CIM Root Cause Analysis & Problem Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When conducting a blameless post-mortem, which principle is most important?
- Ensuring a written disciplinary report is filed
- Assuming people acted with good intent given the information available to them at the time (Correct answer)
- Limiting attendance to senior management only
- Focusing on financial losses caused by the incident
Correct answer: Assuming people acted with good intent given the information available to them at the time
Blameless post-mortems assume people made reasonable decisions with the information they had, shifting focus to system improvements rather than individual punishment.
Question 2: A problem manager is reviewing several problem records and must decide which to prioritize. Which criterion should carry the most weight?
- The age of the problem record
- The potential business impact if the underlying cause remains unresolved (Correct answer)
- The number of technicians available to work on it
- The vendor's response time to previous issues
Correct answer: The potential business impact if the underlying cause remains unresolved
Business impact — the scope and severity of disruption caused if the problem persists — is the most important factor when prioritizing problem resolution efforts.
Question 3: In the context of RCA, what is a 'contributing factor' as distinct from a 'root cause'?
- The factor that alone would have caused the incident
- A condition that worsened the incident's impact but alone would not have caused it (Correct answer)
- A factor identified only after the incident is closed
- An environmental condition unrelated to the incident
Correct answer: A condition that worsened the incident's impact but alone would not have caused it
Contributing factors amplify an incident's severity or probability but are insufficient on their own to cause the failure — the root cause is the fundamental trigger.
Question 4: Which activity formally closes a problem record in problem management?
- When all related incidents are resolved
- When a permanent fix has been verified as effective and the record is reviewed and closed (Correct answer)
- When the customer stops reporting the issue
- When the problem is moved to the KEDB
Correct answer: When a permanent fix has been verified as effective and the record is reviewed and closed
A problem record is formally closed after a permanent fix has been implemented, tested, and confirmed effective, followed by a formal closure review.
Question 5: An incident manager notices that database timeout incidents spike every Monday morning. What problem management action is most appropriate?
- Increase the SLA for Monday incidents
- Initiate a problem investigation to identify if a recurring scheduled job or resource contention is the root cause (Correct answer)
- Add more staff on Monday mornings only
- Document it as a known error without further analysis
Correct answer: Initiate a problem investigation to identify if a recurring scheduled job or resource contention is the root cause
A recurring pattern tied to a specific time indicates a likely systemic or scheduled trigger, warranting a structured problem investigation to identify and eliminate the root cause.
Question 6: What is the purpose of a 'problem model' in problem management?
- A template for creating new service requests
- A predefined approach for handling specific types of recurring problems efficiently (Correct answer)
- A diagram showing the physical layout of IT infrastructure
- A financial model calculating the cost of downtime
Correct answer: A predefined approach for handling specific types of recurring problems efficiently
Problem models provide a structured, repeatable approach for addressing known types of problems, reducing investigation time and improving consistency.
Question 7: Which of the following represents the correct sequence in the problem management lifecycle?
- Detection → Logging → Categorization → Prioritization → Investigation → Known Error → Error Control → Closure (Correct answer)
- Logging → Closure → Investigation → Known Error → Detection
- Detection → Closure → Prioritization → Investigation → Logging
- Investigation → Detection → Known Error → Logging → Closure
Correct answer: Detection → Logging → Categorization → Prioritization → Investigation → Known Error → Error Control → Closure
The problem management lifecycle flows from detection and logging through categorization, prioritization, investigation, known error identification, error control, and finally formal closure.
CIM Root Cause Analysis & Problem Management 5
When conducting a blameless post-mortem, which principle is most important?