IPA IP 2021 Question 53
A question IPA Japan published in 令和3年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問53, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2025 Q62 +1 more
Which of the following is the appropriate description concerning SLM in an IT service?
Explanation
Monitoring and reviewing service performance against the SLA's quantitative targets — measuring achievement is the core of service level management (SLM).
SLM agrees service levels with the customer and writes them into the SLA as measurable targets (availability, response time, time to resolve an incident). It then monitors actual performance, reports the results to the customer, reviews them together and, where targets are missed or needs change, drives improvement. The cycle repeats for as long as the service runs.
Answer (b)
Why not others:
- •(a) — maintaining the agreed level does not make improvement secondary; SLM includes continual improvement of service quality
- •(c) — creating the SLA is only the start; the objective is to keep delivering and managing the agreed levels throughout the service's life
- •(d) — targets are set from what the business needs at an acceptable cost; an easily attainable target makes the agreement meaningless
Key rule: SLM runs a PDCA cycle around the SLA: agree the targets, measure the service, report and review the results, then improve.
Service Management · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.