ITIL 4 Found. · PeopleCert · ITIL guiding principles · Bank updated 2026-07-03
ITIL 4 Found. practice questions: ITIL guiding principles
5 free questions from 23 on this area · answer and explanation for each · no sign-up
These 5 questions come from the ITIL guiding principles section of our ITIL 4 Found. bank (23 questions on this area, which carries 15% of the real exam). Every question is original, with the correct answer explained and linked to the source it is drawn from.
1/5 · ITIL guiding principles · easy
The ITIL 4 guiding principles are: focus on value; start where you are; progress iteratively with feedback; collaborate and promote visibility; think and work holistically; keep it simple and practical; and ______.
Astandardize and outsource
Bmeasure and monitor continually
Coptimize and automate
Dplan and control rigorously
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2/5 · ITIL guiding principles · hard
An improvement team wants to replace an existing incident-logging tool because staff complain it is 'old and clunky'. Applying the guiding principle 'start where you are', what should the team do first?
AImmediately purchase a new tool, since staff perception alone is sufficient evidence that the current tool has no value.
BIgnore the complaints entirely, since 'start where you are' means no service changes are ever permitted.
CMeasure the tool's actual performance and gather objective data on what is and is not working, since some existing elements may already be fit for purpose.
DPostpone any assessment and instead let the leadership team choose a tool based solely on vendor market share.
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3/5 · ITIL guiding principles · hard
Work on a service improvement is tracked only in the memory of the improvement lead, with no shared record of progress. Other teams frequently duplicate effort or make decisions based on outdated assumptions. Which guiding principle, if applied, would most directly address this problem?
ACollaborate and promote visibility, by making work, progress, and outcomes visible using shared, accessible information such as a kanban board.
BKeep it simple and practical, by removing the improvement lead's role entirely to simplify the reporting chain.
COptimize and automate, by automating the duplicated effort before understanding its cause.
DStart where you are, by refusing to change the current tracking approach because it has always been used.
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4/5 · ITIL guiding principles · hard
A team is running short, iterative cycles of improvement, and at the start, middle, and end of each cycle it ensures that stakeholders across departments can see progress and provide input. This approach illustrates the combined application of which two guiding principles?
AThink and work holistically, and keep it simple and practical.
BProgress iteratively with feedback, and collaborate and promote visibility.
CStart where you are, and optimize and automate.
DFocus on value, and keep it simple and practical.
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5/5 · ITIL guiding principles · hard
A project manager insists that every decision on a service improvement initiative, however minor, must be approved by a large cross-functional steering committee, stating this is required to "collaborate and promote visibility." Which statement best explains the misapplication of this guiding principle?
ACollaborate and promote visibility requires that every organizational decision achieve unanimous consensus among all stakeholders
BThe guiding principle recommends eliminating all committees and governance structures to speed up decision-making
CGenuine collaboration should extend only as far as necessary for a given decision; routing every minor decision through a large committee creates bottlenecks rather than real collaboration
DThis principle only applies to collaboration with external suppliers and partners, not to internal governance structures
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C is correct. "Collaborate and promote visibility" recommends genuine collaboration only to the extent necessary to achieve a goal, and making work and decisions appropriately visible so they can be understood and acted upon efficiently. Forcing every minor decision through a large steering committee misapplies the principle by creating unnecessary delay and layers rather than proportionate, purposeful collaboration. Decisions should be made at the most appropriate level, with visibility calibrated to what stakeholders actually need to know.
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