OLA Template

Operational Level Agreement

Between

<Group Name 1> and <Group Name 2>

Presented To              :  <<Insert Client’s Name>>

Version                       :  <<Insert Version Number>>

Date                            :  <<Insert Date>>

Location                     :  <<Insert Company Name And Location>>

1       Purpose Of This Document

1.1            Introduction

Operational Level Agreements (OLA) are required to document the relationship and expectations between the different IT teams. This document will provide you with the background information on how to set up and maintain an Operational Level Agreement (OLA).

1.2            What Is An Operational Level Agreement?

An Operational Level Agreement (OLA) is part of the Service Level Management process. Service Level Management is a tactical process consisting of a number of activities aimed at translating business requirements of IT services into tangible, manageable, and measurable solutions.  Its position in the organization, therefore, should reflect the tactical nature of the process, which includes relationships with strategic processes such as Business-IT Alignment, Customer Liaison, Planning and Control and Quality Audit.

In order to ensure that the levels of service delivery stipulated within any Service Level Agreements (SLA) can be supported and consistently achieved, it is important to coordinate the activities of functions within IT.  This document is used to identify the boundaries and shared responsibilities between IT Service Delivery Partners.

For example, business applications are provided as a service to the business, the network must be available in order to gain access to those applications.  The workstations provided must also be configured properly as well.  The management of each of these three separate IT components resides with different IT departments.  In an effort to coordinate the consistent delivery of standard levels of service, an Operational Level Agreement is created between the IT departments involved in service delivery.  This in turn brings clarity and understanding within IT regarding the functions of each group.

With respect to the provision of support for each line of service described in the IT Service Catalogue, Operational Level Agreements (OLA) need to be established between IT functions.  The goal is to ultimately create a Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Operational Level Agreement (OLA) scenario, where the Operational Level Agreement (OLA) translates the service requirements from the business into operational requirements and commitments within IT to meet those service objectives.

1.3            Operational Level Agreements Activities

Creating and using operational level agreements is an iterative process.  Business requirements and technology are constantly changing which may alter any IT capabilities.  For these reasons, the process is built around the premise of continuously matching IT capabilities to changing business requirements.  This requires the periodic revisiting of existing operational level agreements.  How often this should be done is something that requires consensus between the IT departments, as there is no right or wrong answer.  The long-term target is for annual reviews, or after significant changes within the Infrastructure.  It is understood that either partner may request a review at any time should events warrant.

There are three main stages when setting up an Operational Level Agreement (OLA):

Defining

·         Specific services that each IT-department provides

·         Where in the IT Organization are Operational Level Agreements (OLA) needed

·         What expectations and needs are there between the different support teams

Executing

·         Negotiating and agreeing on specific levels of service

·         Monitoring for compliance and exceptions

·         Reporting on achievements

·         Reviewing agreements

Controlling

·         Verifying integrity of the documents and process

·         Taking action on areas for improvement

·         Periodically revisiting existing Operational Level Agreements (OLA), e.g. every six months

1.4            Operational Level Agreement Overview

The purpose of the Operational Level Agreement template is to identify and clarify the relationships within the IT Organization.  The goal of using the template is to guarantee that described services and escalations described within the Service Specification Sheets and Service Catalogue are in place and functioning at expected levels.

Using This Service Specification Sheet

User	Use
Service Manager	For overall executive accountability for the process and all associated documentation.
Service Level Management Manager	For review of the service specification to ensure requirements are all met.  Act as source of information for customer relationship liaison.  Facilitation and assistance when needed in preparing/negotiating Operational Level Agreements (OLA).
Departmental Manager (Service Owner)	For final content of Operational Level Agreements (OLA) and sign off/approval of said content and associated responsibilities, metrics and service level commitments attributed to each service offering.
Service Owner Representative	For documenting service offerings (in detail) using the Service Specification Sheet template.  For assisting with verification of service level commitments and associated reporting of metrics and performance indicators.  For participating in the negotiation and sign off of the operational level agreements.
IT Contact	For review of metrics and capabilities from a “technical” perspective/requirements.

·         Use the Service Specification documents to identify service partners

·         Negotiate mutually agreeable responsibilities and needs

·         Input in plain English, a response

·         Sign Off

Operational Level Agreement meetings are to be scheduled between key delivery partners.

For Example

This Operational Level Agreement (OLA) deals with the IT services to the Core Business Group XXXX provided jointly by Department 1 and Department 2.  The objectives of this OLA are:

·         Clarify responsibilities

·         Define the escalation path

·         Set up measurements of service performance

·         Ensure quality IT services to the Core Business Group

Service Areas

Department 1 and Department 2 have a wide range of activities in providing IT support. This Operational Level Agreement (OLA) only deals with those areas that need joint effort from both Department 1 and Department 2. These areas are:

·         HW Requisition

·         SW/Application Requisition

·         SW/Application Installation, Maintenance and Support

·         Service Catalogue updating

Appendix Template OLA

Operational Level Agreement

Between

<Group Name 1> and <Group Name 2>

Project:
Product Name:
Document No.:
Version:
Stage:
Publication Date:
Organization:
Author(s):

Service Name:

Service Function:

Service Description/Definition:

Service Hours:                                                             Other Critical Times:

Exceptions & Limitations

The “Service Items” listed below that have been shaded can be reported upon using existing tools and procedures. All other items will need to have a process defined for them. This will require commitments from the business, both in terms of development time and budget

If problems arise from the implementation of emergency user requests/enhancements any resultant failures attributable to this request within 24 hours will not be measured against this OLA.

Service Breakdown By Item For:

Service Item	Item Definition	Target	Measurement Criteria	Measurement Frequency
Support Procedures
Responsibilities of
Responsibilities of
Escalation
Known Constraints
Contacts

Escalation Procedure:

Signatories:                                                    

<First Name, Last Name, Title, and Department>

Other Notes/Comments:

OLA to be reviewed every 12 months and changes to be agreed by above signatories.