ITPEC FE Morning October 2023 Question 55

Which of the following is an appropriate policy for creating an SLA?

a)Setting a compensation as a penalty for every item that has a service levelb)Setting a service level for every item that can be taken into considerationc)Setting a service level that is maintained into the future without any changesd)Setting a service level under the cost and needs of a service provider and its customers

Explanation

Set service levels considering the cost and needs of both provider and customer — an SLA is an agreement both sides must be able to live with.

A Service Level Agreement defines the service, the measurable targets (availability, response time, recovery time) and how they are reported. The targets are negotiated: higher levels cost the provider more, so the level chosen must meet the customer's real business needs at a cost both parties accept. The SLA is then reviewed periodically as needs and technology change.

Answer (d)

Why not others:

•(a) — penalties may be agreed for key items, but attaching compensation to every item is not a principle of SLA design and makes the agreement adversarial
•(b) — only items that matter to the business and can be measured get service levels; targets for everything imaginable are costly to monitor and meaningless
•(c) — service levels must be reviewed and revised as business needs change, not frozen

Key rule: Good SLA targets are few, measurable, agreed by both parties on cost and need, and reviewed regularly.

Service Management · AI-written, may contain errors

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