Oct 15
In a recent posting I have discussed the role of SLA Managers extensively. I think it is also worth discussing the role that SLA analysts play in the Service Level Management process. SLA Managers tend to delegate much of the day to day Service Level Management and Service Level Reporting to SLA Analysts.
Whilst the SLA analyst might not be an extremely senior role – it is an extremely important one. SLA Analyst activity includes
- Production of regular SLA Performance Reports – this has traditionally been done by compiling excel spreadsheets or powerpoint presentations from operational tools like Remedy. As suggested in my title this activity tends to be extremely manual – analysts can spend days chasing the correct people for information – as well as spending time creating the reports themselves. I would recommend using an SLA Management tool which automates the process of creating the monthly SLA reports. Our SLA Management tool moves analysts from adminstration to analysis by proactively driving the process of collecting data from key stakeholders as well as ensuring that analysts can simply download the reports they need at will.
- Analysing the data in SLA Performance Reports to ensure that Service Providers are managing effectively on an ongoinng basis. This is a critical part of the Service Level Management process and good analysis can drive real value on the client side. SLA Analysts have traditionally struggled to spend time on analysis – this is because most time is now spent creating the reports themselves. Again it is important to try to find ways to minimise the time spent on the adminstrative tasks – to ensure that time can be spent on analysis and creating insights which can deliver real business value. Analysis will include things like benchmarking performance against metrics and examining performance against specific metrics over time.
The SLA analysts support the SLA Manager to track compliance to the SLAs on an ongoing basis. The SLA Analyst will also drive regular SLA Review Meetings.
