Develop a Service Level Management Process

                It is important to provide a brief background of the previous four activities, so that fifth activity can be explained and elaborated accordingly. In previous four activities, Tampa Bay Office Furniture Inc. needed to develop a service level agreement, which can be used in the business process with the clients. So, a service level agreement was developed in the activity number 3, and its feedback with detailed description was mentioned in the activity number 5. Now, it’s time to come up with a service level management process that how process will actually be managed in real terms so that each point mentioned in the service level agreement can be followed accordingly. It is a fact that making a plan is one thing, but its implementation with a proper management process is another thing, and it is the most critical one as well. If SLA is made, but it is not implemented and used properly, then required objectives cannot be achieved. So, to develop a service level management process, this particular activity will work on deliverables, which are going to be explained din further discussion.

A Service Level Management Document utilizing COBIT 5 controls for the SLA completed from Activity 4

            It is important for any organization to understand that developing SLAs may be an easy task, but its management and implementation with its core aspects is a hard thing to manage, because SLA managing process can come up with various issues. For instance, problem management is the key issue related with SLA management, because there are various aspects, which needs to be covered such as reporting, monitoring, managing problems and escalating procedures accordingly. The performance is another key issue for SLA management, because it is always expected that SLA will perform accordingly, but it does not happen like this because there are various factors, which are related to the performance, if those factors are not doing well, then performance can be affected. Moreover, flexibility is another key issue, because business processes can show different changes with the passage of time, and if SLA does not have enough flexibility to cope up with these changes, then things can be hard to manage. So, if an organization has to manage its SLA so that they can get high level performance as per expectations, then COBIT framework is the best thing to use for this purpose, as frameworks like COBIT 5 are comprehensive enough to cover all elements of the SLA (Zabkar & Mahnic, 2001)

            It is important for the organization to understand that COBIT 5 framework has defined the IT processes by dividing them into four further dimensions. The first dimension is Plan and Organize (PO), where planning is made for the IT processes. Once the planning is done, the second dimension is Acquire & Implement (AI), where required resources are acquired to implement the IT processes mentioned. The third part is very crucial because it is called Deliver & Support (DS), which has thirteen major elements to cover that how SLA will be defined and managed, and support measures will be taken for its proper delivery. The last element for the COBIT 5 framework is Monitor & Evaluate (ME), where the IT processes are monitored as well as evaluated after their implementation. So, these four dimensions can be used by the firms to integrate into their IT processes for managing service level agreements and develop a service level management document, which provides a clear roadmap (ManagementMania.com, 2015)

            So, it is evident from the above discussion that COBIT 5 can be used to develop a service level management document so that service level management process can be managed properly and accordingly. Therefore it is vital to develop a service level management process so that organization can take complete benefits and advantages, which can be provided by SLAs. It is a fact that SLAs can come up with various benefits like they can help in deriving performance standards for the organization’s IT units, help to meet requirements and expectations of users, as well as make IT units accountable and responsible for their actions. So, a proper document with dedicated management process is essential in so many ways, otherwise organization cannot get its objectives as per SLAs. If service level management document is to be developed with the help of COBIT, then each element mentioned in the framework can be used as a roadmap for managing the processes of SLAs. For instance, in Delivery & Support dimensions of COBIT framework, the first element is DS1, which says that “Define and manage service levels”. If this element is taken in the document, then it will allow the organization to understand that what common service is required to be managed, and SLA will formalize the actual performance criteria for that particular required service. Then DS3 is closely related to DS1 because it clearly mentions that capacity as well as performance should be managed. It means that SLA document will define that what capacity IT process has to deliver the performance objectives. The service level management document should keep three elements; the first one is planning, the second one is implementation, and the last one is control. All three phases should be mentioned with clear set of goals to be achieved as per service level agreement developed so that it can be used as a beneficial tool for the organization (Zabkar & Mahnic, 2001)

            It is also vital for an organization to realize that why service level agreement management process is needed so that they can know the critical value of it. This management process is crucial because it can help the organization in not only establishing the terms for SLA, but also review them and if anything is going in wrong direction, then whole SLA or some of its points can be cancelled. The major purpose held by service level management process is to ensure that requirements of customers are reflected and met properly, and things are defined well. It is a fact that SLA does mentions that which service is going to be provided and what would be the outcome if service is not provided as per agreement etc. The SLA developed in activity number 3 was good enough to describe that what terms and points will be there and how each term will be managed. There were few missing points as well in the SLA, which have been identified in the activity number 4, which means that now organization can come up with a service level agreement, which can be used as a basis to develop a comprehensive service level management document as well as process. The great thing about service level management process is that it will not only serve the purpose of organization, but it can also serve the requirements of customers to satisfy them. There are many key activities, which are performed by service level management process, and organization should keep them in mind to achieve its objectives and goals (Fisher, 2019)

 Develop a Balanced Score Card for your SLM

Fig.1 – The Balanced Scorecard

Source: http://bi-insider.com/business-intelligence/balanced-scorecard-defined/

            The above given figure shows that what is actually held in a standard balanced scorecard. There are four major elements, which are covered by the balanced scorecard approach for the management of strategy performance. The first element is keeping the financial perspective in view, which means that this part of the scorecard will define financial goals, which are going to be achieved for a certain strategy such as decreasing costs, increasing revenues & profits, as well as financial stability. The second major perspective is related to customers, which will define goals that how customers’ satisfaction as well as retention will be maintained, and what strategy will be used to understand the requirements of customers. The third major part of the balanced scorecard is internal process that what steps will be taken in internal business processes to ensure that things are going on right track with a right direction. The fourth and last part is dealing with learning & growth of the organization. The strategy or plan developed by the organization is going to be implemented through its employees, so how employees will be handled to achieve success. If they need any assistance and training to enhance capacity and skills, so will they be given the opportunity for this development or not (ALLEN, 2019)

            So, if purpose is to develop a balanced scorecard for the SLM, then following elements can be mentioned for each point of balanced scorecard:

       Financial Perspective for SLM: The organization should ensure that its service level management process has all the elements, which are dealing with the financial perspective. It means that organization should define that what financial goals are going to be achieved through the SLA, which was developed in activity number 3.

       Customer Perspective for SLM: The SLM process should clearly define goals that what elements regarding customers will be managed through the SLA. For instance, it was mentioned that customers will be provided support through phone calls as well as emails, so organization should derive proper management process to ensure that customers do get these services as per SLA.

        Internal Process for SLM: The organization should analyze its processes and resources by keeping its SLA in view so that it can be identified that which internal processes and resources are available to conform to the SLA, and what else is missing so that it can provided accordingly for the fulfillment of SLA made with the customers.

        Learning & Growth Perspective for SLM: The internal resources such as employees are critical for the organization to implement its SLA with its full potential. So, they should develop a management process that how employees will be trained and equipped with essential skills to meet the services mentioned in the SLA.

References of Develop a Service Level Management Process

ALLEN, G. (2019). Setting High-Level Strategic Goals with The Balanced Scorecard. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from https://lsiperformancegroup.com/bsc_goals/

Fisher, K. (2019). Service Level Management Process: Don’t Miss These Key Act. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from https://blog.masterofproject.com/service-level-management-process-activities/

ManagementMania.com. (2015). COBIT 5 (Control Objectives for Information and related Technology). Retrieved June 11, 2019, from https://managementmania.com/en/cobit-control-objectives-for-information-and-related-technology

Zabkar, N., & Mahnic, V. (2001). Managing Service Level Agreement. Retrieved June 11, 2019