ITIL Intermediate Lifecycle Stream:

SERVICE DESIGN CERTIFICATE

Sample Paper 1, version 6.1

Gradient Style, Complex Multiple Choice

QUESTION BOOKLET
Gradient Style Multiple Choice
90 minute paper
8 questions, Closed Book
Instructions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

All 8 questions should be attempted.

You should refer to the accompanying Scenario Booklet to answer each question.
All answers are to be marked on the answer grid provided.
You have 90 minutes to complete this paper.
You must achieve 28 or more out of a possible 40 marks (70%) to pass this
examination.

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Question One
Refer to Scenario One
You have been given responsibility for solving the capacity issues and improving the management of
capacity.
Which one of the following sets of actions is the BEST way to achieve this?
A.

B.

C.

D.

Modify the contract with the ISP so that they are required to seek approval for any increase in
capacity resources prior to implementation, in order to reduce the number of panic upgrades

Implement capacity thresholds and automatic alerts to warn customers when systems are
slow

Improve the change management processes of the company and the ISP, and establish
interfaces between them to ensure that changes affecting capacity are assessed

Agree with the ISP that they will set up a project to review their capacity management
processes and align them with current service management practice

Establish improved links with the marketing department in order to get adequate warning of
product launches and campaigns that may increase customer use of the website

Work with the ISP to ensure that changes and updates to the web applications are tested
and modelled on the ISPs infrastructure as well as on the companys infrastructure

Agree with the ISP to introduce monitoring against predetermined thresholds that will give
advance warning of capacity issues allowing action to be taken to avoid incidents

Introduce a capacity plan so that longer-term capacity changes based upon growth prediction
can be planned and funded

Establish improved links with the marketing department in order to get adequate warning of
product launches and campaigns that may increase customer use of the website

Improve the testing of changes and updates to the website applications and ensure that
modelling is included in the testing programmes

Perform usage growth predictions based on monitoring data, to enable accurate predictions
of future demand to be made and the necessary resources to be provided

Establish interfaces between the capacity management process and the change
management processes of both the company and the ISP

Introduce business capacity management to identify any business changes that might alter
the demand for the website applications

Introduce application sizing so that accurate predictions of the resources required to support
the website applications can be predicted and provided

Introduce modelling techniques to ensure that the performance of the website applications
are tested under various workload scenarios

Write a capacity plan to support the annual budget and ensure that adequate funds are
available to buy additional capacity for the website applications

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Question Two
Refer to Scenario Two
Which one of the following options is the MOST appropriate RACI chart for allocating the new service
design activities across the existing roles within the IT unit?
Labels
AccM
SLM
CapM
AvM
ITSCM
ISM
FinM

account managers
service level manager
capacity manager
availability manager
IT service continuity manager
information security manager
finance manager

R
A
C
I

responsible
accountable
consulted
informed

A.
Service design activity

AccM

SLM

CapM

AvM

ITSCM

ISM

FinM

Requirements analysis and definition

AR

AR

Production of the service design

Definition of the service acceptance
criteria (SAC)
Definition of the service design
package (SDP)
Review and agree the final SAC and
SDP

AR

AR

AR

AR

AccM

SLM

CapM

AvM

ITSCM

ISM

FinM

B.
Service design activity
Requirements analysis and definition

AR

Production of the service design

AR

Definition of the SAC

Definition of the SDP

AR

Review and agree the final SAC and

SDP

AR

AccM

SLM

CapM

AvM

ITSCM

ISM

FinM

C.
Service design activity
Requirements analysis and definition

AR

Production of the service design

AR

Definition of the SAC

AR

Definition of the SDP

AR

Review and agree the final SAC and

SDP

Question continues overleaf

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Question continued
D.
Service design activity
Requirements analysis and definition

AccM

SLM

CapM

AvM

ITSCM

ISM

FinM

AR

Production of the service design

AR

Definition of the SAC

Definition of the SDP

AR

Review and agree the final SAC and

SDP

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Question Three
Refer to Scenario Three
You are the service design manager in this company. The head of IT has asked you to investigate the
situation as a design issue and to quickly give a recommendation of the best way forward.
Which one of the following options is the BEST approach to adopt?
A.

B.

C.

D.

Discuss the results of your analysis of the situation with the SLM team and produce a report
summarizing your findings

Get agreement from the BRMs that the service level agreements (SLAs) and targets are still
valid and that the problem is that the business users are not aware of the existing targets

Produce an executive summary for the senior IT management and gain their backing to
enforce the current SLAs and targets

Use an awareness campaign to ensure all business users understand the existing SLAs and
targets

Analyse the situation with the BRMs, SLM and availability management (AvM) teams

Produce a report which summarizes how the existing SLAs and targets are invalid

Agree on a set of improvement actions with the BRMs, the SLM and AvM teams

Produce an executive summary for senior IT management and customers, requesting

funding for implementation of the identified improvement actions

Discuss the results of your analysis of the situation with the BRMs, SLM and customer
representatives

Produce a report summarizing your findings and circulate it to IT and the customer
representatives

Meet with the BRMs and the business to discuss the report

Agree on a set of improvement actions with customers, the BRMs, the SLM and the AvM
teams

Analyse the situation and produce a report summarizing your findings

Get agreement from the SLM team that the existing targets are invalid and propose revised
SLAs and targets

Produce an executive summary for senior IT management and gain their backing and
support to enforce the new SLAs and targets

Implement the new SLAs and targets as a matter of urgency before customer satisfaction
worsens

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Question Four
Refer to Scenario Four
As an ITIL expert you have been asked to give guidance on how to gain better management and
control of the suppliers and contracts.
Which one of the options below is the BEST approach?
A.
1

3
4

Revise all existing contracts to ensure they are aligned with business needs and service level
agreement (SLA) targets. Check all contracts for conformance to company policy,
organizational terms and legal obligations.
Implement a supplier and contract management information system (SCMIS). Include contract
expiry dates and automatic notification to the person responsible for the contract one month
before termination date in order to prepare for re-negotiation or termination.
Assign account managers for each contract for relationship management and management of
contractual disputes.
Renegotiate and consolidate contracts with all suppliers delivering services to local offices
under multiple contracts.

