Service Level Agreements - Best Practices

First lets talk about the what are SLA, SLO and SLIs.

SLA (Service Level Agreement)

is a contract between a service provider and a customer that outlines the level of service that the customer can expect from the provider.

SLO (Service Level Objective)

is a specific, measurable target that is defined within an SLA and is used to evaluate the performance of a service.

SLI (Service Level Indicator)

is a metric that is used to measure the performance of a service against the SLO. It is used to determine whether or not the service is meeting its SLO.

In summary, an SLA is a contract, an SLO is a specific target within that contract, and an SLI is a metric to measure the service against that target.

Now lets talk about why services cannot be 100% reliable or available at all times.

The cost and technical complexity of making services more reliable get higher and higher the closer you try to get to 100%. So it winds up being the case that every application has a unique set of requirements that dictate how reliable it needs to be before customer no longer notice a difference and that means we can make sure that we have enough room for error budget and enough room for delivering feature.

Here are some best practices for setting SLAs:

Understand the customer’s needs: The SLA should be tailored to the specific needs of the customer. This means understanding their business requirements and the level of service they expect.

• Be realistic: The SLA should be achievable and realistic. It should not set targets that are impossible to meet, as this can lead to disappointment and mistrust.

• Be specific: The SLA should be clear and specific, outlining the level of service in detail. This includes the type of service provided, response times, and availability.

• Use measurable metrics: The SLA should include measurable metrics, such as uptime and response times, to ensure that the service is meeting the agreed-upon standards.

• Review and update: The SLA should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that it remains relevant and that the service is meeting the customer’s needs.

• Communicate the SLA clearly to both parties, and make sure that any penalties or credits are clearly defined.

• Clearly identify the responsible parties and their roles in the SLA

• Define what is not covered in the SLA

• Have a process to handle and resolve SLA breaches in a timely manner.

• Finally, it is important to test the SLA to ensure that it is working as expected and that the service is meeting the agreed-upon standards.

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