ITIL 4 Foundation Study Guide

ITIL Foundation is the entry level certification that

demonstrates an awareness of key ITIL concepts and practices,
®
as defined in the ITIL 4 Foundation book. It is the
prerequisite for any further ITIL certifications. Previous
ITIL versions have seen over a million Foundation certificates
awarded.

This article provides a study approach to the ITIL 4

Foundation Certification and it’s part of our ITIL 4 Guide,
which you can navigate using the right-hand menu.

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(This article is part of our ITIL 4 Guide. Use the right-hand
menu to navigate.)

What to expect on the Foundation

Exam
To earn the ITIL Foundation certification, you must correctly
answer 26 questions on a 40 question multiple-choice exam
(65%). Each question will include 4 possible answers from
which you must provide the best answer to the question. Each
correct answer is awarded one mark.

The exam’s duration is 1 hour. Candidates taking the exam in a

language that is not their native or working language may be
awarded 25% extra time, i.e. 75 minutes in total. It is a
“closed book” examination. No materials other than the
examination materials are permitted.

The ITIL Foundation certification does not expire or require

continuing education to maintain.

ITIL Foundation Exam Administration

You are not required to take an ITIL training course before
you sit for the exam, but training is strongly recommended. If
you are planning on earning higher level ITIL certifications,
then it would be worthwhile to get formal training because it
includes more detailed discussion on how the pieces fit
together instead of just preparing you to pass the Foundation
exam. SerView, VipCon, and BMC offer some training options.

Cost for taking the exam varies by country, with a typical

expense of around $300. Training organizations usually include
the cost for taking the exam in their course fee and can
administer the exam right after training is complete.

You may take the exam at a

testing center and some
providers may also enable you to
take the exam online without
going to an exam center.If you
choose this option, you must use
a webcam. A proctor will greet
you, walk you through the
examination process, and then
observe while you take the exam.

On completion of the online exam, the provisional score will

be displayed on the screen after you fill out a post exam
survey. Final scores and an e-certificate are available within
two business days, while a hard copy certificate is available
for shipping upon request (additional charges apply).

Exam Resources
Axelos is the worldwide manager of multiple best practice
methodologies, including ITIL. They provide a number of
resources for the exam, including books, sample exams, and
exam apps. Axelos was formed in 2013 as a joint venture
between the UK Cabinet Office and Capita PLC to manage,
develop, and grow the Global Best Practice Portfolio.

ATOs: Accredited Training

Organizations
Axelos works with PeopleCert as its sole exam provider and
accreditation body. PeopleCert is authorized to provide
training and administer examinations through training
organizations that it has accredited worldwide on behalf of
Axelos. ATOs provide both in person and online resources
including classroom and online training and exams. More
information about PeopleCert can be found on their website.

Exam Question Types

The ITIL Foundation exam questions are all Objective Test
Questions (OTQs), which present four options from which one
option is selected.

There are four question styles used within this OTQ type:

Standard e.g. What is a service?

Missing word e.g. Keep it __________ and practical.
List (2 correct items) e.g. Which statement is correct?
1, 2, 3, 4. Choices – A: 1&4 B: 2&4 etc.
Negative standard e.g. Which is NOT a type of change?

Negative standard questions are used as an exception and are

therefore used sparingly in exams.

General Examination Tips

You are not penalized for wrong answers. If you have
drawn a blank, choose an answer to give yourself a
chance.
Drop perfectionism. The exam is pass/fail. There is no
bonus credit for answering more than 26 questions
correctly.
Tips for checking your answers before submitting your
exam:
 Read through each question to make sure you did
not fall into any traps.
Count how many answers you are sure you have
gotten correct. If you have more than 26, then
submit the exam. If you are a cautious person,
submit the exam when you have more than 28
correct.

Key to Success: Avoid the Traps

The ITIL Foundation exam has a high pass rate. Statistics
published in 2013 show a 90% pass rate, and many training
providers advertise a 99% pass rate. Those who avoid the key
traps will succeed on the exam.

Trap #1: Overthinking

How to avoid the trap: Memorize, don’t analyze.

The exam is multiple choice and testing basic knowledge of

ITIL best practices. Memorize high-level concepts and
definitions and stay focused on those concepts and
definitions. Do not think about how your company does a
particular process. Do not think about how you would improve
the process. Just answer based on the ITIL materials.

Example: What is an emergency change?

A change that is subject to expedited risk assessment

A
because it is required to resolve an incident.
A change that doesn’t need risk assessment because the
B
procedure has been pre-authorized.
A change that needs to be assessed, authorized, and
C
scheduled by a change authority.
A change that is assessed, authorized and scheduled as part
D
of ‘continual improvement’.
The answer is A. Three of the four of the answers are related
to types of change, but only A is the correct definition of an
emergency change. Answer B is a standard change while C is a
normal change. D is not a type of change specified by ITIL.

Trap #2: Too many choices

How to avoid the trap: Memorize groups

Some questions offer 2 or more options that may be correct.

The answers will involve various combinations of those
options, and only one combination is correct. The simplest
version of this question is to present two options and offer
these four potential answers: #1 only, #2 only, both, or
neither. Frequently, there will be 4 options and 4
combinations presented.

Trap #3: Out of order

How to avoid the trap: Learn acronyms. Memorize lists in their
correct order.

It’s not always enough to know the items in a list. If they

are presented in a particular sequence or represented by an
acronym, then it is crucial to know the correct order. Knowing
the sequence makes the difference between an easy answer and a
wild guess.

Example: What is the correct sequence within the continual

improvement model?