B.
1
2
3
4

Establish a supplier policy and an SCMIS with suppliers categorized as strategic, tactical,
operational or commodity.
Establish a supplier management process with focus on maintenance of standard contracts,
terms and conditions as well as management of sub-contracted suppliers.
Establish regular meetings with the suppliers in order to monitor contractual performance and
identify improvement areas.
Renegotiate and consolidate contracts with strategic suppliers delivering services to local
offices under multiple contracts.

C.
1
2
3
4

Assign contract manager roles to the teams working closest to the suppliers and make them
responsible for supplier management.
Implement an SCMIS in order to share knowledge and avoid dependence on key people.
Make two people responsible for each contract because of the high turnover.
To counter the high turnover, employee satisfaction surveys should be conducted, and
measures to increase job satisfaction should be implemented.
Decide that consolidation of contracts with suppliers with multiple contracts is out of scope
because of complex country-specific rules and regulations.

D.
1
2
3
4

Establish a supplier policy and an SCMIS. Categorize suppliers and contracts based on risk
and strategic value.
Establish a supplier management process defining a standard approach for contract
evaluation and selection, as well as for review, renewal and termination.
Focus on supplier relationship and performance management in order to manage contracts,
improvement plans and contractual dispute resolution.
Recommend a separate project to assess possibilities for contract consolidation with suppliers
delivering services to local offices under multiple contracts.

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Question Five
Refer to Scenario Five
Several different opinions have been put forward about how and when to create the service
acceptance criteria (SAC) and service design packages (SDPs).
Which one of the following options is the BEST approach?
A. Standard templates and guidelines should be developed for both SAC and SDPs. Chose the new
client management service to be a pilot. Specific SAC should be produced and an individual SDP
should be assembled for the new client management service before the service is passed to the
transition stage of its lifecycle.
B. Since there have been a lot of handover issues, the new web ordering service should be chosen
to be a pilot. The SAC and SDP for each service will be different, so there is no need to create
standard templates. However, specific SAC should be produced and an individual SDP should be
assembled for the new client management service during the requirements phase of the service
design stage.
C. Standard templates and guidelines should be developed for SDPs, but not for SAC. Use both of
the new services as pilots to enable as much as possible to be learned. For each pilot, specific
SAC should be produced and SDPs should be assembled before the service moves into the
service transition stage.
D. Standard templates and guidelines should be developed for SAC and SDPs. Chose the new client
management service to be a pilot. Specific SAC should be created during the requirements phase
of the service design stage. An SDP should be assembled for the new client management service
before the service moves into the service transition stage.

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Question Six
Refer to Scenario Six
Which one of the following options is the BEST proposal to present to the IT Steering Committee?
A.

B.

C.

D.

First, IT will work with the external consultant. The requirements for business validation and
sign-off will be documented based on current business knowledge and the previous analysis

Thereafter, a high-level design, including technical, operational and organizational aspects

will be produced. A preferred solution with costs, risks, high-level plan and sourcing options
will be proposed to the business for a final decision

First, a business requirements analysis will be carried out, to identify priorities and time
constraints. Analysis from the external consultant will be taken into consideration.
Requirements will be presented to the business for validation and sign-off

Thereafter, a high level design, including technical, operational and organizational aspects
will be produced. External resources will be hired to replace internal resources on less
strategic projects. A preferred solution with costs, risks, high-level plan and sourcing options
will be proposed to the business for a final decision

Considering the time constraints, a pragmatic approach will be adopted so that screens and
interfaces can be shown to the business as quickly as possible to ensure enough time to get
feedback and adjust the solution to the actual requirements

Flexible and agile development techniques will be used to ensure that services can go live on
time with the functionality required. A prerequisite for such an approach is to work with
technical experts throughout the project. External experts must be involved as the skills are
not available in-house

Considering the time constraints, the development project should be outsourced to a

software development company renowned for their ability to take over challenging tasks.
Internal business experts will be involved in the requirements phase

The contract should specify that a phased approach with regular progress meetings will be
followed so that balance between time, functionality and costs can be met. It should also
guarantee that the final product will be ready for the launch in four months time

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Question Seven
Refer to Scenario Seven
You have been asked to assist in the design of measurements and key performance indicators (KPIs)
for the processes covered by the project, as well as to design effective management reports. The
process owners and the key stakeholders have already identified quite a few metrics for
measurement, but they need your guidance on which ones to choose and how they should use them.
Which one of the following options is the BEST approach to take for this task?
A.

B.

C.

D.

