<Service Level Management>

<Company>

Service Level Agreement

Between

And

Version : 0.1

Date : April 26, 2013

Location :

Author :

REVISION CONTROL
Title:
Current Version:
Publication Date:
Authors:
Contributors:
Approved by:

Document Review:

To ensure that the <Company> achieves its stated objectives, this document will be reviewed according to the <Company> Document Control Process. Ownership of the document belongs to the <Process Owner>. Any enhancements will be communicated to all interested parties.

Version Control Notice:

This document is a controlled issue that supersedes all previous issues. Please discard any previous copy of this document dated prior to the version and publication date noted above.

Date	Version	Name of Person Making Change	Description of Changes
	0.01		Initial document

REVISION CONTROL........................................................................................................... 2

Table of Contents................................................................................................................... 3

1 General Agreement........................................................................................................ 4

2 Service Description........................................................................................................ 5

3 Service Levels................................................................................................................. 6

3.1 Opening hours........................................................................................................ 6

3.2 System availability.................................................................................................. 6

3.3 User support............................................................................................................ 6

3.4 System performance.............................................................................................. 7

3.5 Changes.................................................................................................................. 7

3.6 Contingency............................................................................................................ 8

3.7 Back up & Restore of Data.................................................................................... 8

3.8 Security.................................................................................................................... 9

3.9 Deliverables............................................................................................................. 9

3.10 Training.................................................................................................................... 9

4 Restrictions...................................................................................................................... 9

4.1 Growth Thresholds................................................................................................. 9

4.2 Throughput Thresholds......................................................................................... 9

4.3 End User Thresholds............................................................................................. 9

4.4 Exclusions............................................................................................................... 9

4.5 Circumvention......................................................................................................... 9

4.6 User Mistakes.......................................................................................................... 9

5 Reporting......................................................................................................................... 9

5.1 Standard reports..................................................................................................... 9

5.2 Reports On Customer Demand......................................................................... 10

5.3 Retention Of Reports........................................................................................... 10

6 Charging........................................................................................................................ 10

6.1 Fees And Tariffs................................................................................................... 10

6.2 Payments............................................................................................................... 10

7 Changes to the SLA.................................................................................................... 10

7.1 Procedure.............................................................................................................. 10

7.2 Minor changes to the SLA.................................................................................. 11

7.3 Thresholds............................................................................................................. 11

7.4 SLA Reviews......................................................................................................... 11

8 ANNEX A. DEFINITION OF TERMS......................................................................... 12

1 General Agreement

Purpose of the agreement

This agreement applies to the warranties and commitments related to the service: .............................., referred to hereafter as: “the service”, and the usage of The Service.

Scope of the agreement

The scope of this agreement is all the conditions concerning the service, the service levels and the restrictions as described in the remainder of this document.

Parties

Parties to this agreement are .................................., referred to hereafter as: the service provider, and .............................., referred to hereafter: the customer.

General responsibilities of parties

The service provider is responsible for the proper operation of the environment of the service. The service includes: maintaining the general availability and performance of the system, the integrity of the data and the timely accessibility of new data, supplying end user support and the implementation of changes.

The customer is responsible for the proper use of the service environment. This means that users comply to the agreements and procedures in this Service Level Agreement (SLA) and other documents related to the service.

Start date

This agreement will be effective as from: ...........................

Duration

This agreement will remain in effect for a period of: ... year(s)

Automatic extension

This agreement shall be automatically extended by consecutive 12 months' periods except in case of termination by either party at least 3 months prior to the expiration of the initial period or to the expiration of each subsequent period.

Disputes

All disputes arising from this agreement shall preferably be settled in an amicable manner. If such renders no result, the case will be referred to a jointly selected arbiter, whose decision will be binding to both parties.

Signatories

Details and Parties Involved	Customer Representative(S)	Service Provider Representative(S)	Cab Authorization
Department
Signature
Name
Function
Date

2 Service Description

Service Name
Service Owner
Primary User
Other Users
Primary Locations
Functional Description
Scope of the Service
Related Services
Technical Requirements

3 Service Levels

3.1 Opening hours

Opening hours
Attended hours
Maintenance hours
Unattended hours

Scheduled maintenance
Frequency
Days
Times
Duration

Unscheduled maintenance
Total-time
When
Duration

3.2 System availability

System Availability	Attended Hours	Unattended Hours	Measuring Period
Availability
Reliability
Recovery

3.3 User support

User support	office hours	standby hours
Opening hours
Name Service Desk
Tel.
Pager
Fax
E-Mail
Telex

3.3.1 User support main tasks and key performance metrics

Support task	reaction time	time to repair
Solving of network failure
Solving of workstation failure
Solving of printer failure
Solving of standard software questions
Solving of non-standard software questions
..........

