Why you need XLAs and how to get started

Find out everything you need to know about why SLA metrics aren't always showing the full picture of your IT performance and how XLAs revolutionize the ITSM industry by prioritizing what truly matters to users. Furthermore, get practical advice on how to get started with XLAs in three simple steps and get a sneak peak of how to set up and manage XLAs in the HappySignals Platform.

Contents:

1. SLA metrics aren't enough

2. Why you need XLAs

3. Get started with XLAs in 3 steps

4. Set up and manage XLAs with HappySignals

5. Customer story: How Wilhelmsen successfully implemented XLAs

Bonus: Get your exclusive personal XLA demo

1. SLA metrics aren't enough

2. Why you need XLAs

Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) measure the service and support quality of IT by quantifying peoples overall experience and satisfaction with the service. The XLA then defines the desired target levels for the overall happiness and productivity of the end-users.

As opposed to SLAs that measure operations and outputs, XLAs focus on the outcome and value from the end-user perspective. Your experience metrics and XLAs provide you with insights about the big picture and which areas to focus on, while the technical and operational metrics or SLAs can add technical background to the issue.

Making XLAs and the end-user experience the north star metrics of your IT allow you to better understand the challenges your end-users face and “what matters most” to them. This empowers you to make informed decisions on how to best allocate your budget and resources on the areas that have the biggest impact and ROI for your business.

Ultimately, an experience-first and XLA focus leads to happier (+150%) and more productive (+57%) employees, while saving costs for your business.

3. Get started with XLAs

Getting started with XLAs doesn't have to be complicated. We've broken down the process into 3 simple steps.

1. Start collecting continuous Experience Data

As the name of the Experience Level Agreement (XLA) insinuates, you cannot set up your XLAs without continuously collecting information about people's experiences with IT (= Experience Data).

2. Obtain a baseline for your end-user Experiences

When you have a steady and continuous stream of Experience Data, you need to find out what the baseline for different services, applications and locations are. Once you have enough data to know what the baselines are for different services, you're ready to set your XLA Targets.

3. Set XLA Targets

Each XLA should have a target that you are aiming for. Unlike SLAs, we would suggest having a level to aim at and reward teams for getting to those levels instead of penalizing for not keeping a certain level. Goal is to improve, not to sustain.

Product walkthrough of HappySignals built-in XLA features (~3 min.)

4. Set up and manage XLAs with HappySignals

• HappySignals built-in XLA features makes it easy for you to create and manage your XLAs in a user-friendly and intuitive manner.

• Easily customize your XLAs by choosing the specific service, location or vendor you want to focus on.

• HappySignals Experience Data is standardized, measuring the same human experience across all IT touchpoints. Making it easy to compare and identify where to focus your improvement efforts.

5. Customer story: Wilhelmsen

By shifting focus from SLA-based IT vendor contracts to implementing formal XLAs with service desk team-level bonuses for high scores, Wilhelmsen has fostered a culture of transparency and collaboration with their service provider.

• Implemented formal XLAs with their IT service provider
• Customer happiness increased from 44 points to 90 points, a 105% improvement
• 43% increase in end-user productivity by focusing on the experience and XLAs
• A clear focus on Experience first helped identify which SLAs were counter-productive and which were helpful

Discover the game-changing XLA management features and get an exclusive walkthrough of the HappySignals Platform with a personal demo.

Schedule your demo today!