Practical IT Service Management: A Concise Guide for Busy Executives

CHAPTER 9: SERVICE LEVEL MANAGEMENT

‘The palest ink is better than the most retentive memory.’

Chinese Proverb

What is service level management?

Service level management (SLM) is the process of defining, agreeing, documenting and managing the effective IT service that is expected by the business. SLM covers service level agreements (SLAs), operational level agreements (OLAs), underpinning contracts (UCs) and related activities such as periodic reviews, updating, deletions, etc., as well as publishing and making them known to all concerned. The main aim of SLM is to ensure an acceptable quality of the IT services provided, at a cost acceptable to the business, and indirectly to the final external customer. SLM is part of the service design phase ...