Categorize the metrics within three types: efficiency, progress and compliance. Focus mainly
on progress metrics for the incident management process, compliance metrics for the
change management process, and efficiency metrics for the problem management process

Create standard templates for the process reports and decide dates for regular posting on an
internal website in order to make the reports easily accessible for all employees

Categorize the metrics within four types: progress, compliance, effectiveness and efficiency.
Select metrics for progress and compliance for all processes. Add a few effectiveness
metrics for the change and incident management process. Efficiency metrics should at this
stage only be used for the incident management process

Use a balanced scorecard approach with primary metrics underpinned by secondary metrics
to be presented in dashboard reports in regular meetings with the different stakeholder
groups

Categorize the metrics within four types: progress, compliance, effectiveness and efficiency.
Identify a balanced set of effectiveness, efficiency, progress and compliance metrics to be
implemented for each process

Create dashboard reports with primary metrics for management and secondary metrics for
process owners. Ensure that the reports are on the agenda for management meetings to be
held on a monthly basis

Categorize the process metrics as primary or secondary metrics. To measure capability and
performance of the processes, focus first on primary metrics for all processes and continue
with secondary metrics as the processes mature

Metrics that are not possible to measure should be documented as requirements for a new
tool that should be purchased before any reports can be made.

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Question Eight
Refer to Scenario Eight
Which one of the following options is the BEST approach in order to achieve long-term
improvements?
A.

B.

C.

D.

Set up a formal project with business representatives and key service design resources

Analyse documentation describing the latest business and IT visions in order to understand
the high-level drivers

With the help of an internal auditor, review the design processes against ITIL

Define and agree on priorities and develop an action plan

Plan regular project progress meetings to keep everybody informed and to take corrective
actions if needed

At the end of the project, submit a final report to all stakeholders

Organize a meeting with senior business management and service operation teams in order
to understand the latest business and IT strategies

With the help of an internal auditor, review the current design activities

Set priorities and define a formal improvement programme

Measure progress and report regularly to all stakeholders

Ensure that improvements are integrated into existing work practices

Regularly review design activities and customer satisfaction to identify new improvement
opportunities

Meet with service operation teams in order to analyse how staff could better collaborate

Agree on an ITIL awareness and training campaign for all IT staff

Involve service operation staff in all new design projects

Set up a group with members from both teams to come up with an improvement plan

Sponsor and follow the implementation of the plan

Make sure there is a fair representation from both teams to maximize the chance that the
proposed improvements are properly integrated into the daily work practices of both teams

Organize a meeting with service operation teams in order to analyse the latest customer
satisfaction survey and the incidents related to customer dissatisfaction

In parallel, ask an external consultant to review the design processes against ITIL

Set priorities and present an action plan for approval by IT management

Set up a formal project to get sufficient visibility, resources and control

Plan regular progress meetings to take corrective actions if needed

At the end of the project, submit a final report to all stakeholders

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ITIL Intermediate Lifecycle Stream:

SERVICE DESIGN CERTIFICATE

Sample Paper 1, version 6.1

Gradient Style, Complex Multiple Choice

SCENARIO BOOKLET
This booklet contains the scenarios upon which the 8 examination questions will be based. All
questions are contained within the Question Booklet and each question will clearly state the scenario
to which the question relates. In order to answer each of the 8 questions, you will need to read the
related scenario carefully.
On the basis of the information provided in the scenario, you will be required to select which of the
four answer options provided (A, B, C or D) you believe to be the optimum answer. You may choose
ONE answer only, and the Gradient Scoring system works as follows:

If you select the CORRECT answer, you will be awarded 5 marks for the question
If you select the SECOND BEST answer, you will be awarded 3 marks for the question
If you select the THIRD BEST answer, you will be awarded 1 mark for the question
If you select the DISTRACTER (the incorrect answer), you will receive no marks for the
question

In order to pass this examination, you must achieve a total of 28 marks or more out of a maximum of
40 marks (70%).

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Scenario One
An internet shopping company was set up two years ago and has been very successful. Much of its
success can be attributed to frequent marketing campaigns with special offers.
The company develops its own website applications used by shoppers for browsing and ordering
products. The website is hosted by a well-known internet service provider (ISP) who provides the
infrastructure that supports live operations. The applications are developed and tested on the
companys own infrastructure. Changes and upgrades are sent to the ISP via a wide area network
link. Relationships with the ISP are generally good, but there have been occasions when the ISP has
charged high prices for last minute increases in capacity.
Some shoppers have reported unexpected errors when using the website, which resulted in lost or
duplicate orders. It is not known how often this has happened as not all customers report errors. Also,
when the company launches new products, customers have complained of slow response times from
the website.
Over the last six months the company has introduced an initiative to implement service management.
The main purpose of this initiative is to streamline operations and reduce costs.

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Scenario Two
The IT unit of a small retail company has been implementing service management for a number of
years, and has several mature processes in place with responsible managers. In addition there are
account managers working within the IT unit who are responsible for interfacing with the business
units.
The IT unit is about to migrate its service management activities toward a lifecycle focus as described
in ITIL. Before that, the unit needs to allocate responsibility for the new activities.
You have reviewed the attributes and skills of the most relevant people:

Account managers (AccM): Previously these were all business analysts. They have a good
knowledge of the business, particularly within their own areas, and an appreciation of the
services and applications but little knowledge of the IT infrastructure. They have good
communication and relationship skills

Service level manager (SLM): Previously the service desk manager, but has become
qualified in service level management and now reviews all service level agreements and
service performance with the customers. Has good communication and relationship skills, but
little knowledge of the IT infrastructure

Capacity manager (CapM): Was the network support team leader, so is very technicallyminded with a good knowledge of network, server and storage technologies

Availability manager (AvM): Was the senior server support analyst, so is very
knowledgeable about server and storage technology and resilience

