SD.SG 1 Establish Service Agreements

The service agreement between a service provider and a customer is established and maintained. An ongoing collaborative approach to the activities described in this process area encourages a culture that supports service quality improvement in contrast to a culture that focuses on blame and disputing small details of agreements.

The service agreement should be established prior to the start of service delivery. Over time, the service agreement can be revised based on service delivery results (e.g., to reflect needed changes to services delivered, service level targets, the responsibilities of the service provider or customer).

To succeed in maintaining collaboration between the service provider and customer, it is important to define the responsibilities of both parties. It is also important to set realistic expectations for service levels, which requires defining measurable, achievable service levels.

When standard service definitions and baseline service delivery data are available at the organizational level, the service provider should use that information as a basis for establishing and tailoring agreements.