A new incident categorization scheme has 140 categories, and analysts routinely pick the wrong one because the distinctions do not change how an incident is handled. What should the team do, and on which guiding principle should they rely?
ITIL 4 Foundation, objective 2. The ITIL guiding principles medium
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The options
Not correct Keep all 140 categories but automate the categorization, applying 'optimize and automate'
This automates a scheme that has already been shown not to help. The principle's own sequencing says optimize first; automating an over-complex scheme entrenches it.
Correct Reduce the scheme to the minimum set of categories that actually change how work is done, applying 'keep it simple and practical'
Correct. The principle calls for using the minimum number of steps needed to achieve an objective and removing anything that does not produce a useful outcome.
Not correct Keep the scheme and add training and reporting so accuracy is visible, applying 'collaborate and promote visibility'
Visibility of the error rate does not remove the cause. The scheme itself carries unnecessary complexity that produces no useful outcome.
Not correct Retain the scheme because a complete taxonomy supports end-to-end analysis, applying 'think and work holistically'
Working holistically does not mean maximizing detail. Holistic thinking would still reject categories that add effort without changing any decision or outcome.
Why
'Keep it simple and practical' is applied by asking what the minimum is that achieves the objective. Detail that does not alter how the work is done is complexity without value, and the principle says to eliminate it. Note the interaction with 'optimize and automate': automating the bloated scheme would be the wrong order.
Where this comes from
- Cited
- ITIL 4 syllabus clause 2
- What it says
- Keep it simple and practical: use the minimum number of steps needed to accomplish an objective.
Practise this
Reading one question is not practice. The trainer will draw a set from objective 2 and space the ones you get wrong.