Configure SLAs to manage service quality goals
10 min
Intermediate
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:
- Define service level agreement (SLA)
- Create, configure, and use out-of-the-box and custom SLAs
- Use priority to group SLA goals
- Identify common use cases and troubleshooting scenarios
What is an SLA?
A service-level agreement, or SLA, is a contract between a service provider and the end user that defines the level of service expected from the service provider. Time and goals make up an SLA, and its purpose is to define what the customer will receive.
👇 Click the tabs below to learn more about the details of an SLA.
A time metric lets you define how time will be measured for this SLA.
Jira Service Management lets you control exactly when time is tracked, letting you start, pause, and stop based on selected work item conditions.
The time conditions on an SLA specify what your team considers to be trackable time.
Service-level agreements serve as the backbone of customer satisfaction, trust, and accountability in service delivery. By defining response and resolution times, SLAs set expectations upfront, fostering trust between service providers and customers. They also drive productivity by defining request urgency and keeping teams focused on what is most relevant.
Utilize SLA management in Jira Service Management
Jira Service Management comes with built-in SLA management so that you can proactively monitor requests to ensure they’re resolved in a timely manner. When you create a new project, Jira Service Management will automatically start recording the Time to Resolution metrics so you can track how your team is performing.
Jira Service Management’s rules engine automatically applies SLA targets as requests enter the queue. SLA displays make it easy to know how much time is remaining. As you get closer to your goal, the timer will automatically turn yellow, then red when the SLA has been breached. This helps to prevent you from breaching your SLA rather than spending time managing SLA violations.
Choose the right SLA type for your work
Jira Service Management offers several different SLA options:
- Preconfigured SLAs
- Customized SLAs
- New SLAs
👇 Click the tabs below to learn more about the different types of SLAs.
Time metric
- From work item creation
- until a comment is entered for the customer
- or status changed to Waiting for customer
- or the work item is resolved
Goal
- 2 hours for incidents
- 4 hours for service requests
- No goal for other work items.
👉 For example: In the table above, you see the Time-to-first-response SLA, which is a preconfigured SLA. Preconfigured SLAs cover some of the most common IT requirements.
In this SLA, the time will be measured from the time the work item is created until either a comment is entered for the customer, the status changes to ‘Waiting for the customer,’ or the work item is resolved.
The goal for this SLA is to have a first response within 2 hours for incidents, 4 hours for service requests, and no goal for other types of work items.
👇 Play the video below to see how to customize an SLA and verify it.
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Define time zones and working hours with SLA calendars
By default, SLAs are measured against 24 hours a day, seven days a week working hours. However, you can use SLA calendars to specify your team's time zone and working hours.
👉 For example: SLA calendars let you exclude lunch breaks, holidays, and weekends from the time that affects the SLAs.
👇 Click the tabs below to explore two SLA calendar examples.
In the calendar below, the time zone is set to GMT and the work week is Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. These are the hours SLAs will be measured against. You need to consider which time zone your server is set to operate in and that it may be different from your user settings.
SLA calendars are unique to each service project. You can have separate calendars for each goal.
👉 For example: You can have a 24/7 calendar for critical incidents and a 9 to 5 calendar for all other work items.
👇 Play the video below to see how to create a new SLA and verify it.
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Group SLA goals to increase your overall goal capacity
You can group several priorities under a goal to increase the amount of time targets that goal can handle. However, a goal with several priorities grouped under it still only counts as one goal. Only priority time targets can be grouped under a goal. To see any changes or improvements to your goal configuration, you’ll need to review and edit your SLAs so your priorities are grouped under the relevant goals.
👉 For example: If you had High, Medium, and Low priorities, and the ‘Service requests’ ticket category, you would need three goals total. However, you can take those High, Medium, and Low priorities and group them under a parent JQL expression, Ticket category=”Service requests.” This would then be calculated as one goal.
👇 Here’s how you would configure this goal in Project settings in Jira Service Management.
To group your SLAs by priority:
- Go to Project settings, then select Request management.
- Select SLAs, all existing SLAs are displayed here.
- Navigate to an existing SLA and select Edit.
- Select Add priority under a goal to add a priority.
- Select the appropriate priority from the dropdown menu. Priorities in the dropdown menu are populated based on Jira settings.
- Give your priority a time target and calendar value.
- Repeat from step 3 to continue adding priorities to your goal.
- Click Save, once you are happy with the priorities you have created.
What happens if you don't group goals by priority?
How to troubleshoot SLAs
Even with careful planning and configuration, issues may arise when implementing and managing SLAs in Jira Service Management. Let's explore some common problems and how to address them.
👇 Click the boxes below to explore some common troubleshooting problems.
SLA Breaches
Incorrect SLA Configuration
Communications challenges
By addressing these common troubleshooting scenarios proactively, service project admins can minimize disruptions, maintain SLA compliance, and ensure a positive service experience for all stakeholders.
Let's see what you've learned!
QUESTION 1 0F 2
David is a service project admin who needs to explain to his team what a service level agreement (SLA) is. Which of the following statements should David use to define an SLA accurately?
Select the correct answer.