ITIL 4 Foundation Practice Exam

In service management, which term is used to describe a necessary precondition for achieving results?

1. Requirement

2. Deliverable

3. Critical success factor

4. Milestone

The correct answer is: Critical success factor

The term that describes a necessary precondition for achieving results in service management is a critical success factor. Critical success factors are those elements that are essential for the organization to achieve its objectives and goals. They focus on what needs to be done to ensure that desired outcomes can be reached. In the context of service management, identifying and understanding critical success factors allows organizations to align their resources and activities effectively toward achieving results, ensuring that they prioritize efforts that will have the most significant impact. While requirements refer to specific needs that must be met, they do not necessarily indicate a broader condition that must be satisfied to reach an overall goal. Deliverables are tangible outputs produced as a result of a project or service initiative, and while they are important, they are the results rather than the preconditions for achieving them. Milestones mark significant points of progress within a project timeline but do not encompass the broader preconditions needed for overall success. Hence, critical success factors serve a vital role in guiding and measuring what is necessary to achieve effective service management outcomes.