CITM Sample Questions Answers

To deliverknowledgesupportingcross-functional business units, bothinformation management(A) anddata management(B) are required (C).Data managementensures raw data is collected, stored, and organized (e.g., databases, data quality), whileinformation managementtransforms data into meaningful knowledge (e.g., through analytics, reporting, or knowledge bases) accessible to business units. According toCOBITorIT strategy frameworks, integrating data and information management enables cross-functional collaboration by providing actionable insights and knowledge sharing.

Information management alone (A):Focuses on knowledge delivery but relies on well-managed data.

Data management alone (B):Provides raw data but lacks the processes to turn it into usable knowledge.

TheRecovery Point Objective (RPO)(D) inbusiness continuity planningdefines the maximum age of data (i.e., the amount of data loss acceptable) that can be tolerated in a disaster before recovery. It represents the time between the last backup and the point of failure, indicating potential data loss. For example, an RPO of 4 hours means up to 4 hours of data could be lost. According toISO 22301, RPO is critical for determining backup and replication strategies.

Maximum Time Allowed (MTA) (A):Not a standard term in business continuity.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) (B):Defines the maximum downtime before recovery, not data loss.

Maximum Allowable Outage (MAO) (C):Refers to the maximum time a system can be unavailable, similar to RTO, not data loss.

The analysis identifiesinsufficient manpower(a staffing issue) andlack of skills(a capability issue) within the internal IT provider. These gaps correspond toorganizational(manpower, related to staffing and resource allocation) andtechnical(skills, related to expertise and technical capabilities) deficiencies (B).

Financial and organizational (A):Financial gaps (e.g., budget constraints) are not mentioned in the scenario.

Financial and technical (C):Financial issues are not indicated; the focus is on manpower and skills.

According tovendor management frameworks, identifying gaps in internal capabilities (e.g., staffing and technical expertise) justifies outsourcing to a vendor to fill these deficiencies.

To ensurecontinuityin vendor selection, the key criteria includehead count(vendor’s staffing capacity to deliver services),support(availability of ongoing technical and operational support), andfinancial stability(ensuring the vendor remains viable to provide services long-term). These factors directly impact the vendor’s ability to maintain service delivery without interruptions, which is critical for business continuity.

Scope, maintenance, and price (A):Scope and price are important but don’t directly ensure continuity; maintenance is a subset of support.

Terms and conditions, maintenance, and terms of engagement (B):These are contractual elements, but they don’t fully address operational continuity like staffing or financial stability.

Price, training, and support (C):Training is less critical for continuity compared to staffing capacity or financial health.

According tovendor management frameworks, continuity is ensured by evaluating the vendor’s operational capacity and long-term reliability, making head count, support, and financial stability the minimum criteria.

A high failure rate of changes duringPost Implementation Review (PIR)inITIL’s change management process suggests a deficiency in theassessment and evaluation of change requests(A). Proper assessment involves analyzing risks, impacts, and feasibility before approving changes. If this step is inadequate (e.g., overlooking conflicts or underestimating impacts), changes are more likely to fail, as they may not align with objectives or be poorly planned.

Insufficient resources (B):May cause delays but is less directly tied to failed objectives compared to poor assessment.

CAB meetings not taking place (C):The CAB reviews changes, but the scenario doesn’t indicate meetings are absent; poor assessment can occur even with CAB involvement.

Insufficient budget (D):May limit implementation but is less likely the primary cause of failed objectives.

The customer’s focus on incorporatingfuture functional requirementsindicates a need forperfective maintenance(B). Inapplication management, perfective maintenance involves enhancing software to add new features or improve functionality to meet evolving business needs, such as adding new modules or capabilities.

Preventive maintenance (A):Focuses on preventing issues by optimizing performance or addressing potential problems, not adding new features.

Corrective maintenance (C):Involves fixing bugs or errors, not incorporating new functionality.

Adaptive maintenance (D):Adapts software to environmental changes (e.g., new operating systems), not specifically for new functional requirements.