3.4 System performance

System Performance	Attended Hours	Unattended Hours	Measuring Period
User response times
Turnaround times

3.5 Changes

3.5.1 General procedure

This section describes the procedure to follow to make a request for change.

e.g., Whenever a change to the service is needed this can be requested via general change management procedures.

3.5.2 Change management performance

Standard Or Cat.0 Changes	RFC Confirmation	RFC Assessment	Implementation
New user
New workstation
Move workstation
Change user profile
Change software
........

Non-standard changes	RFC confirmation	RFC assessment	implementation
Cat.1 changes
Cat.2 changes
Cat.3 changes
Urgent changes

3.5.3 Planned changes

3.6 Contingency

3.6.1 Contingency plans

Document Name	Copy Holder(S)	Location(S)
.........

3.6.2 Contingency Levels

Levels At Contingency Site	Service	Basic Functionality	Full Functionality

Functionality Level	Basic Functionality	Full Functionality

3.7 Back up & Restore of Data

3.7.1 Back up of data

Moment Of Backup	Type Of Back Up	Retention Time	Number Of Copies
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Last Friday
December, 31
.........

All backup activities are executed during Maintenance hours.

3.7.2 Restoring of data

3.8 Security

3.8.1 Access of data

3.8.2 Changing and resetting of password

3.9 Deliverables

3.10Training

4 Restrictions

The purpose of this section is to make clear in which cases service levels can’t be guaranteed anymore. If any of the threshold figures is exceeded this could be a trigger to review the SLA.

4.1 Growth Thresholds

4.2 Throughput Thresholds

4.3 End User Thresholds

4.4 Exclusions

4.5 Circumvention

4.6 User Mistakes

5 Reporting

In this section the content of SLA monitoring reports is described. Typical reporting aspects to be described here are function responsible, frequency, function to report to, retention of reports and reports on demand.

5.1 Standard reports

Service Level	Agreed Metric	Actual Metric	Measuring Period	Function Responsible	Function To Report To
System Availability
Availability
Reliability
Recovery
User Support
Reaction Times
Time To Repair
System Performance
User Response Times
Turn Around Times
Changes

Growth/Usage
Usage Statistics

5.2 Reports On Customer Demand

5.3 Retention Of Reports

6 Charging

This section describes the charges for the agreed services and service levels. It also explains the charging method.

6.1 Fees And Tariffs

The service fee is subject for review at each new SLA period.

For the service provided a tariff applies of : $ ................... per ...................

For standard options a tariff applies of : $ ................... per ....................

For every modification to the service, a separate price and/or modification of tariff will be agreed upon, prior to the development.

6.2 Payments

Settlement takes place via the general internal charging system.

Monthly invoices will be provided by the service provider.

7 Changes to the SLA

7.1 Procedure

At the end of the SLA period the SLA will be evaluated and can be renegotiated. This can result in changes to the SLA. A change to the SLA can result in changes to the IT infrastructure and vice versa. Therefore a change to the SLA or IT infrastructure must be authorized through standard change procedures (CAB authorization).

During the SLA period there will be a number of SLA reviews. The purpose of these reviews is to see if Service Levels are met and, if not, to take necessary measures to stay in line with the SLA. In case the outcome of a review shows that certain thresholds are passed, the SLA can also be changed and discussed as stated above.

7.2 Minor changes to the SLA

Minor changes to the SLA are changes made to the service or service levels that do not directly lead to SLA review and renegotiation. A minor change is recorded in the amendment list to be attached to this document.

7.3 Thresholds

An ad hoc SLA review will be initiated whenever one of the following thresholds is passed:

Thresholds mentioned in the Restrictions section earlier in this SLA are exceeded.

The number of minor changes recorded in the amendment list exceeds a total of <X>.

7.4 SLA Reviews

The SLA is reviewed regularly on the basis of service level reporting and User Board Meetings. The outcome of these reviews may result in renegotiation and/or changing of the SLA, and once a year, in prolongation or even termination of the SLA.

7.4.1 Planned SLA Reviews

2 reviews are held per annum: one after 6 months, one after 12 months.

Unplanned or ad hoc SLA reviews can be held when thresholds are passed.

7.4.2 Reports

Every review will be based on Service Level reports of the past 12 months.

