Which Is True About Service Level Agreements (Slas)?

Service Level Direction

From IT Process Wiki

Objective: Service Level Management (SLM) aims to negotiate Service Level Agreements with the customers and to pattern services in accordance with the agreed service level targets. This ITIL process is too responsible for ensuring that all Operational Level Agreements and Underpinning Contracts are appropriate, and to monitor and written report on service levels.

Function of: Service Design

Process Owner: Service Level Manager

Process Description

Service Level Management has been completely redesigned in ITIL 2011 post-obit the introduction of the Design Coordination procedure.

Coordinating activities have been removed.

Service Level Management is now mainly responsible for gathering service requirements, as well as monitoring and reporting with regards to agreed service levels.

The process overview of Service Level Management (.JPG) shows the key data flows (meet fig. i).

ITIL 4 refers to 'Service Level Direction' every bit a service management practice.

Sub-Processes

These are the Service Level Direction sub-processes and their process objectives:

Maintenance of the SLM Framework

Process Objective: To blueprint and maintain the underlying structure of the Customer Agreement Portfolio, and to provide templates for the diverse SLM documents.

Identification of Service Requirements

Procedure Objective: To capture desired outcomes (requirements from the client viewpoint) for new services or major service modifications. The service requirements are to be documented and submitted to an initial evaluation, so that alternatives may be sought at an early phase for requirements which are non technically or economically feasible.

Agreements Sign-Off and Service Activation

Procedure Objective: To have all relevant contracts signed off after completion of Service Transition, and to bank check if Service Acceptance Criteria are fulfilled. In detail, this process makes sure that all relevant OLAs are signed off by their Service Owners, and that the SLA is signed off by the customer.

Service Level Monitoring and Reporting

Procedure Objective: To monitor achieved service levels and compare them with agreed service level targets ("Service Level Report"). This information is circulated to customers and all other relevant parties, every bit a basis for measures to improve service quality.

Definitions

The post-obit ITIL terms and acronyms (information objects) are used in ITIL Service Level Direction to stand for process outputs and inputs:

Customer Agreement Portfolio

While the Service Catalogue holds a complete list of the services managed by the service provider, the Customer Agreement Portfolio contains all Service Agreements which provide the framework for delivering services to specific customers.

Operational Level Agreement (OLA)

An agreement between an IT service provider and another part of the same organization. An OLA supports the IT service provider's delivery of services to customers. The OLA defines the goods or services to be provided and the responsibilities of both parties. For example there could be an OLA - betwixt the It service provider and a procurement section to obtain hardware in agreed times - between the Service Desk and a support group to provide Incident resolution in agreed times (run into also: ITIL Checklist SLA - OLA).

Outline of Service Requirements

The desired outcome of a service, stated in terms of required service functionality (utility) and service levels (warranty). Based on this information, detailed service requirements are specified during the Service Design phase.

Service Acceptance Criteria (SAC)

A ready of criteria used for service acceptance testing to ensure that an It service meets its functionality and quality requirements and that the service provider is ready to operate the new service when information technology has been deployed.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

An agreement between an It service provider and a customer. The SLA describes the Information technology service, documents service level targets, and specifies the responsibilities of the It service provider and the customer. A single SLA may comprehend multiple services or multiple customers (see too: ITIL Checklist SLA - OLA).

Service Level Report

The Service Level Report gives insight into a service provider's power to deliver the agreed service quality. To this purpose, it compares the agreed and actually accomplished service levels, and besides includes information on the usage of services, ongoing measures for service improvement, and any exceptional events. A Service Level Report is issued by the service provider for its customers, Information technology management and other Service Management processes. A similar report is likewise created by an external service supplier to document its achieved service performance.

Service Level Requirements (SLR)

The Service Level Requirements certificate contains the requirements for a service from the customer viewpoint, defining detailed service level targets, mutual responsibilities, and other requirements specific to a sure (group of) customers. As the service enters new stages of its life cycle, the SLR document evolves into a typhoon Service Level Understanding.

SLM Document Templates

Templates for the various documents used inside Service Level Management, eastward.g. Service Level Requirements, Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements, Underpinning Contracts, Service Acceptance Criteria, ...

Templates | KPIs

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Service Level Direction
Service Level Management templates and checklists:
- Service Level Understanding (SLA template) - Operational Level Agreement (OLA template), and
- Service Level Requirements (SLR)
- Service Level Report
- Protocol SLA Review

Roles | Responsibilities

Service Level Manager - Process Owner

The Service Level Director is responsible for negotiating Service Level Agreements and ensuring that these are met. He makes sure that all Information technology Service Management processes, Operational Level Agreements and Underpinning Contracts are advisable for the agreed service level targets. The Service Level Managing director also monitors and reports on service levels.

Service Owner

The Service Owner is responsible for delivering a particular service within the agreed service levels. Typically, he acts equally the analogue of the Service Level Manager when negotiating Operational Level Agreements (OLAs). Ofttimes, the Service Owner volition lead a squad of technical specialists or an internal support unit.

**Responsibleness Matrix: ITIL Service Level Management**
ITIL Role / Sub-Process	Service Level Manager	Service Possessor	Business relationship Manager[iii]	Applications Analyst[3]	Technical Annotator[three]	Other roles involved
Maintenance of the SLM Framework	A[1]R[2]	-	-	-	-	-
Identification of Service Requirements	AR	-	R	R	R	R[iv]
Agreements Sign-Off and Service Activation	AR	R	-	-	-	-
Service Level Monitoring and Reporting	AR	-	-	-	-	-

Remarks

[ane] A: Accountable according to the RACI Model: Those who are ultimately answerable for the correct and thorough completion of the Service Level Management process.

[2] R: Responsible according to the RACI Model: Those who practise the work to achieve a chore inside Service Level Management.

[3] come across → Function descriptions ...

[4] Chapters Manager, Availability Manager, IT Service Continuity Director, and Financial Manager (see → Role descriptions ...)

Notes

By: Stefan Kempter, IT Process Maps.

Process Description › Sub-Processes › Definitions › Templates › Roles