IT service continuity manager (ITSCM): Used to work within operations, and has been
trained in risk management and continuity techniques. Has a reasonable knowledge of
infrastructure and recovery techniques

Information security manager (ISM): Also worked in operations, but has now been trained
in risk and security techniques and has achieved industry-recognized security qualifications

Finance manager (FinM): Principally an accountant from corporate finance, who specializes
in purchasing and IT finance

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Scenario Three
The internal IT unit of a major manufacturing company has been implementing service management
processes for three years. The company is now starting to improve its service management activities
in order to get more buy-in from the business and more business alignment and integration. Until now,
the business has been reluctant to get involved in these service management activities, seeing them
as an IT responsibility even to the extent of expecting IT to develop a business security policy and
business continuity plans. The service desk finds it hard to prioritize incidents since the business
prioritizations are not properly defined.
There are business relationship managers (BRMs) working within the IT unit who provide interfaces to
the various lines of business within the manufacturing company. As part of the alignment activity, a
customer satisfaction survey has been conducted by the BRMs and the service level management
(SLM) team. The main feedback from the survey indicates that many customers are dissatisfied with
the level of availability of IT services and the resulting business disruption. In order to investigate the
complaints, the service level manager and availability manager have analysed the service availability.
They have found that there have been only two breaches of service level availability targets over the
last six months.

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Scenario Four
A company in the shipping industry has 5,000 employees. In addition to a large head office, they have
100 small offices in 80 different countries. The IT department has 70 people. There are also a few
local IT staff or super users at each office.
The IT department offers a broad range of IT services, and delivery of these depends on many
suppliers. The supplier contracts have been managed by different teams. This has not been an issue
until recently, but because of high staff turnover last year, some of the supplier contracts were not
managed properly. The contract for management of the companys internet domain was not renewed
on time and this nearly resulted in loss of the domain name. The contract with the laptop supplier was
renewed in a hurry even though there had been delays in delivery of laptop service and there are no
plans for improvement. Communication with another supplier has been very poor and there have
been several instances where agreed targets have not been met.
The management team realizes that they need to manage supplier contracts more efficiently. They
asked each team to report on how many contracts they manage. The managers were surprised to see
how many contracts were involved. Senior management is concerned about the high number of local
contracts with the same supplier, and they believe there is potential to introduce greater cost
efficiencies.

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Scenario Five
A large company has an internal unit that provides IT services. The IT unit has been using ITIL as a
framework for best practice for a number of years and has demonstrated continual service
improvement in the quality of services delivered over this period. The processes implemented during
this time are mainly those within the service transition and operation stages of the service lifecycle.
The IT unit has recently reviewed their service management activities and decided that they should be
implementing processes that have a greater influence over the service design stage.
There have recently been a number of issues related to the handover and operation of new services.
In addition, there have been issues with the ability to meet the levels of service warranty expected
by users and customers. The design coordination manager has decided that in order to address these
issues they will introduce service acceptance criteria (SAC) and service design packages (SDPs) for
all new services. Two new services are considered pilots: the new web ordering service to be
launched next month; and the new client management service for which the design project has just
started.

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Scenario Six
A small mobile phone company is renowned for the quality of their products and services. Six months
ago, they decided to offer fixed line services. This strategic business project has been kept secret to
make it hard for competitors to respond. New business processes have been prepared and a
marketing campaign is planned that will start in four months. On that date, the company should be
ready to sell, activate and manage contracts for fixed line services. A contract with a fixed telephony
operator was signed yesterday.
The business has just informed IT of the new project. Their external consultant did an analysis and
concluded that it should take about three months to develop the required IT services. This is a
strategic move for the company and has to be a success. A significant budget has been allocated so
money is not an issue.
You are the service design manager. You cannot see how it is possible to design and develop the
required IT services within four months. The infrastructure will have to be expanded and new
applications are needed. It might be possible to re-use some existing applications but interfaces to the
telephony system must be re-written. It is also necessary for them to review IT processes and train
staff to make sure IT is ready for the launch.
The chief information officer (CIO) is under pressure to make sure the design approach is balanced,
feasible and achievable within the time constraints and that it will be a success. As the service design
manager you have been invited to the next meeting in the IT steering committee. You have been
asked to propose a design approach that will best meet the business need to launch in four months.

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Scenario Seven
The IT department in a retail company organized ITIL training for all employees. As the staff learned
about ITIL, they realized there were many potential areas for improvement in their organization.

They have a well-established service desk and process for incident management, but there is
a general impression that incidents could be solved quicker
The change management process is not followed as intended. In practice, the different teams
carries out change management activities in different ways because they see the documented
process as slow and bureaucratic
They realized that their problem management process is based on a misunderstanding of
what incidents and problems are, and that this process should be re-designed
A significant issue was that no formal process for measurement or reporting was in place

A process improvement project has been initiated. A new problem management process will soon be
ready for implementation. Several improvement areas have been identified for the change
management process.
A measurement and reporting system has been defined as a key delivery for this project, as the
management realized that well-defined key performance indicators (KPIs) and improved management
reporting can motivate employees, as well as improve overall control of the processes. The challenge
is to determine the best way to set up the measurement system.

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Scenario Eight
You are the service design manager in a large company. The company has been very successful
over the last six months as a result of the launch of its new products.
However, the success has a downside. At the last IT management meeting, the service level manager
presented the results of a recent IT customer satisfaction survey. These results clearly show that
business satisfaction has dropped significantly during the last six months.
There seems to be genuine concern about the IT applications that support the new products.
Customers complain about poor performance and a high number of incidents, which are the result of
infrastructure issues. On several occasions the IT applications and systems could not cope with the
volume of new customers and contracts, even though the sales are fully in line with business
expectations. This has caused several significant outages which adversely impacted the business.
There has been an investment in additional capacity to improve the situation in the short term.
However, as the main issues seem to be linked to design flaws and to a lack of operational staff
involvement in design activities, it is suggested that design and operations resources work together in
order to ensure a long-term improvement to this situation.

