IPA IP 2023 Question 44
A question IPA Japan published in 令和5年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問44, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
The IT department of Company A is considering extending the support hours to 24 hours in order to improve the service availability of the help desk. Company B, which has been entrusted with the help desk operations by Company A, proposed that, to achieve this, it would introduce and use a chatbot at Company B so that the late-night hours are covered by automatic responses, and Company A agreed to this because 24-hour support would be possible. Which of the following is the most appropriate document to be used for this agreement?
Explanation
SLA (service level agreement) — the document in which a service provider and its customer agree on the level of service, here 24-hour help desk support with chatbot replies late at night.
An SLA sets out the service to be delivered and measurable targets for it: service hours, how inquiries are answered, response and resolution times, availability, and what happens when a target is missed. Company B runs Company A's help desk under contract and has proposed a change to the service level (support hours extended to 24 hours) and to how it is met (automatic chatbot responses late at night). Company A's agreement to that level is recorded in the SLA between the two companies.
Answer (c)
Why not others:
- •(a) BCP — a business continuity plan says how a company keeps or restores critical business after a disaster or major disruption; it is not an agreement on service levels
- •(b) NDA — a non-disclosure agreement binds the parties to keep shared information confidential; it says nothing about support hours
- •(d) SLM — service level management is the process of agreeing on, monitoring and reviewing service levels; it produces and maintains the SLA but is not itself the document the two companies agree on
Key rule: SLA is the agreed document and SLM the management process around it; an NDA covers confidentiality and a BCP business continuity.
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.