ITIL 4 Foundation — All Questions

In ITIL 4, how is a 'service' best defined?

• a.A tangible product that a customer purchases and owns outright
• b.A means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve, without the customer having to manage specific costs and risks✓
• c.A single request logged and resolved by the service desk
• d.A documented process that an IT team follows to complete tasks

ITIL 4 defines a service as a means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve, without the customer having to manage specific costs and risks. The provider takes on those costs and risks so the customer can focus on their desired outcomes. Value is co-created through active collaboration between provider and consumer.

A service offering is described as having both utility and warranty. What does 'utility' represent?

• a.The assurance that a service will meet agreed requirements
• b.How much the service costs the consumer per month
• c.The functionality offered to meet a particular need — what the service does (fitness for purpose)✓
• d.The availability and capacity guarantees for the service

Utility is the functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need; it is often summarized as 'what the service does' or fitness for purpose. Warranty, by contrast, is the assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements — 'how it performs' or fitness for use. A service must have both utility and warranty to create value.

According to ITIL 4, what is an 'outcome'?

• a.A result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs✓
• b.A deliverable or tangible product produced by an activity
• c.The money a consumer pays for using a service
• d.A possible event that could cause harm or loss

An outcome is a result for a stakeholder that is enabled by one or more outputs. An output is a tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity, whereas the outcome is what that output enables the stakeholder to achieve. For example, a photo-sharing app is an output, while cherished memories being preserved and shared is the outcome.

Which statement correctly distinguishes the two elements a consumer must weigh when considering value?

• a.Cost is always beneficial and risk is always negative
• b.Utility and warranty are both types of cost
• c.Outputs are costs and outcomes are risks
• d.Costs and risks can be either removed from the consumer (a benefit) or imposed on the consumer by using a service✓

In ITIL 4, both costs and risks have two sides for the service consumer. A service can remove costs and risks the consumer previously bore (a positive contribution to value), but using the service also introduces new costs and risks the consumer must accept. Value is a balance of the benefits gained against the costs and risks imposed.