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ITIL Intermediate Lifecycle Stream:

SERVICE DESIGN CERTIFICATE

Sample Paper 1, version 6.1

Gradient Style, Complex Multiple Choice

ANSWERS AND RATIONALES

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Answer Key:

Question

Correct:
5 Marks

2nd Best:
3 Marks

3rd Best:
1 Mark

Distracter:
0 Marks

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Scenario

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QUESTION

One

Question Rationale

This question focuses on the managerial and supervisory aspects of the capacity
management process. The main issues in the scenario are:
Capacity issues possibly caused by marketing campaigns for which IT was not
prepared
The scenario states that changes are tested on the companys infrastructure but
not the live infrastructure that is owned by the ISP
The company is implementing service management and the question is about
addressing the above issues and implementing capacity management.
This answer addresses the issues described in the scenario, as well as basic
B
activities enabling improved management of capacity.

MOST CORRECT (5)

Scenario

One

SECOND BEST (3)

Improving links with the marketing department will reduce surprises in

the future. This will allow IT to predict and provide any increase in
capacity
The scenario states that changes are tested on the companys
infrastructure but not the live infrastructure that is owned by the ISP.
This bullet addresses this point so that the ISP can ensure that
adequate resources are predicted and provided
The third bullet is in general a good idea when establishing capacity
management, enabling proactive actions to be taken to avoid incidents
and therefore increase uptime
Introduce a capacity plan such that longer-term capacity changes
based upon growth prediction can be planned and funded. Buying new
capacity in a timely manner will reduce performance-related incidents
and help avoid sudden expensive increases. This will increase
customer satisfaction by ensuring the website is useable when
required
Good points here but does not address all the issues:

Scenario indicates that a stronger link to the marketing department is

needed
Bullet 2 suggests improving testing but does not mention the issue of
testing on a more representative infrastructure
This will increase customer satisfaction by ensuring the website is
useable when required
Establishing interfaces with the change management processes of the
company and the ISP will ensure that any relevant changes affecting
capacity and performance are assessed, avoiding downtime caused
by capacity-related incidents

THIRD BEST (1)

A very good theoretical answer but not adequately related to the scenario.
Nor does it address the lack of testing on the ISP infrastructure.

DISTRACTER (0)

This answer shifts too much of the responsibility to the ISP, and is not a
proactive approach to capacity management:

Syllabus
Unit
Module supported

The scenario did not state that the ISP was the reason for the panic
upgrade. |It is better to improve internal process to avoid asking for
last-minute changes
It will not help much to warn customers about slow systems. They'll
find another shop
Normally its outside your mandate to improve the change process of
your ISP, but its important to address the interface
This shifts too much of the responsibility to the ISP, especially since
the company does not yet have a proper capacity management
process in place themselves
ITIL SL: SD03 Service design processes

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Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered

Book Section Refs

Difficulty

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 Analysing scenario for issues affecting capacity to decide the best way
to solve issues and improve management of capacity. The candidate must
distinguish that best practice is not enough on its own; that solutions must address
the issues in the scenario and so which practices will be chosen will be impacted by
this.
Categories Covered:
Managerial and supervisory aspects of the capacity management process (SD
4.5)
SD 4.5.3 Service design processes Capacity management Value to business
SD 4.5.4 Service design processes Capacity management Policies, principles
and basic concepts
SD 4.5.5 Service design processes Capacity management Process activities,
methods and techniques (Figure 4.17 Capacity management overview with subprocesses )
Hard

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QUESTION

Two

Question Rationale

This question focuses on the use and application of the RACI matrix, and tests the
candidates ability to match skill to activity in the most appropriate way for the IT Unit.
This is the best answer. Everyone is involved. There is only one person
D
accountable for each activity and only the appropriate people are responsible
for contributing to each of the activities.
This is a reasonable solution, but only worth three marks, because SLM is
B
overloaded with accountability and responsibility. SLM is accountable and
responsible for producing service designs, but is not ideally suited and
doesnt have the technical knowledge required to undertake this activity.
This is an unreasonable solution. AvM is a technician and is certainly not the
C
best person to analyse and define requirements. FinM have been given
accountability and/or responsibility for three activities for which they really dont
have the required skills. AccM and SLM have no responsibility or
accountability at all.
This solution is unacceptable because there are two double accountabilities for
A
two of the activities, which will cause conflict and is against RACI guidelines.
ITIL SL: SD05 Organizing for service design
ITIL SL: SD02 Service design principles
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.

