Network Services SLA Management Checklist Template

A service level agreement (SLA) is a document that creates trust, enforces reliability, and keeps both the supplier and the customer on the same page.

Here at Process Street, we created a general Service Level Agreement Template Process to guide you through the process of creating a comprehensive SLA from scratch.

Now, we decided to expand our SLA template offering by creating additional templates to address a variety of industries and use cases. This template is focused on network services; an incredibly popular use case. 

This checklist will walk you through the document creation process as well as a simple 3-month review process to ensure the service provider - customer relationship runs smoothly.

With this SLA management checklist, you input relevant information in each task, including:

• Information about the companies (stakeholders) involved
• The purpose, goal, and objectives of the service level agreement
• How long the agreement will last
• Who will review performance over time
• The IT services being supplied to the customer
• The requirements of both the network services company and customer
• Ways to contact both the network services company and customer
• A review process each month that includes:
  • Review of service requirements
  • Evaluation of metrics and other important data
  • İmplementation of any necessary changes to the SLA

Let's get started!

A little info about Process Street

Process Street is superpowered checklists. By using our software to document your processes, you are instantly creating an actionable workflow in which tasks can be assigned to team members, automated, and monitored in real-time to ensure they are being executed as intended, each and every time.

The point is to minimize human error, increase accountability, and provide employees with all of the tools and information necessary to complete their tasks as effectively as possible.

Once they've approved the document, it's then time to do what you do best: Supply great services to paying customers!

Define who's involved with the agreement by filling out the below form fields.

The first party involved is your organization, so include your company's name, email of the main point of contact for this SLA (which is most likely yourself), and the email of that person.

After doing that, include the details of the other party (stakeholder) involved with this SLA: The customer that wants to make use of your network services.

In the following section, you'll write down the purpose of the SLA.

If you aren't sure of what "purpose" means in this context, it's essentially a quick, general overview of what the SLA sets out to do. 

To help you out, here's an example of what TechHelpDirect wrote as the purpose in their SLA:

"The purpose of this Agreement is to communicate the elements and commitments in place to provide consistent IT service support and delivery to the Client(s) by the Service Provider." - TechHelpDirect, Standard (Pay As You Go) & Pre-Paid Support Package Service Level Agreement

You'll also notice that each task has a stop task applied. This means the current task must be completed before moving onto the others.

To learn more about stop tasks and how they work, check out the video below.

Write down the purpose of the agreement in the text box below.

As the purpose of an agreement will differ with each customer, it's best to write it from scratch for every new client.

In the text box, write down the purpose of the SLA.

Again, if you're new to SLA writing, remember to check out Tech Help Direct's SLA to understand what to do here.

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Now that you've defined what the SLA is and you've provided the purpose, the next step is to specify the goal of the SLA.

Although the two terms may strike you as similar, a goal differs from purpose. 

A goal is the preferred outcome of the SLA. To draw from TechHelpDirect's SLA again, in the goal section, they've written the following:

"The goal of this Agreement is to obtain mutual understanding for IT service provision between the Service Provider(s) and Client(s)." - TechHelpDirect, Standard (Pay As You Go) & Pre-Paid Support Package Service Level Agreement

Note the goal of the agreement. 

Consider what the goal of the agreement is, then, once you've come to your conclusion, write down the goal in the long text box below.

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Next up is specifying the agreement's objectives.

Objectives are the main points the SLA sets out to do. Think of it as similar to the purpose you wrote in task #5, but this time, you're deep-diving into the specifics. 

TechHelpDirect wrote the following for their objectives section:

"The objectives of this Agreement are to:

• Provide clear reference to service time frames.
• Present a clear, concise and measurable description of service provision to the Client.
• Match perceptions of expected service provision with actual service support and delivery." - TechHelpDirect, Standard (Pay As You Go) & Pre-Paid Support Package Service Level Agreement

Specify the objectives of the agreement in the text boxes.

After reading TechHelpDirect's example, consider the three most important objectives of this particular SLA. 

Then, add each objective to the corresponding text boxes.

Like all good things, SLAs at some point must come to end. 

