysis of how the applications use resources but fails to get at the user experience. Also, while developers may provide insight into the theoretical performance of the applications, they have little knowledge of performance under actual conditions. This approach may enable FSC to maintain the one-minute guarantee, but it will likely not take advantage of the maximum cost savings. DISTRACTER (0) D This is the distracter. This answer focuses exclusively on the components without regard to the user experience. It relies on general guidelines for server consolidation without regard to the specific applications or users. The approach will produce savings. However, it is likely to lead to breaches of the one-minute guarantee, as future transaction volumes are not taken into account. The 10% and 80% utilization targets appear to be arbitrary figures. Syllabus Unit / ITIL SC: PPO02 Capacity management Level 4 Analysis - The ability to use the practices and concepts in a situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Can apply what is learned in the classroom in workplace situations. Can separate concepts into component parts to understand structure and can distinguish between facts and inferences. Application The candidate must apply their knowledge of the capacity management process and in particular business and component capacity management in order to select the correct answer for the proper approach to address the issues described in the scenario. Relationship between business capacity management, service capacity management and component capacity management SD Service design processes Capacity management Business capacity management SD Service design processes Capacity management Component capacity management Easy Page 7 of 10

8 QUESTION Six Scenario Three Question Rationale This question focuses on the use of application sizing and the appropriate modelling technique to forecast capacity requirements for a new service. It also stresses the importance of the involvement of the capacity manager in the development of service level requirements. MOST CORRECT (5) A This is the most correct answer. In this approach, you are actively involved in formulating and understanding the service level requirements. You are using application sizing to understand the capacity requirements of the new application, and your use of simulation modelling promises accurate predictions of future behaviour. Customer input is also included in this modelling. Although this is the most expensive modelling approach, the cost can be justified on the basis of the critical importance of the banking service, and costs are not an issue during the service design stage. SECOND BEST (3) C This is the second best answer. In this approach, you are also involved in the formation of the service level requirements. Analytical modelling can be expected to produce an approximation that is good enough in most cases but, without being able to validate it against a production service or simulated transaction volumes, the results of the modelling are unlikely to be accurate enough to minimize the configuration in a risk-free manner. Given that the banking application is critical, only the most accurate modelling method simulation should be used. THIRD BEST (1) B This is the third best answer. In this approach the service level requirements have been agreed without your input. As capacity manager, your role includes participation in the creation of those requirements so your involvement in the process is late. It is therefore less likely to be successful as the performance and capacity content of the requirements may be poorly-defined. The use of trend analysis has the advantage of being inexpensive but is not very accurate. Trends identified from test data cannot be very useful as there is no history of activity in a live environment. DISTRACTER (0) D This is the distracter. This approach takes no input from service level management or from the customer. No systematic approach is used to determine capacity requirements. With this approach the likelihood that costs will be excessive or performance will be unacceptable, or both, is high. Syllabus Unit / ITIL SC: PPO02 Capacity management Level 3 Applying Use ideas, principles and theories in new, particular and concrete situations. Behavioural tasks at this level involve both knowing and comprehension and might include choosing appropriate procedures, applying principles, using an approach or identifying the selection of options. Application The candidate must apply their knowledge of application sizing in order to select the correct approach, given the issues described in the scenario. Application sizing and modelling SD Service design processes Capacity management Modelling and trending SD Service design processes Capacity management Business capacity management SD Service design processes Capacity management Application sizing Moderate Page 8 of 10

