Question

A service level management analyst is drafting a new SLA for a critical order-processing service. A colleague suggests measuring only system uptime, because it is easy to report and consistently shows 99.9%. However, the business frequently complains that placing orders is slow and error-prone even when the system is 'up'. What is the BEST advice to give when designing this SLA?

Accepted Answer

Base the SLA on measures that reflect the actual business outcomes and end-user experience, not just a single easy technical metric

Answer

Keep only the uptime metric because it is objective, easy to measure, and consistently meets the target

Answer

Add several more technical component metrics such as CPU and memory utilisation to make the SLA more comprehensive

Answer

Remove all metrics from the SLA and rely on informal feedback from the business during periodic review meetings