MOST CORRECT (5)

SECOND BEST (3)

THIRD BEST (1)

DISTRACTER (0)
Syllabus
Unit
/
Module supported
Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered

Book Section Refs

Difficulty

Scenario

Two

Application The candidate needs to analyse the scenario and apply knowledge
about RACI diagrams in order to identify the best mapping of existing people to new
roles and responsibilities. The candidate must analyse the resident skills of the
people and take this into account when selecting the most appropriate match of
activity to skill.
Categories Covered:
Organizing for service design
RACI
Roles and responsibilities
SD 6.3 Organizing for service design Roles
SD 3.7.4.1 Service design principles Design aspects Designing processes
Designing roles - the RACI model
SD 3.7.4.2 Service design principles Design aspects Designing processes
Processes and RACI
Hard

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QUESTION

Three

Question Rationale

This question focuses on the value and use of customer surveys and of using
feedback to involve the business and drive improvements.
This is the right answer as it incorporates the business and the appropriate
C
representatives from IT.
It is the only answer that agrees on a set of improvement actions.
The scenario indicates, for example, that some improvements can easily
be done at the service desk to improve customer satisfaction, by agreeing
on a set of business priorities for impact and urgency. This might not
necessarily involve changing any SLA targets.
This is the only option that addresses the need of alignment and
interaction between IT and business
B
Assuming that the targets are wrong, adjusting the SLAs and targets alone
will not improve customer satisfaction
Nevertheless, this answer also includes improvements. The weak point is
that they dont involve the business when analysing the situation and
proposing the improvements. This is crucial in order to identify the right
improvement actions. It would also increase the chance to obtain buy-in
and funding from the business
This doesnt really improve the situation.
A
Just agreeing that the SLAs and targets are still valid wont improve
anything. It does not identify improvement actions. It does not involve the
business
An awareness campaign about SLAs and targets might be a good idea,
but should be done in cooperation with the business. In this case, it might
be perceived as blaming the business which signed such a bad SLA and
make the cooperation with business managers difficult
Assuming the targets are wrong and adjusting the SLAs and targets urgently
D
without any business buy-in is not going to improve customer satisfaction. In
fact its probably going to make things even worse. The service design
manager doesnt even involve BRMs, or SLM or AvM teams in the analysis or
to identify actions.
ITIL SL: SD03 Service design processes

MOST CORRECT (5)

SECOND BEST (3)

THIRD BEST (1)

DISTRACTER (0)

Syllabus
Unit
/
Module supported
Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered

Book Section Refs

Difficulty

Scenario

Three

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 Apply knowledge about service level management, and ITIL in general,
in order to identify the best way forward in the situation described.
Categories Covered:
Activities and techniques for service level management, but not the detailed
process steps.
SD 4.2 Service design processes Service level management
Moderate

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QUESTION

Four

Question Rationale

This question focuses on the managerial and supervisory aspects of the supplier
management process. Specific needs for the described scenario must also be
addressed.
Scope of the supplier management process should include:
Implementation and enforcement of a supplier policy
Maintenance of a SCMIS
Supplier and contract categorization and risk assessment
Supplier and contract evaluation and selection
Development, negotiation and agreement of contracts
Contract review, renewal and termination
Management of suppliers and suppliers performance
Implementation of service and supplier improvement plans
Maintenance of standard contracts, terms and conditions
Management of contractual dispute resolution
Management of sub-contracted suppliers
This answer addresses the issues in the scenario and gives the best coverage
D
according to the scope of the supplier management process.

MOST CORRECT (5)

Scenario

Four

SECOND BEST (3)

An SCMIS, with suppliers and contracts categorized based on risk

and strategic value, is crucial in order to be able to spend more time
on key suppliers.
2 A standard approach for contract selection, review, renewal and
termination is needed in the scenario, in order to avoid issues such as
contracts being renewed despite an absence of improvement plans,
and the near termination of contract by accident.
3 This is the core of the supplier management process and addresses
an issue in the scenario of poor communication and failures to meet
agreed targets.
4 This is one possible approach. To establish a separate project might
be the best approach for this issue. Renegotiation and consolidation
of contracts with suppliers delivering services to local offices under
multiple contracts is a time-consuming task. For each contract
renegotiation might need to be aligned with termination dates.
Nearly as good as alternative D but misses:
Management of suppliers and suppliers performance
Agreement and implementation of service and supplier improvement
plans
A possible requirement to consolidate contracts with global suppliers depends
on the circumstances and the conditions in each country. Huge savings can
sometimes be made possible by establishing company-wide contracts, but
sometimes they are not possible because of practical, legal or financial
circumstances. This activity should therefore not be the one to start off with.
1
2
3

THIRD BEST (1)

Nearly as good answer as D since it does not categorize based on

risk to the business and the strategic value of the supplier.
Not as good as answer D. Sub-contracted suppliers are not an issue
in the scenario.
This answer addresses aspects of relationship and performance
management, even if meetings do not necessarily include relationship
management.
At least this question has a focus on strategic and tactical suppliers
only, so this approach might be realistic.

This answer covers some of the topics to be addressed, but not correctly, and
not all of them.
1

Involvement of the legal department to check contracts according to

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company policy, organizational terms and conditions and legal

obligations must be done before contracts are signed, not after as
this review suggests. It is better if they are built into the process and
carried out by renewal of each contract.

DISTRACTER (0)

Also, alignment with SLA targets must be done before contracts are
signed.
2 It is important to implement an SCMIS, but even if notification of
contract expiry dates is useful it is not the main purpose of the
SCMIS. One month in advance is normally too short a notice for
review and renegotiation.
3 Key account managers are normally roles for managing customers,
not suppliers, and this is not a role within supplier management.
4 Consolidation of all contracts with suppliers delivering services to
local offices under multiple contracts is a huge task. It will take time
and effort to renegotiate each contract. The scenario indicates that
the majority of people are located at the Head office in one country,
so the benefit of consolidation must be carefully considered.
It is, though, good to address this issue, since it is of concern to the
management.
This answer has the wrong focus. The frequent turnover of staff is not the root
cause of this problem. Service Management should be focused on welldocumented processes and procedures to avoid dependence on key
personnel.
1