In the next section, you'll be certifying and confirming how long the SLA will last, defining when the SLA should be reviewed (in case it needs to be ended early, for instance), and who will do the reviewing.

Certify how long the SLA will last by adding the SLA's start date and end date.

For everybody involved, it's important to know the exact dates when an SLA begins and ends. 

Even if the working relationship develops into a longterm arrangement that lasts many years, it's a necessity to clearly state the agreement's length-based parameters. 

Add the SLA's start date in the "SLA start date" time/date form field, and the SLA's end date in the "SLA end date" time/date form field.

Confirm performance review protocols (i.e. who will do the performance review, when, etc) by providing answers in the below form fields.

Once an SLA has been agreed upon, performance from all sides should be frequently reviewed to ensure the arrangement is ticking along well.

Below, answer "Who will do the performance review?" (for all parties), "What is the performance review period?", and "When is the next review date?" via the appropriate form fields.

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The tasks in this section tackle the nitty-gritty: The core information of any SLA. 

Specifically, you'll be creating a list of the services you'll be supplying, describing them in detail, and then noting down the requirement (responsibilities) you'll abide to.

When describing the services in detail, remember to include specific parameters including how long it should take to carry out the services, where, and what happens in emergency situations.

Take the following text from TechHelpDirect as an example:

"Onsite Assistance

Guaranteed within 48 hours when submitted during business hours. If the request is urgent within business hours, a technician can be guaranteed onsite within four (4) hours. Additional service fees apply for urgent support.

For urgent onsite assistance in out of office hours, the Client must log a “high priority” support ticket or call 1300 622 843 to leave a phone message, which will be directly emailed to a technician. Out of office hours and emergency onsite support is not guaranteed in standard PAYG service terms or pre-paid support packages, but rather, are subject to availability of technical staff. Additional service rates apply for urgent support in out of office hours and emergency support." - TechHelpDirect, Standard (Pay As You Go) & Pre-Paid Support Package Service Level Agreement

Create a general list of network services to be supplied to the client.

In the provided form field, write down (vertically) a list of network services your company will supply to the customer. 

Describe the services to be supplied in greater detail.

Thanks to variables, you'll see the list you wrote in the previous task below.

Use this list as a reference point, and expand on what those network services entail, exactly.

List of network services to supply:

{{form.List_of_services_to_supply}}

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Note down the network service provider's requirements.

As the network services provider, there will be requirements and responsibilities to uphold.

Although these will differ case-by-case and scenario-and-scenario, they are also fairly general.

For example, responsibilities like delivering services on-time and proactively informing the customer if there'll be a delay in getting your services to them, are good, standard requirements to abide by. 

Note down the requirements and responsibilities below.

The previous task had you note the requirements and responsibilities you pledge to uphold. 

In the next section, you'll write down the requirements expected from the customer in return for your services, and get the customer to approve them before running ahead with creating the rest of the SLA.

Note down the customer's requirements.

Similar to your requirements, the customer in question has requirements and responsibilities too.

Again, these differ scenario-by-scenario but are also fairly general. For instance, an essential requirement for the customer would be to make sure that payments are paid regularly each month or quarter.

Using the boxes below, note the requirements and responsibilities expected from the customer.

Email the customer regarding their requirements.

Once you've stipulated the customer's requirements, the customer can approve, reject, or reject the requirements with comments in task #20, thanks to approval tasks. (This will help to keep both parties in the loop, and will cause fewer rounds of edits to the SLA at later stages.)

First, though, notify them about the approval task by using the email widget below. 

All the information has been added for you. All you need to do is hit "Send".

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As noted earlier, there needs to be continued contact between both parties after the SLA has been approved.

In the next task, you'll provide ways for the customer to get in contact with you - besides just email.

Confirm the ways the client can get in contact with you, should they need to discuss your services down the line.

A customer could get in contact with you for several reasons.

They might want to suggest a change in the SLA, stop the agreement altogether, or maybe they just want to thank you for providing awesome services.

Either way, you'll want to include various contact details within the SLA. 

Write your company's telephone number and office hours in the form fields below to provide them with another way to communicate with you.

