Service Level Agreement

An SLA defines the scope, quality, and responsibilities for a service in measurable terms. Common SLA metrics include availability (99.9% uptime), response time (P1 incidents responded to within 15 minutes), resolution time, and throughput. SLAs operate at the customer level, while OLAs (Operational Level Agreements) govern internal team commitments and UCs (Underpinning Contracts) govern external supplier commitments. All three must align to deliver the SLA. Modern SLA thinking is evolving toward Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) that measure user satisfaction and business outcomes rather than just technical metrics.