ITIL 4 Foundation - IT Service Management Cheat Sheet

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ITIL 4 Foundation is the entry-level certification in the ITIL 4 framework for IT service management, owned by PeopleCert and AXELOS and examined as a single 40-question multiple-choice paper. The framework reframes IT around the co-creation of value through services rather than the delivery of technology, and is built on the Service Value System (SVS): the seven guiding principles, governance, the service value chain, 34 management practices, and continual improvement, all working together. This sheet maps every concept the Foundation exam tests, from value, utility and warranty to the four dimensions, the value chain activities, and the practices you must know in detail such as incident, problem, and change enablement. Treat the exam as criterion-referenced: the graded answer is the one ITIL defines, which is not always the same as general industry habit.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 16 focused tables and 112 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Service Value and the Nature of ValueTable 2: Service Management Stakeholders and RolesTable 3: Products, Services and Service RelationshipsTable 4: The Four Dimensions of Service ManagementTable 5: The ITIL Service Value System and GovernanceTable 6: The Seven Guiding PrinciplesTable 7: The Service Value ChainTable 8: ITIL Management Practices: Concept and CategoriesTable 9: Service Desk and Service Request ManagementTable 10: Incident and Problem ManagementTable 11: Change EnablementTable 12: Service Level Management and SLAsTable 13: Continual ImprovementTable 14: General Management Practices (Purpose Level)Table 15: Service Configuration, Asset, Monitoring and Release Practices (Purpose Level)Table 16: Metrics, KPIs and Measurement

Table 1: Service Value and the Nature of Value

Service management concepts (ITIL 4 Foundation): the core ideas behind value and value co-creation, the basis for every exam question on what a service is for and how it benefits the consumer.

Concept	Example	Description
Value	A car-hire booking is worth more to a stressed traveller than to a casual one, even at the same price	The perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of something. Value is subjective to the consumer and not fixed. Tested trap: value is decided by the consumer's perception, not set objectively by the provider.
Value co-creation	Provider and customer jointly define requirements and design the service together	Value is co-created through active collaboration between provider and consumer, never delivered one way like a package. The consumer is an active participant, not a passive receiver.
Outcome	A wedding album lets a couple relive memories for years	A result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs. Not to be confused with output: an outcome is the benefit the consumer actually wants.
Output	The finished wedding album itself	A tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity. The thing produced, as opposed to the result it enables (the outcome).

Table 1: Service Value and the Nature of Value

Service management concepts (ITIL 4 Foundation): the core ideas behind value and value co-creation, the basis for every exam question on what a service is for and how it benefits the consumer.

Concept	Example	Description
Value	A car-hire booking is worth more to a stressed traveller than to a casual one, even at the same price	The perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of something. Value is subjective to the consumer and not fixed. Tested trap: value is decided by the consumer's perception, not set objectively by the provider.
Value co-creation	Provider and customer jointly define requirements and design the service together	Value is co-created through active collaboration between provider and consumer, never delivered one way like a package. The consumer is an active participant, not a passive receiver.
Outcome	A wedding album lets a couple relive memories for years	A result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs. Not to be confused with output: an outcome is the benefit the consumer actually wants.
Output	The finished wedding album itself	A tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity. The thing produced, as opposed to the result it enables (the outcome).