Syllabus
Unit
/
Module supported
Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered

Book Section Refs

Difficulty

People working closest to the suppliers might follow up contracts on a

day-to-day basis, but supplier management and contract
management should be at a higher level.
2 The SCMIS is about more than sharing knowledge and avoiding
dependence on key people.
Clear roles and responsibilities is an important principle within service
management. Two people sharing responsibility for each contract is
not a good idea.
3 The frequent turnover of staff is not the root cause of this problem.
4 Consolidation of contracts with global suppliers might not be the task
to start with, but according to the scenario it should at least be
addressed.
ITIL SL: SD03 Service design processes
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 chaotic situation with regard to
suppliers and contracts in order to decide the best set of actions.
Categories Covered:
Supplier management
Contract management
SCMIS
Supplier categorization
SD 4.8.2 Service design processes Supplier management Scope
SD 4.8.5 Service design processes Supplier management Process activities,
methods and techniques (Figure 4.27 Supplier management process)
SD 4.8.8 Service design processes Supplier management Critical success
factors and key performance indicators
Easy

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QUESTION

Five

Question Rationale

This question focuses on the value and use of SAC and SDP within service design
activities.
This is the right solution, using SAC and SDP templates, with the SAC being
D
created at the start of the design activities and the SDP being produced before
the service moves into the transition stage. The new client management
service, which is early in the design phase, should be chosen as a pilot.
Both SAC and SDP templates are developed. The only thing is that producing
A
the SAC and SDP before transition is less accurate than in option D.
Templates are only developed for SDPs and completed as the service moves
C
into the transition stage. Using both upcoming services as a pilot might seem
to be a good idea, but creating SAC a month before the launch is too late, so
the new web ordering service is not really suitable to be a pilot due to its
current limited state of readiness.
This is not a good solution, as no templates are developed. More importantly,
B
the option specifies that the SDP is assembled during the requirements phase
of the service design stage. This is not possible because the information will
not be available at this time. Creating SAC a month before the launch is too
late, since the content collection of the SAC should have started in service
strategy with financial cost analysis and business sign-off criteria. The SAC is
then expanded in the service design requirements phase, together with the
SDP with all the reminding items outlined in Appendix B, Therefore, the new
web ordering service is not suitable to be a pilot.
ITIL SL: SD01 Introduction to service design

MOST CORRECT (5)

SECOND BEST (3)

THIRD BEST (1)

DISTRACTER (0)

Syllabus
Unit
/
Module supported
Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered

Book Section Refs

Difficulty

Scenario

Five

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 is required to understand the need for templates, and
apply ITIL knowledge in order to identify the correct order of producing the SAC and
SDPs and where they fit into the lifecycle.
Categories Covered:
The contents and use of the service design package
The contents and use of service acceptance criteria
SD Appendix A The service design package
SD Appendix B Service acceptance criteria (example)
Moderate

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QUESTION

Six

Question Rationale

This question focuses on the importance of balanced design (balance between

functionality, resources and schedule, involvement of the business and the need to
consider operational aspects).
B
Involvement of business for business requirements
Technical, operational and organizational aspects taken into account
Balance looked for: joint decision based on costs, risks analysis, high-level
plan and sourcing options
Sourcing: mainly in-house for the first two phases but nothing mentioned
about the actual development; will be considered after full analysis
A
Similar to B except for the requirement analysis
The consultant and the service design manager prepare a report (without
business involvement) submitted to the business for validation and
approval. This is dangerous as their view of the business requirements
might not be accurate enough (which would mean a poor starting point for
the design). Although it might be tempting to save some time at this stage
by not going through a formal requirement analysis, it might end up taking
even longer in the long run).
Alternative B is also better because of the practical approach it takes to
freeing up internal resources for the project by hiring people for less
strategic tasks.
D
Business involvement for requirements analysis mentioned
No indication of operational aspects taken into account
Balance between time, functionality and costs looked for
Sourcing: a straight decision for outsourcing before knowing more about the
actual business requirements is not ideal
C
No requirement analysis with the business
No indication of operational aspects taken into account
No balance between time, functionality and costs: focuses on time only
Sourcing: a straight decision for outsourcing before knowing more about the
actual business requirements is not ideal
ITIL SL: SD02 Service design principles

MOST CORRECT (5)

SECOND BEST (3)

THIRD BEST (1)

DISTRACTER (0)

Syllabus
Unit
/
Module supported
Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered

Book Section Refs

Difficulty

Scenario

Six

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 is required to apply knowledge of balanced design in the
context of the scenario to identify the best proposal.
Categories Covered:
Balanced design Identifying and documenting business requirements and drivers
purpose, goal and objective of service design
SD 1.1.1 Introduction Overview Purpose and objectives
SD 3.2 Service design principles Service design goals
SD 3.3 Service design principles Balanced design
SD 3.4 Service design principles Identifying and documenting business
requirements and drivers
Moderate

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QUESTION

Seven

Question Rationale

Knowledge about KPIs and management reporting is crucial at a managerial level.

