Which of the following activities is service level management responsible for?
In order to ascertain whether the delivery of IT services to the business is satisfactory or unsatisfactory, the agreed levels must be defined and measured. Without defined levels, the business does not know what can be expected and the IT supplier does not know the level at which it should deliver. The result can then be that the business expects miracles, which leads to disappointment and a general perception that the IT department is not doing what it should. The IT department then risks ending up in the situation that the person who shouts loudest is prioritized first, instead of having defined priorities based on the business’s actual requirements. Show Service Level Management is the process that defines, documents and follows up the delivery of IT services to the business. PurposeThe purpose of the process is to ensure that there is a clear, common starting point for which service levels can be expected for the IT services and what should be delivered. This is achieved through:
ScopeService Level Management comprises the entire delivery of IT services to the business. This includes:
Value for the businessService Level Management provides a structured contact point for all services delivered to the business, which makes it simpler and more efficient for customers and purchasers. If agreed levels are not achieved, the process supplies status information to the customers and also initiates improvement measures. AgreementsService Level Management must formulate a structure for agreements that suits the customers and in line with the structure within the organization. This is only done once, and then applies for all agreements. There are three different variants of agreements:
An agreement should contain all information that is necessary so that it is clear which IT services are delivered and at which service levels. An example of content is:
ActivitiesThe activities in the process are divided into those which manage new agreements and that are performed for each new delivery, and those which manage recurrent assignments. The following activities apply for new agreements: Identify the delivery – This is performed together with the customer or the purchaser and is documented in a Service Level Requirements document. It comprises documentation of which IT services are delivered and which expectations there are of the service levels. Evaluate the delivery – The first time a customer or purchaser performs these activities it is easy for the service levels requirements to exceed what the IT department delivers. It is therefore important to separate that which is within the framework of the current delivery and what are requests for new services or other service levels. All requests that are not in the relevant service catalogue should be managed as improvement proposals and be sent onward to the Business Relationship Management process for further processing. Document agreement – The agreed services and levels are then documented and managed via Change Management and Release Management to ensure correct implementation in the IT organization. It is important not to include service levels outside the relevant service catalogue, as this creates incorrect expectations in customers and purchasers. The following activities are recurrent: Monitor service levels – Continuously monitor the delivery of IT services and their service levels with the assistance of Service Desk, Technical Management and Application Management functions. Conduct delivery meetings – The IT services that are delivered are made up of supporting services in accordance with the service structure described in the Service Catalogue Management chapter. Each supporting service is represented by a service owner within the IT organization. Establish a forum within the Delivery Management function and hold meetings with the service owners concerned. At these meeting, the specific delivery is analyzed and proposals for improvement are prioritized and implemented in accordance with the Continual Service Improvement process. Compile reports – Produce reports on service levels delivered in accordance with the DIKW model, as described in the Knowledge Management chapter. Also include analyses of major incidents performed, and which affect the customer. If improvement activities are in progress, these should also be included in the report. Conduct customer meetings – The reports constitute the basis for the ongoing meetings held with customers and purchasers. The aim of the meetings is to check the agreed delivery, but can also include expansion or reduction of the delivery. These meetings are often the only recurrent meetings that the customers and purchasers have with the IT department, which means that all types of questions can be addressed. If that is the case, deal with the question and then convey it internally to the right body. Where questions are announced in advance, if necessary, other roles that are involved can participate in the meeting. Manage improvements – Service Level Management should be proactive in building confidence for IT in the business. Most customers and purchasers understand that the IT department sometimes fails in its delivery of IT services. However, confidence is largely based on errors being rectified rapidly and the delivery being continually improved. Initiate proposals for improvements through the Continual Service Improvement process. DocumentationAll documentation included in Service Level Management should be in the customer database. The documentation is included in the overall knowledge database as described in the Knowledge Management section. Which of the following is responsible for service level management?The Service Level Manager is responsible for negotiating Service Level Agreements and ensuring that these are met. He makes sure that all IT Service Management processes, Operational Level Agreements and Underpinning Contracts are appropriate for the agreed service level targets.
Which of the following activities is service level management responsible for MCQ?To produce and maintain an appropriate and up-todate Capacity Plan which reflects thecurrent and future needs of the business.
Which is the purpose of the service level management practice?The purpose of the SLM practice is to set clear business-based targets for service performance, so that the delivery of a service can be properly assessed, monitored, and managed against these targets. SLM involves service level activities, including: Defining service levels.
What is service level management in ITIL 4?The ITIL 4 SLM practice defines the purpose of service level management as “…to set clear business-based targets for service levels, and to ensure that delivery of services is properly assessed, monitored, and managed against these targets.”
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