Perfective maintenance aligns with theSDLC’s maintenance phase, ensuring the software evolves to support future business requirements.

The scenario describes a social media platform generating alarge volume of raw data(e.g., user interactions, multimedia content) and a need foradvanced analysisby the marketing department.Big Data Analysis(D) is the best technology, as it handles large, unstructured datasets and uses advanced techniques (e.g., machine learning, predictive analytics) to derive insights, such as user behavior or campaign effectiveness.

Master Data Management (MDM) (A):Focuses on managing core business data (e.g., customer records) for consistency, not analyzing large raw datasets.

Digital Asset Management (DAM) (B):Manages multimedia assets (e.g., images, videos) for storage and retrieval, not advanced analysis.

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) (C):Supports multidimensional analysis of structured data but is less suited for unstructured, large-scale social media data compared to big data tools.

Big Data Analysis aligns withIT strategyfor leveraging large datasets to drive business value, as per modern data management frameworks.

When implementing a new system, the customer’s concern about a large impact on the user base suggests the need for a low-risk, controlled adoption strategy. Inapplication management, theparalleladoption approach (B) involves running both the old and new systems simultaneously for a period, allowing users to transition gradually while ensuring the new system functions correctly. This minimizes disruption, as the old system remains operational as a fallback if issues arise with the new system.

Big bang (A):This approach involves switching entirely to the new system at once, which is high-risk and likely to cause significant disruption, especially for a concerned user base. It’s unsuitable here due to the potential for widespread impact.

Coordinated (C):This is not a standard term in application deployment strategies. It may imply a managed transition but lacks the specificity of parallel or phased approaches.

Phased (D):This involves rolling out the new system incrementally (e.g., by department or module), which reduces risk but doesn’t provide the same level of safety as parallel, where both systems run concurrently to ensure continuity.

Theparallelapproach is ideal for mitigating risks during a critical system transition, as it allows validation of the new system’s performance while maintaining business continuity. According toITILorSDLCframeworks, parallel adoption is often recommended for mission-critical systems to ensure stability and user acceptance.

InITIL, theservice operationphase focuses on delivering and managing services, including activities like communicating scheduled outages (A), reporting service performance (B), and handling escalations (C).Defining service strategy(D) is part of theservice strategyphase, not service operation, as it involves planning and aligning services with business goals.

ACritical Success Factor (CSF)inIT services review, as perITIL’s service management framework, is toevaluate deliverables before meeting the customer for an IT service review(A). This ensures that the IT service provider has thoroughly assessed service performance, identified issues, and prepared actionable insights or recommendations to discuss with the customer. Pre-evaluating deliverables enables a productive review meeting, ensuring alignment with customer expectations and service level agreements (SLAs).

Suitable location (B):Logistical factors like location are not critical to the success of the review process.

Explain shortcomings and bottlenecks (C):While transparency is important, focusing only on issues without prior evaluation may undermine the review’s effectiveness.

Inform customers on improvements (D):Informing about improvements is part of the review but not the CSF; evaluation of deliverables is the foundation for meaningful discussions.

Requests for password resets from unknown individuals suggestsocial engineeringattacks, such as phishing or impersonation, where attackers manipulate users to gain unauthorized access. An information security awareness program should focus on educating staff about social engineering tactics to recognize and prevent such incidents.

E-mail usage (A), instant messaging (B), and internet usage (C) may be vectors for attacks, but the core issue is social engineering, which encompasses tactics used across these channels.

The main objective ofvendor management meetingsis toverify if the vendor continues to meet the requirements of the contract, supporting the business processes(C). These meetings, as part ofvendor management frameworks, ensure that the vendor’s performance aligns with contractual obligations, service level agreements (SLAs), and business needs. They involve reviewing service delivery, compliance, and any issues affecting business processes.

Explore improvement programs (A):A secondary goal, as improvements may arise from performance reviews.

Identify possible price increases (B):Price discussions may occur, but they are not the primary focus.

Discuss improvement programs (D):Similar to A, this is a potential outcome but not the main objective.