ITIL 4 Foundation Practice Exam

What is meant by 'escalation' in service management?

1. Increasing the priority of an incident

2. Transferring ownership of an issue

3. All levels of management being involved

4. Documenting all service requests

The correct answer is: Transferring ownership of an issue

In service management, 'escalation' predominantly refers to the process of transferring ownership of an issue, often to ensure it is handled by a team or individual with the necessary skills, authority, or resources to resolve it effectively. This transfer helps to address incidents or problems that cannot be resolved at the current level of support, thereby optimizing the response to issues that may require higher technical expertise or greater management visibility. Effective escalation processes are crucial because they help maintain service quality by ensuring that support teams can focus on issues within their competence while promptly routing more complex or critical issues to appropriate higher levels of authority or specialized personnel. In contrast, increasing the priority of an incident relates to the urgency with which an issue is addressed, rather than the ownership transfer aspect of escalation. Involving all levels of management pertains to broader decision-making and oversight roles rather than the targeted nature of escalation in operational service management. Documenting all service requests is part of the overall service management documentation processes and does not directly pertain to the critical action of escalating issues.