Service Level Management in ITIL

Service Level Management is an ITIL practice that aims to establish clear business-based objectives for service performance so that service delivery can be properly evaluated, monitored and managed.

This practice is a fundamental pillar in ITIL service management practices.

Main Features of Service Level Management

The main features of this practice are:

• Dealing with the development, documentation and active management of service levels. Since services may consist of a variety of different activities, it will be necessary to combine and aggregate some of them to obtain a realistic view.
• Ensuring complete and integral visibility of the services offered by the organisation.
• Requiring a pragmatic focus on the entire service, rather than just looking at individual components.

Service Level Management, commonly known as SLM, is a process present in the life cycle of a service. This process is dedicated to defining, agreeing, monitoring, measuring and reviewing the levels of service (Service Level) offered to customers. The main objective of SLM is to ensure that the services provided meet customer expectations and comply with established agreements.

The ITIL service level management framework is also used to assess and report on service levels, as well as to continuously improve the quality of IT services. Service level management is a crucial component of the entire ITIL service delivery process and is closely linked to other processes such as resource management, service availability and business continuity of IT services.

Required Competences and Skills

The skills required by this practice are:

1. Business relationship management
2. Business networking
3. Business level analysis
4. Commercial and supplier management

Service Level Phases and Activities

The activities related to this practice are:

• Definition
• Documentation
• Active management

Together with the activities of this practice, there are 7 main phases in which the practice of service level management is developed:

1. Definition of service requirements: in this phase, customer needs are identified and the characteristics of the service to be provided are established.
2. Negotiation and definition of SLA: the supplier and the customer negotiate and agree on the service levels to be guaranteed, the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for measuring them and the penalties for non-compliance.
3. Implementation of SLA: processes and procedures are established to manage SLAs, collect data and produce the necessary reports.
4. Monitoring and measurement of service levels: service levels are monitored and measured regularly using the KPIs defined in the SLAs.
5. Reporting and data analysis: collected data are analysed to identify any deviations with the agreed service levels.
6. Corrective action and continuous improvement: in the event of deviations against service levels, corrective action is implemented to improve service quality.
7. Review of SLAs: periodically, SLAs are reviewed to adapt them to new customer needs and market developments.

End-to-end Visibility

End-to-end visibility within the ITIL practice of Service Level Management is crucial to ensure that IT services meet user expectations and comply with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). This visibility implies the ability to monitor, measure and manage service performance along the entire supply chain, from start to finish.

To achieve this visibility, the following steps must be followed:

1. Establish a common view of services and targets on service levels with customers.
2. Ensure that the organisation meets established service levels by collecting, analysing, maintaining and reporting on relevant metrics for identified services.
3. Conduct periodic service reviews to ensure that the current set of services continues to meet the needs of the organisation and customers.
4. Detect and report on critical service issues, including performance against defined service levels.

Service Level Management: the SLA

This practice also deals with SLA, a type of documented agreement between the service provider and the customer, which identifies both the required service and the expected service levels.

SLA in ITIL Service Level Management practices defines the service standards that an IT organisation must meet. It specifies metrics such as uptime, response time and support levels, ensuring that IT services meet user expectations and business needs.

The SLA has been used to measure the performance of services from the customer’s point of view, but must be agreed upon in a broader business context. Using SLAs presents many challenges, as they often do not fully reflect the performance of the service and the end-user experience.

Beware of the ‘watermelon effect’: these agreements reflect an IT-side view and not a business-side view, often being meaningless and leading to customer dissatisfaction while for the supplier all indicators are positive. The only way to find out the truth is to investigate directly with the customers.

For SLAs to be successful they must fulfil the following 4 requirements:

1. Link to a service in the Service Catalogue.
2. Refer to results, not just operational metrics.
3. Represent an agreement.
4. State clear, concise and understandable information to all.

Focus on Service Level Management

It requires focus and effort for the organisation to involve and listen to customers’ requirements, critical issues, concerns and daily needs:

• Engaging is necessary to understand and confirm current customer needs.
• Listening strengthens relationships and mutual trust, showing customers that they are considered and understood. This will help the service provider evolve from a ‘solution mode’ to a more constructive partnership.
• It offers a great opportunity to build improved relationships and focus on what actually needs to be delivered.
• It provides staff with an understanding based on their experience of working with technology on a daily basis, enabling them to deliver a more business-oriented service.

The Sources of Service Level Management

Lastly, different sources are collected and analysed, then brought together for re-reading, which can then be used as input to develop appropriate measurement and reporting models.
One source will come from customer involvement, another from customer feedback through surveys and key business-related measurements.

In conclusion, Service Level Management in ITIL is crucial to ensure that IT services meet user expectations and support business objectives. By clearly defining SLAs, monitoring performance and adapting to changing needs, organisations improve service quality, enhance customer confidence and optimise internal operations, thus promoting business success.

ITIL Service Level Management Training

IT professionals dealing with Service Level Management, after having followed the ITIL Foundation training, can continue their ITIL journey with the Collaborate, Assure & Improve course.

This is a combined course, consisting of practical modules that offer shorter and more flexible training. The course includes the 5 practices:

• • Service Level Management
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Relationship Management
  • Information Security Management
  • Supplier Management

Do you want to know more about the course? Visit our ITIL Collaborate, Assure & Improve page or contact us!
If you would like to know more about the ITIL framework, also read:

• What is ITIL?

The Service Level Management practice is one of the 34 practices of ITIL.
The objective is to establish clear business-based objectives for service performance so that service delivery can be properly evaluated, monitored and managed.