7.4.3 User Board Meetings

A User Board Meeting will be held one month before every planned SLA review.

User Board members are:

Customer Representative(s)	Service Provider Representative(s)
Business Unit representative(s)	Account Manager service provider
End user manager(s) 1)	User Support representative(s) 2)
End users 1)	System Management representative(s) 2)

1) To be appointed by the Business Unit representative

2) To be appointed by the Service Level Manager

ANNEX A - DEFINITION OF TERMS

Agreed Metric	The SLA-metric used, together with its target outcome, to define a service level.
Attended Hours	The usage period(s) in which full system availability and performance is delivered at the service levels specified.
Availability	The totality of interruption-free parts of the opening hours in which the customer can make use of the system, expressed in a percentage.
Basic Functionality	Basic, contingency level functionality. In other words: the minimum level of functionality needed to start up primary processes.
CAB	Change Advisory Board, i.e. A representative group of people who are responsible for assessing, from both a business and a technical viewpoint, all rfcs. They advize on the priorities of rfcs and propose allocations of resources to implement those changes.
Change Management	The process of controlling and managing requests to effect changes to the IT Infrastructure or any aspect of IT services, and of controlling and managing the implementation of those changes that are subsequently given approval.
Contingency	An unplanned event of which the effect on IT service provision exceeds formerly specified thresholds.
Deliverables	Tangible output of an information system (IS).
Diversion	A measure to cope with a contingency by which some or all parts of IT service provision are diverted to other locations and or facilities.
Fix Time	Recovery time, time needed to fix an interruption.
Full Functionality	Full, contingency level functionality. In other words: the highest level of functionality provided in contingency situations.
Service Desk	An organizational unit which is responsible to perform end user support tasks regarding IT services.
Host Response Time	Average time between arrival of a command at the entry point of the host and reply by the host at its exit point to these commands
Interruption	A continuous period during opening hours in which the service or a service component is not available
Maintenance Hours	The period(s) in which system maintenance is or can be performed. During this period the service is totally unavailable to the users. Service levels are not guaranteed
Measuring Period	A specification of the period at which a service level is measured and reported
Network Response Time	Average time between arrival of a command at the entry point of the network and arrival of this command at the entry point of its destination
Office Hours	The period(s) which are the regular working hours of the business employees. Normally these hours are also used as opening hours for the user support group(s)
Opening Hours	Service hours, i.e., a reference period during which the service is provided
Performance	The level of achievement of a service or system. System performance for instance, can be expressed in response time, throughput time or turnaround time.
Reliability	The number or frequency of interruptions allowed during a discrete period
Reaction Time	The time between notification of the Help Desk and action by the Help Desk
Retention Time	Period of time an certain object is safeguarded
RFC	Request for Change, i.e. A form or screen used to record details of a request for a change to any component of an IT infrastructure or any aspect of IT services
RFC Assessment	The process of assessing all (possible) effects of a requested change, time and money needed etc. Resulting in authorization or negation of a rfc
RFC Confirmation	A confirmation of reception of the RFC to the sender of the RFC
Service	An IT service, i.e.: a compound of IT facilities, applications and/or supporting processes delivered by an IT service organization
Service Level	The level of quality at which an IT service aspect is delivered
Service Level Management	The process that manages IT service provision in a business-wise manner by means of slas
Service-Level-Period	See: measuring period
Sla	Service level agreement
SLA Metric	Metric or formula at which an agreed service level is measured
SLA Period	The period during which the SLA is valid or running
SLA Review	Evaluation of the actual service levels provided against the service level targets as described in the SLA, but in particular the perceived service quality as expected from these targets
Standby Hours	The period outside the office hours at which no regular user support is available. Support can only be obtained in exceptional situations by means of standby arrangements
System	Either an information system or computer system. A computer system can be part of an information system. A system can be part of a service
Throughput Time	The time elapsed between the moment of arrival at a processing unit of a block of data and the moment the processed block of data leaves that unit again. Throughput time will be verified by means of a periodic, representative sample
Turnaround Time	The average time between a request of information and the delivery of output
Unattended Hours	The usage period(s) outside the attended hours, during which the service is available. Service levels are not guaranteed or guaranteed at a specified lower level
User Board Meeting	A meeting between customer and service provider representatives held to exchange experiences with the IT service(s) delivered on which basis the SLA is reviewed.
User Response Time	The average time between entry of commands into the system and reply by the system to these commands on user screen
User Support Group	See: Service Desk

Friday, April 26, 2013

SLA Template