Summary

This chapter covered the purpose, objectives, and scope of service level management and examined the basic concepts, the activities, and the interfaces involved in the process. We examined the differences between SLM and business relationship management and how these two processes relate to each other.

We examined the different types of service level agreement (the service-based, customer-based, and multilevel service level agreements) and covered when each of these would be used.

We examined the different types of agreement in service level management: the service level agreement (SLA), the operational-level agreement (OLA), and the underpinning contract (UC).

We looked at the role of service level requirements and targets and how SLM monitors service against these targets, specifically the use of the SLAM chart. We also considered the purpose of service reviews and service improvement plans.