The Service Design Stage and Establishing Service Reports: IT Service Level
According to the ITIL service lifecycle, several points must be met during the ITIL Service Design:
- Standard measures and service measurement data formats are developed to meet the organizational serve measurement objectives.
- Standard reporting procedures are created.
- Creating procedures for reviewing, changing, adding, or deleting reports and measurements.
- Service measurement and service reporting awareness programs are developed, along with controls and governance mechanisms.
Viewing the service report: IT Service Level
Stakeholders who have an investment in the service should see the service report. Managers should receive internal IT reports. Despite the need to standardize service reports to make compiling future reports more streamlined, it may be prudent to prepare unique service reports for different audiences.
The Delivery of Service Reports: How and When?
To ensure successful delivery of service, the following should be arranged with the customer: SLA reporting mechanisms, frequency, and approval . As an example, here are a few essential questions that should be answered prior to initiating the service reports:
What information should the report be composed of? What level of technical depth should the report have? What elements should the service reports include? How often does the service need evaluations?
How often will the service reports be submitted? Monthly? Weekly? Is there a reporting schedule to follow? Would the customer like the reports submitted in person or through email? These questions need resolving and negotiating prior to the delivery of services.
What’s inside a service report?
Every service report includes a detailed review of the service performance’s status when compared against the stated SLA targets. Comparison to the SLA targets is vital to understanding whether services exceed or fall short of delivery expectations. In the reports, an accurate accounting of the service performance against the reed targets should be included. In doing this, a quick comparison can be done and an assessment of the target groups is available for quick review. Also included should be a list of service performance metrics utilized for the report and calculations used for performance metrics.
Checklist for an IT service report
Because service reports require comprehensive data, reviewers must include all necessary information into the service report. The following checklist can be used to streamline service report content:
- Identify the IT service provider
- The date and time the review was performed
- The time period covered for the submitted review
- The individual in charge regarding the review.
- Th representatives for: the user, business, and IT service provider
- Summary of the level of service
- An accounting of any exceptional events
- A summary of the service level
- Report on exceptional situations
- Compliments and complaints from customers
- Areas which need improvement. These areas should be referred to in improvement initiatives. These initiatives should be addressed as changes toward the service, to its processes, or to any agreements made with the customer.
The use of the checklist helps to standardize the workflow.
A SLAM Chart at the Service Level
A SLAM chart is a type of SLA monitoring chart used to highlight service performance. It’s a useful snapshot to include at the front of the report, because it quickly outlines service performance. With a SLAM chart, a visual representation of whether services did or did meet the service targets.