CITM EXIN EPI Certified Information Technology Manager Questions and Answers

In theSoftware Development Life Cycle (SDLC), thedevelopment phasetypically includescode writing(A),testing(B), anddocumenting(C) to build and verify the software.Implementation(D) is part of thedeployment phase, where the software is installed and made operational in the production environment, not part of development.

ACritical Success Factor (CSF)inIT services review, as perITIL’s service management framework, is toevaluate deliverables before meeting the customer for an IT service review(A). This ensures that the IT service provider has thoroughly assessed service performance, identified issues, and prepared actionable insights or recommendations to discuss with the customer. Pre-evaluating deliverables enables a productive review meeting, ensuring alignment with customer expectations and service level agreements (SLAs).

Suitable location (B):Logistical factors like location are not critical to the success of the review process.

Explain shortcomings and bottlenecks (C):While transparency is important, focusing only on issues without prior evaluation may undermine the review’s effectiveness.

Inform customers on improvements (D):Informing about improvements is part of the review but not the CSF; evaluation of deliverables is the foundation for meaningful discussions.

The customer’s focus on incorporatingfuture functional requirementsindicates a need forperfective maintenance(B). Inapplication management, perfective maintenance involves enhancing software to add new features or improve functionality to meet evolving business needs, such as adding new modules or capabilities.

Preventive maintenance (A):Focuses on preventing issues by optimizing performance or addressing potential problems, not adding new features.

Corrective maintenance (C):Involves fixing bugs or errors, not incorporating new functionality.

Adaptive maintenance (D):Adapts software to environmental changes (e.g., new operating systems), not specifically for new functional requirements.

Perfective maintenance aligns with theSDLC’s maintenance phase, ensuring the software evolves to support future business requirements.

When a lot of data exist about the effort required for project activities, thebottom-upestimation technique (D) is most appropriate. This method involves estimating the effort for each task in theWork Breakdown Structure (WBS)individually, then aggregating them to derive the total project duration or cost. It leverages detailed data for accuracy, as perPMBOK’s estimation techniques.

Top-down (A):Uses high-level estimates based on historical data or expert judgment, less accurate with detailed task data available.

Three-point (B):Uses optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates for uncertainty, but is less focused on leveraging detailed effort data.

Comparative (C):Likely refers to analogous estimation, which relies on comparisons to past projects, not detailed task data.

Bottom-up estimation is ideal when detailed effort data is available, ensuring precision in project planning.

To deliverknowledgesupportingcross-functional business units, bothinformation management(A) anddata management(B) are required (C).Data managementensures raw data is collected, stored, and organized (e.g., databases, data quality), whileinformation managementtransforms data into meaningful knowledge (e.g., through analytics, reporting, or knowledge bases) accessible to business units. According toCOBITorIT strategy frameworks, integrating data and information management enables cross-functional collaboration by providing actionable insights and knowledge sharing.

Information management alone (A):Focuses on knowledge delivery but relies on well-managed data.

Data management alone (B):Provides raw data but lacks the processes to turn it into usable knowledge.

The main objective of ajob rotation programin anIT organizationis tosupport the long-term continuity of the organization(A). Job rotation ensures that multiple staff members are trained across various roles and tasks, reducing dependency on specific individuals and mitigating risks associated with staff turnover or absences. This approach enhances organizational resilience by creating a flexible, cross-trained workforce capable of maintaining operations, aligning withIT organizationprinciples for workforce planning and business continuity.

Train staff on a range of activities (B):While training is a benefit, it is a means to achieve continuity, not the primary objective.

Increase staff job satisfaction (C):Job satisfaction may be a secondary benefit, but it’s not the main goal in an IT context.

Allow staff a diversity in responsibilities (D):Diversity in tasks is a byproduct, not the primary focus, which is organizational continuity.

According tohuman resource managementframeworks, job rotation is a strategic tool for ensuring operational stability, particularly in IT environments where specialized skills are critical.

For a recurring incident,problem managementinITILaims to identify the root cause to prevent future occurrences. The5-Whystechnique (C) is recommended as it involves repeatedly asking “why” to drill down to the root cause of the issue. This simple, effective method is suitable for a group of technical specialists analyzing a recurring problem, such as an incident occurring every Monday, which may stem from a specific process, configuration, or system issue.