A Where are we now? Where do we want to be? Did we get there?

B Where do we want to be? Take action. Did we get there?
What is the vision? Where do we want to be? Did we get
C
there?
D How do we get there? Take action. Did we get there?
The answer is D. It lists steps 4, 5 and 6 of the continual
improvement model in the correct sequence.

Trap #4: Speed reading

How to avoid the trap: Read each question carefully.

Some questions are worded in a way that would trip up someone

who did not read every word of the question. Do not read the
first few words and jump down to the answers. Each question
has some keywords that will either make the right answer
obvious or quickly eliminate one or more possible answers.

Two common ways to trap speed readers are:

Asking for the best answer or the answer that most

closely Some questions provide word-for-word
definitions, while others include a slight change. In
some cases, there may be two possible answers that are
nearly identical. You’ll need to read the answers to
discover the difference between the two answers and
choose the correct one.

Example: The BEST definition of an event is:

 An occurrence where a performance threshold has been
A exceeded and an agreed Service Level has already been
impacted.
An occurrence that is significant for the management of
B
configuration items or delivery of services.
A known system defect that generates multiple incident
C
reports.
A planned meeting of customers and IT staff to announce a
D
new service or improvement program.
The answer is B. The first answer is part of Service Level
Management . C is a known error and is handled by Problem
Management. The planned meeting described by D is part of
Release and Deployment Management.

Using negative descriptors, such as NOT or EXCEPT.

Instead of choosing the correct answer, you will be
asked to choose the incorrect answer.

Example: Which of the following is NOT a service management

practice?

A Business analysis
B Change control
C Release management
D Knowledge management
The answer is D. A, B and C are service management practices,
while knowledge management is a general management practice.

As you read more practice questions, you will recognize the

keywords that can easily point to the correct answer or
eliminate possible distractors. Memorizing the material in
its proper order and understanding how exam questions are
worded are the biggest keys to success.
What to study
Please note: This is not a comprehensive list. The purpose of
this summary is to highlight the areas of focus for question
that appear on the ITIL Foundation Certification exam.

For a more comprehensive listing, download the Foundation

Syllabus from the Axelos site if it has not been included with
your training materials. Axelos provides this syllabus to
ensure that ATOs cover the appropriate material in their
training. If you are doing self-study, the suggested training
timeframes help you prioritize what material to study and how
much time to spend studying each topic.

As of April 2019, the Foundation syllabus breaks down levels

of understanding into Awareness and Comprehension according to
Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning which is used to categorize
learning objectives, and from there assess learning
achievements. Awareness topics do not go in-depth, so in most
cases they can be addressed by memorizing key
definitions. Comprehension topics require a deeper level of
knowledge and will require more understanding. Comprehension
goes beyond memorizing definitions and includes understanding
why and how the concept impacts the business.

In the ITIL Foundation exam, the number of questions according

to Bloom’s Taxonomy is as follows:

Blooms Taxonomy Level Number of Questions [Percentage]

BL1: Awareness 9 [22.5%]
BL 2: Comprehension 31 [77.5%]
The ITIL Foundation exam syllabus can be summarized as
follows:

No of
No. Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria
OTQs [%]
 Definitions and concepts:
(Service, Utility,
Warranty, Customer, User,
Service management,
Sponsor, Cost;
Understand the key Value, Organization,
1 5 [12.5%]
service concepts Outcome, Output, Risk,
Utility, Warranty;
Service offering, Service
relationship management,
Service provision,
Service consumption)
Describe nature, use and
interaction of the
guiding principles:
Understand how the (Focus on value; Start
ITIL guiding where you are; Progress
principles can help iteratively with
2 5 [12.5%]
an organization feedback; Collaborate
adopt and adapt and promote visibility;
service management Think and work
holistically; Keep it
simple and practical;
Optimize and automate)
Describe the four
dimensions:
Understand the four (Organizations and
3 dimensions of People; Information and 2 [5%]
service management Technology; Partners and
Suppliers; Value streams
and Processes)
Understand the Describe the ITIL SVS:
purpose and (Guiding principles,
4 components of the Governance, Service value 1 [2.5%]
ITIL service value chain, Practices,
system Continual improvement)
 Describe inputs, outputs
Understand the and purpose of each value
activities of the chain activity:
5 service value chain, (Plan, Improve, Engage, 4 [10%]
and how they Design & transition,
interconnect Obtain/build, Deliver &
support)
 Recall purpose of the 18
ITIL Practices:
(Information security
management; Relationship
management; Supplier
management; Availability
management; Capacity and
performance management;
IT asset management;
Service continuity
management; Monitoring
and event management;
Release management;
Service configuration
Know the purpose and
management; Deployment
6 key terms of 18 ITIL 7 [17.5%]
management; Continual
practices
improvement; Change
control; Incident
management; Problem
management; Service
request management;
Service desk; Service
level management)

Recall definitions of 8
key ITIL Terms:
(Availability, IT asset,
Event, Configuration
item, Change, Incident,
Problem, Known error).
 Explain the 7 ITIL
Practices in detail
including how they fit in
the value chain:
(Continual improvement;
Understand 7 ITIL Optimize and automate;
7 16 [40%]
practices Change control; Incident
management; Problem
management; Service
request management;
Service desk; Service
level management)

Conclusion
To obtain the ITIL Foundation Certification, you must answer
at least 26 out of 40 multiple-choice questions on the
examination. Focusing on the key topics (that have highest OTQ
percentage) and memorizing the listed ITIL concepts and terms
will lead to success. Good luck on the examination!

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