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You've now filled out all the necessary form fields. The information you added will be collated into an SLA (via variables), which you'll review and double-check in the next step.

Double-check the SLA draft to ensure it's fit to send the client.

Below you'll see your SLA made via the service level agreement template process. Read through it and make sure it makes sense.

If you see text with double braces (which are the { and } symbols), then you've not filled out a form field along the way. Go back to the corresponding task and put in the right information.

OR

If there were too many form fields for you to fill out, click "edit this template", delete the text with braces from the SLA, and update only this template. 

This is so the SLA looks clean and tidy for when the customer reads the SLA in a few steps' time.

1. Agreement overview

This Service-Level Agreement is effective as of {{form.SLA_start_date}}, and is made by and between {{form.Customer_company's_name}} and {{form.Your_company_name}} (the stakeholders).

2. The service-level agreement's purpose, goal, and objectives

Purpose:

{{form.What_is_the_purpose_of_this_SLA?}}

Goal:

{{form.What_is_the_goal_of_the_agreement?}}

Objectives:

{{form.SLA_objective_#1}}

{{form.SLA_objective_#2}}

{{form.SLA_objective_#3}}

3. The service agreement

3.1. Service scope

The service Supplier has agreed to carry out the following services to the Customer:

{{form.List_of_services_to_supply}}

In fuller detail, these services are as follows:

{{form.Detailed_description_of_service_#1}}

{{form.Detailed_description_of_service_#2}}

{{form.Detailed_description_of_service_#3}}

{{form.Detailed_description_of_service_#4}}

{{form.Detailed_description_of_service_#5}}

{{form.Detailed_description_of_service_#6}}

The Supplier acknowledges that they must, at all times, provide the services as outlined above.

Failure to do so may have a material adverse impact on the business and operations of the Customer, and that it shall entitle the Customer to cease the contract at a future date.

3.2 Supplier requirements

The Supplier will commit to the following requirements and responsibilities:

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#3}}

3.3 Customer requirements

The Customer will also commit to the following requirements and responsibilities:

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#3}}

4. Performance monitoring and review

The Supplier shall implement all measurement and monitoring tools and procedures necessary to measure, monitor and report on the Supplier’s performance of the provision of the Services.

The Supplier shall immediately notify the Customer in writing if the level of performance of the Supplier of any element of the provision fails to meet proper standards.

Both parties have agreed to review performance frequently - {{form.What_is_the_performance_review_frequency?}}.

{{form.Who_will_do_the_performance_review_(customer_side)?}} will carry out the performance review from the Customer's side. {{form.Who_will_do_the_performance_review_(service_side)?}} will carry out the performance review for the Supplier. 

After this contract has been approved, the first review will take place on {{form.When_is_the_next_performance_review_date?}}.

5. Service management

In addition to frequent performance reviews, the Services must be managed appropriately. 

Should the Customer want to get in contact with the Service provider regarding the Services, they can be contacted via:

Supplier's telephone:

{{form.Your_company's_telephone_number}}

Supplier's email:

{{form.Email_of_your_company's_main_contact}}

During the following office hours:

{{form.When_are_your_company's_office_hours?}}

Similarly, the Supplier can contact the Customer through the following means of contact:

Customer's telephone:

{{form.Customer_company's_telephone_number}}

Customer's email:

{{form.Email_of_customer_company's_main_contact}}

During the following office hours:

{{form.Customer_company's_office_hours}}

Once approved, this SLA is effective from {{form.SLA_end_date}}.

Now that you're happy with how the SLA looks, it's time to send it to the customer to get their approval. 

Getting the approval on important items - such as SLAs - is made easier with Process Street's approvals, and task #27 is an approval task which the customer themselves will be completing. 

Send an email to the customer to let them know the SLA is ready for approval.

Overcommunication is important, and especially when it comes to a crucial process like agreeing on an SLA.

So that your customer is informed that the SLA draft is ready for approval - and that they have to make the approval decision themselves via Process Street - send them an email via the widget below.

All the information has already been added for you. All you need to do is hit "Send".