9 QUESTION Seven Scenario Four Question Rationale This question focuses on the identification of various sources of risk, in particular, the risks introduced by the unwillingness of the customer to share information with the service provider, making effective business capacity management difficult, as described in SD section 4.5.9; security risks, as discussed in section 4.7.9; and the lack of management support, as discussed in sections, 4.4.9, and MOST CORRECT (5) B This is the most correct answer. The key factors affecting the new publications from FinDoc revolve around the increased security requirement and the increased volatility of demand. These are compounded by the lack of trust between the customer and the service provider, which may indicate a lack of management support and lead to a reluctance of the customer to share information such as business forecasts with the service provider. SECOND BEST (3) A This is second best answer. While it does address the issues of security and volatility, it does not deal with the level of distrust between FinDoc management and their IT staff. While the possible inconsistency of FinDoc s technical architecture with that of APC is a concern in the long term, it should have a lower priority in the immediate future. THIRD BEST (1) D This is the third best answer. It does address the security issue but it ignores the volatility of demand or the level of distrust between FinDoc management and their IT staff. There is no indication in the scenario that asset specificity should be a matter of concern at least not in the short-term. Also, concern about compatibility of the technical architectures, while a legitimate long-term risk, must give way to more pressing issues of understanding changing business requirements in the first six months. DISTRACTER (0) C This answer is the distracter. It fails to address the key risks of security, volatility, and distrust between FinDoc management and its IT staff. There is no indication in the scenario that any of the risks mentioned are concerns at Syllabus Unit / least in the short-term. ITIL SC: PPO02, 03, 04, 05 Challenges, critical success factors and risks (capacity, availability, continuity and information security management) Level 4 Analysis - The ability to use the practices and concepts in a situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Can apply what is learned in the classroom in workplace situations. Can separate concepts into component parts to understand structure and can distinguish between facts and inferences. Application The candidate must analyse the scenario and, using their knowledge of capacity, availability, information security and IT service continuity management, select the answer option that best illustrates the risks for the organization. Identification of risk SD Service design processes Capacity management Challenges, critical success factors and risks SD Service design processes Availability management Challenges, critical success factors and risks SD Service design processes IT service continuity management Challenges, critical success factors and risks SD Service design processes Information security management Challenges, critical success factors and risks Hard Page 9 of 10

10 QUESTION Eight Scenario Four Question Rationale This question focuses on the identification of the critical factors for the success of service management, particularly with regard to capacity management, security management, availability management, and IT service continuity management. MOST CORRECT (5) D This is the most correct answer. The apparent distrust exhibited by FinDoc s management toward IT makes it imperative that you work to improve the relationship between IT and management as soon as possible. You will need a good working relationship with management to fully understand the nature of the new security requirements and also to understand their future patterns of business activity as dictated by their publication schedules. It is also important that they understand that security is also a responsibility of the business. SECOND BEST (3) A This the second best answer, as it fails to address ITs need to fully understand the additional security requirements characteristic of the financial publishing business. THIRD BEST (1) C This is the third best answer, as it fails to address the volatility or increased need for security which is a requirement of the financial publishing business. It also fails to address the apparent attitude on the part of FinDoc s management that security is only an IT issue. Finally, there is no evidence in the scenario that lack of capacity or availability is an issue. DISTRACTER (0) B This answer is the distracter. It fails to address any of the most important issues regarding the poor relationship between FinDoc s management and IT (implying a lack of management support for IT), the apparent belief that security is solely an IT concern, or the additional volatility of demand and need for security characteristic of the financial publishing business. Syllabus Unit / ITIL SC: PPO02, 03, 04, 05 Challenges, critical success factors and risks (capacity, availability, continuity and information security management) Level 3 Applying Use ideas, principles and theories in new, particular and concrete situations. Behavioural tasks at this level involve both knowing and comprehension and might include choosing appropriate procedures, applying principles, using an approach or identifying the selection of options. Application The candidate must apply their knowledge of the critical success factors around capacity, availability, IT service continuity and information security management within the context of the scenario. Service management CSFs SD Service design processes Capacity management Challenges, critical success factors and risks SD Service design processes Availability management Challenges, critical success factors and risks SD Service design processes IT service continuity management Challenges, critical success factors and risks SD Service design processes Information security management Challenges, critical success factors and risks Moderate Page 10 of 10