This question is about students understanding of different types of metrics.
Especially the four types of metrics used to measure the capability and performance
of processes:
Progress: milestones and deliverables in the capability of the process
Compliance: compliance of the process to governance and regulatory
requirements and compliance of people to the use of the process
Effectiveness: the accuracy and correctness of the process and its ability to
deliver the right result
Efficiency: the productivity of the process, its speed, throughput and resource
utilization

MOST CORRECT (5)

Scenario

Seven

It also brings in the terms primary metrics (focusing on the effectiveness and quality
of the solutions provided) and secondary metrics (focused on the efficiency of the
processes used to produce and manage those solutions).
B
1
This answer recognizes the four categories of metrics used to
measure the capability and performance of processes. It also
proposes a proper use of them.
For immature processes, it is recommended to start with metrics used
to measure progress and compliance, especially during
implementation or redesign. The focus on effectiveness and efficiency
metrics should increase as the process maturity develops.
The described problem management process is redesigned and
immature. Progress and compliance should be carefully measured
during the implementation project.
During the change management process there were problems with
people not following the process, so progress and compliance during
re-implementation should be carefully measured. Effectiveness
metrics to show if the process is able to deliver the right result is
also needed, to convince people that it is worth following the process.
The incident management is more mature and ready to extend the
types of metrics. The scenario states that incidents should be solved
faster, so some effectiveness and efficiency metrics should be added,
in addition to progress and compliance.
2

SECOND BEST (3)

A report should reflect the business value in primary metrics (focusing

on the effectiveness and quality of the solutions provided) as well as
on secondary metrics (focusing on the efficiency of the processes
used to produce and manage those solutions). Using a balanced
scorecard will ensure focus on different areas (as, for example,
people, process, solution, management). Using dashboard reports for
different stakeholder groups are a good way to present the reports.

C
Nearly as good as alternative B but:
1
Except for the incident management process, it might be too much to
implement all categories of metrics before the processes are more
mature. It would be wise to focus on progress and compliance first.
2

Reports focusing only on primary metrics for management and

secondary metrics for process owners are not the best idea. Process
owners will need to see the whole picture and sometimes
management needs to drill down on process metrics as well. It would
also be better to present the reports to the management group.

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THIRD BEST (1)

A

Only three out of four categories of metrics are defined.

For immature processes its best to focus on progress and
compliance. The focus on effectiveness and efficiency metrics should
increase as the process maturity develops. In this answer they have
done the opposite.

It is better if reports are tailored to the stakeholder groups. In addition,

this is not the best way to distribute the reports posting to a website
does not mean that people really look at them or use them.

DISTRACTER (0)
D

This answer confuses primary/secondary metrics with the four types of metrics
used to measure capability and performance of processes (progress,
compliance, effectiveness, and efficiency). By definition, primary metrics
measure the service delivery and secondary metrics measure the contribution
from processes.
1

Syllabus
Unit
/
Module supported
Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered
Book Section Refs
Difficulty

Distracter: Confusion about terms: both primary and secondary

metrics can be in different categories. The difference, as stated in the
SD book, is that the primary metrics should focus on determining the
effectiveness and the quality of the solutions provided. Secondary
metrics can then measure the efficiency of the processes used to
produce and manage the solution. In dashboard reports it should
ideally be possible to look at the primary metrics and drill down to the
secondary metrics.
2
Distracter but a quite commonly used excuse. The idea of some key
KPIs in simple dashboard reports specific to stakeholders should be
possible with simple tools in place. Lack of tools should not stop
them. In the scenario it is a requirement for the project.
ITIL SL: SD02 Service Design Principles
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 Candidate has to analyse the scenario and decide which types of KPI
are most suitable for managing the different processes at their current levels of
maturity.
Categories Covered:
Designing measurement systems and metrics
SD 3.7.5 Service design principles Design aspects Designing measurement
systems and metrics
Moderate

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QUESTION

Eight

Question Rationale

The purpose of the question is to assess the candidates knowledge of the

implementation/improvement cycle in relation to service management in general and
service design in particular:
1. What is the vision?
2. Where are we now?
3. Where do we want to be?
4. How do we get there?
5. How can we tell when we have got there?
6. How do we keep going?

MOST CORRECT (5)

SECOND BEST (3)

THIRD BEST (1)

DISTRACTER (0)

Syllabus
Unit
/
Module supported
Blooms Taxonomy
Testing Level

Subjects covered

Book Section Refs

Difficulty

Scenario

Eight

As the question asks for long-term improvement, a model answer should cover all six
stages of the implementation approach, including keeping the momentum and
improvement cycle going. It should also reflect the need for involving the business,
service design and service operation, as indicated in the scenario.
The six steps of the implementation/improvement approach are covered, and
B
all relevant stakeholders are involved.
Although presented with a different wording, the five first stages are more or
A
less covered but the Where are we now is limited to the ITIL review only. In
addition, the improvement initiative as described is more of a one-off project
than a continuous effort, and the last step of the implementation/improvement
approach (How do we keep going?) is not covered. Service operation is not
involved in the initiative.
Four steps only are covered, and the same comment as for answer A applies.
D
Steps 1 and 6 are not covered at all: the vision is not taken into account as
the business is not involved, and the initiative is again a one-off effort with no
evidence that they will keep going.
The focus is on a symptom (lack of interface and collaboration between
C
service design and service operation) rather than on the genuine issue, which
is likely to be far wider. The proposed solution may sound appealing (e.g.
awareness, training, involvement of operations staff, SIP) but it does not rest
on a sound analysis of the actual needs and business context. In addition, it
does not involve the business at all (not even indirectly) and, apart from buy-in
and support, there is no active involvement of IT management, reducing the
likelihood of permanent improvement.
ITIL SL: SD07 Implementing service design
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 question requires the candidate to analyse the information given in
the scenario, and apply knowledge of the six-stage implementation approach to the
case.
Categories Covered:
Implementation and improvement of service design
Six-stage implementation approach
SD 8.4 Implementing service design Implementing service design
Easy

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