𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠

Digital transformation isn’t just about adopting new technology—it’s about delivering measurable business value. As senior leaders, we often juggle countless metrics—SLAs, KPIs, OKRs, DORA, ITIL—but a critical question remains: Are our digital solutions truly delivering the value we promised when we secured funding?

When I started implementing service levels, I faced common doubts:
“𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠?”
“𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐏𝐈𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞?”
“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬?”

Here’s the truth: SLAs and KPIs often focus on compliance or operational outputs, but they don’t guarantee that the solution delivers the promised business value. Service level management (SLM) bridges this gap by defining, measuring, and managing service performance tied directly to user experience and business outcomes.

Key concepts to know:
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 (𝐒𝐋𝐈): Quantitative measures of service performance (e.g., uptime, latency, Invoices created successfully).
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 (𝐒𝐋𝐎): Target values for SLIs, agreed upon by all stakeholders.
𝐄𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭: The acceptable level of failure or downtime, balancing reliability with innovation.

This collaborative approach aligns business, IT, and partners on what truly matters.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬?
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Align spend with actual business needs. Ex: A quarterly dashboard doesn’t need 24×7 uptime—saving costs.
𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: Avoid overengineering by understanding dependencies and expectations.
𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Service levels clarify ownership and reduce fragmented responsibilities, speeding up time-to-market.

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Start with user journeys and tailor SLIs accordingly.
Set realistic SLOs based on data to maintain trust.
Continuously review and adjust service levels.
Automate monitoring for transparency.
Foster cross-team collaboration to break silos.

Every organization is unique. Tailor service level implementation to fit your culture and legacy systems. Upskill your teams and build open communication to embed this thinking deeply.

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩:
– Assess current state.
– Define service level requirements.
– Design SLIs and SLOs.
– Set error budgets.
– Monitor, review, and iterate.

Service level management is more than metrics—it’s a strategic lever to realize digital value.