Kepner-Tregoe (A):A structured decision-making and problem-solving method, more complex and less focused on root cause analysis alone.

Technical observation post (B):Not a standard problem management technique; likely a distractor.

Fault isolation (D):Focuses on isolating faulty components, more applicable to hardware issues than recurring process-related incidents.

The 5-Whys technique is widely used in ITIL problem management for its simplicity and effectiveness in collaborative root cause analysis.

Acompensating controlis an alternative control implemented when the preferred control cannot be applied due to constraints (e.g., technical, financial, or operational). According to frameworks likeCOBITorISO/IEC 27001, compensating controls provide equivalent or partial risk mitigation when the primary control is infeasible.

Deterrent controls (A) discourage violations, detective controls (C) identify incidents, and corrective controls (D) address issues after they occur. Only compensating control (B) fits the scenario of a second-best alternative due to constraints.

Given the constraints oflittle to no budgetandlimited time,internet job boardsare the ideal sourcing method. They are cost-effective (often free or low-cost), allow quick posting of job openings, and reach a wide pool of candidates, enabling rapid hiring.

Word of mouth (A) is informal and may not yield qualified candidates quickly. Internal IT staff based on SWOT analysis (B) is not a standard recruitment method and takes time to analyze. Recruitment agencies (D) are expensive and slower due to their processes, making them unsuitable for low-budget, urgent hiring.

When implementing a new system, the customer’s concern about a large impact on the user base suggests the need for a low-risk, controlled adoption strategy. Inapplication management, theparalleladoption approach (B) involves running both the old and new systems simultaneously for a period, allowing users to transition gradually while ensuring the new system functions correctly. This minimizes disruption, as the old system remains operational as a fallback if issues arise with the new system.

Big bang (A):This approach involves switching entirely to the new system at once, which is high-risk and likely to cause significant disruption, especially for a concerned user base. It’s unsuitable here due to the potential for widespread impact.

Coordinated (C):This is not a standard term in application deployment strategies. It may imply a managed transition but lacks the specificity of parallel or phased approaches.

Phased (D):This involves rolling out the new system incrementally (e.g., by department or module), which reduces risk but doesn’t provide the same level of safety as parallel, where both systems run concurrently to ensure continuity.

Theparallelapproach is ideal for mitigating risks during a critical system transition, as it allows validation of the new system’s performance while maintaining business continuity. According toITILorSDLCframeworks, parallel adoption is often recommended for mission-critical systems to ensure stability and user acceptance.

Ause caseoruser storydescribes interactions between a user (role) and the system to achieve a specific goal, defining what the system must do. This corresponds to afunctional requirement(A), which specifies the system’s features or capabilities (e.g., “the system shall allow users to submit a return request”). According toSDLCand requirements engineering, functional requirements focus on specific functionalities, as captured in use cases.

Behavioral requirement (B):Not a standard term; it may refer to system behavior but is less specific than functional requirements.

Non-functional requirement (C):Covers performance, scalability, or usability (e.g., response time), not specific user interactions.

Security requirement (D):A subset of non-functional requirements focused on security, not general use case interactions.

The scenario describes a virtual assistant designed to provide simple instructions for product returns based onpre-defined questionscommonly asked by customers. This indicates the use ofsupervised machine learning(B), where the system is trained on a labeled dataset (e.g., questions paired with correct responses) to predict appropriate answers. Supervised learning is ideal for applications like chatbots or virtual assistants that rely on predefined input-output pairs to handle customer queries efficiently.

Unsupervised (A):Involves finding patterns in unlabeled data (e.g., clustering), not suitable for predefined question-response tasks.

Reinforcement learning (C):Focuses on learning through trial and error with rewards, used in dynamic environments (e.g., robotics), not for static question answering.

Deep learning (D):A subset of supervised or unsupervised learning using neural networks, but the question doesn’t specify complex architectures, making supervised learning the broader, correct choice.

Supervised learning aligns withIT strategyfor deploying AI-driven customer support tools, as it ensures accurate, predictable responses based on trained data, enhancing user experience in a global retail system.