Scope of Service Level Management

Service level management should encompass all IT services provided by the IT Organization. The service Level manager should ensure that all services have appropriate Operation Level Agreements (OLAs) with internal IT Suppliers and contracts with external suppliers in place to underpin the services delivered.

An important initial task is to distinguish between services, functions and processes. This is not an easy task; however, the following definitions are a good place to start. Services are what the IT organization’s customers consume directly and are typically business related. A function is a set of processes and activities performed to deliver a service and a process is a way or means of performing activities or tasks. A help desk or service desk is a tricky example. An IT Help Desk in a bank is not a service it is a function provided to deliver a service. The banking application is the service. However, if this Help Desk was outsourced then the Help Desk function provided by the supplier is also the service it provides. In both cases, Incident Management is the process followed to deliver the service or function.

So, careful thought must be given to what you define as the services you provide to your customers.