Help with ITIL-OSA exam (Questions regarding RACI model and MoSCow method)

Mustafa Samadi

I have recently written the test for ITIL-OSA.

There were 2 questions that I did not have enough understanding or practice on and never saw similar questions in the sample exam papers.

RACI Model - A table/chart was given for various roles in an IT org e.g. access manager, security manager, Network Analyst, HR etc. and the quetion was to find who should be R,A,C&I. I found it quite diffuclt to go through all 4 answers and find the correct one.
MoSCow method - Similar question as above and various functionalities were in the tables and I had to choose from 4 tables what munctionality is must have, should have, could have and will have in future. I found it also dificult in 11 minutes to go through all the 4 tables and eliminate the wrong answers.

Can anyone kindly suggest how to approach answering these questions next time. Or where can find some study materials on these 2 topics and where can I find some sample exam questions on these? Thank you kindly.

Jo Peacock

Hi Mustafa,

RACI and MoSCoW are commonly used techniques within the IT industry. Whilst they are initially introduced in the v3 Foundation syllabus, they are not covered in great depth as they are recognised techniques.

Axelos has produced a whitepaper on the use of RACI with ITIL: https://www.axelos.com/news/blogs/june-2018/how-important-is-itils-raci-matrix-in-itsm
You can also find a detailed breakdown of RACI (and the various derivitives) on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_assignment_matrix

MoSCoW is a technique used in product definition and tool selection. Whilst Axelos does not refer to it solely in conjunction with ITIL you can find reference to it here: https://www.axelos.com/news/blogs/july-2015/reasons-for-moscow-approach-in-project-management
Again Wikipedia has a detailed description which you may find helpful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoSCoW_method

Axelos does incorporate both techniques into all of the intermediate exams, so it is definitely worth the research when preparing for your test. I have covered some of RACI in the ITIL 4 Foundation series, but I will consider creating a "masterclass" on the techniques when I have completed recording my current series on VeriSM.

You could also take a look at the ITIL 3 Lifecycle intermediates as some of lifecycly sample papers contain RACI questions.

If you have any other queries, please let me know
Jo