If the decision-maker rejects the SLA, then communicate with them. Figure out what they want changing, why, and whether it's feasible to do so.

If it is, make those changes in the appropriate steps. Then, go back to task #24, make sure the edited version looks good, and send it for approval again.

(Source)

Success! The SLA has been approved and you've gained yourself one more customer.

So that the customer in question has a digital copy of the SLA you've created via this service level agreement template process, you'll be formatting the SLA, uploading it, and sending it to them in the final two steps.

Format the SLA properly using the software (Word, Google Docs, etc) of your choice. 

The SLA has been approved and agreed upon. 

Now you'll want to format the SLA created in task #24 by using the software of your choice, such as Word or Google Docs. This is so the SLA document itself looks as professional as possible.

Once it's been formatted, upload the document below.

Email a copy of the approved SLA to the customer.

With the formatted, professional-looking SLA ready to go, it's time to send it to the customer using another email widget.

Again, everything has already been provided for you. Just hit "Send".

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To evaluate performance for the first month since the SLA was implemented, first take a look over the current service requirements as determined when you were creating the agreement. 

Service provider requirements

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#3}}

Customer requirements

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#3}}

Next, gather relevant metrics and other data points from the first month. The data gathered will need to be compared against the requirements and objectives that were initially agreed upon.

After reviewing the data, confirm that the current performance level is as expected, and in compliance with the agreement.

If performance is not at the expected level and/or there needs to be changes made to the agreement, additional tasks need to be completed before the review is complete.

Note down the changes that need to be made to the agreement.

Once they have been made, upload the updated document.

Contact the relevant personnel to inform them of the insufficient level of performance.

Both the service provider and customers main contact email address is included below

Service provider main contact: {{form.Email_of_your_company's_main_contact}}

Customer main contact: {{form.Email_of_customer_company's_main_contact}}

To evaluate performance for the second month since the SLA was implemented, first take a look over the current service requirements as determined when you were creating the agreement. 

Service provider requirements

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#3}}

Customer requirements

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#3}}

Gather relevant metrics and other data points from the second month. The data gathered will need to be compared against the requirements and objectives that were initially agreed upon.

After reviewing the data, confirm that the current performance level is as expected, and in compliance with the agreement.

If performance is not at the expected level and/or there needs to be changes made to the agreement, additional tasks need to be completed before the review is complete.

Note down the changes that need to be made to the agreement.

Once they have been made, upload the updated document.

Contact the relevant personnel to inform them of the insufficient level of performance.

Both the service provider and customers main contact email address is included below

Service provider main contact: {{form.Email_of_your_company's_main_contact}}

Customer main contact: {{form.Email_of_customer_company's_main_contact}}

To evaluate performance for the third month since the SLA was implemented, first take a look over the current service requirements as determined when you were creating the agreement. 

Service provider requirements

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Service_provider's_requirement_#3}}

Customer requirements

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#1}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#2}}

{{form.Customer's_requirement_#3}}

Gather relevant metrics and other data points from the third month. The data gathered will need to be compared against the requirements and objectives that were initially agreed upon, or as they currently stand in the case that any iterations were made after performance reviews conducted in the months prior.

After reviewing the data, confirm that the current performance level is as expected, and in compliance with the agreement.

If performance is not at the expected level and/or there needs to be changes made to the agreement, additional tasks need to be completed before the review is complete.

Note down the changes that need to be made to the agreement following the review.

Once they have been made, upload the updated document.

Contact the relevant personnel to inform them of the insufficient level of performance.

Both the service provider and customers main contact email address is included below

Service provider main contact: {{form.Email_of_your_company's_main_contact}}

Customer main contact: {{form.Email_of_customer_company's_main_contact}}

• Wikipedia - Service-level agreement
• Adam Henshall - What is an SLA? How to Use Service-Level Agreements for Success
• TechHelpDirect - Standard (Pay As You Go) & Pre-Paid Support Package Service Level Agreement
• Panda Doc - Service-Level Agreement
• ArubaCloud - Service Level Agreement
• Stephanie Overby, Lynn Greiner and Lauren Gibbons Paul - What is an SLA? Best practices for service-level agreements
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