Service Level Manager

Careers in IT service management

By (author) John Sansbury

Publication date: 31 Jul 2017

Service level management provides a framework in which IT services are defined, agreed upon and delivered. The role of service level manager is a critical one in that the agreements negotiated with customers should inform most if not all of the activities of the service provider. Rarely is this the case however, and there are many tripwires awaiting the inexperienced or unwary. This practical book is aimed at helping those whose role is to establish, negotiate, manage or update service level agreements and to use these as the basis of continual service improvement. It covers areas such as purpose, required skills, responsibilities, interface and career progression as well as tools, standards and frameworks related to the role.
John Sansbury owns Infrassistance, a consultancy specialising in service management, is an ITIL practitioner, examiner, trainer, speaker, author and consultant as well as a Chartered IT Professional and Fellow of BCS. He is passionate about service management and has helped some of the world’s largest organisations improve the delivery of their IT services.

Dimensions: 198x129mm

Print ISBN-13: 9781780172941

Ebook ISBN-13: 9781780172965

152 pages

Imprint: BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

  1.  Introduction
  2. Overview of the field
  3. The role of the Service Level Manager
  4. Responsibilities, interfaces and dependencies
  5. Key activities associated with the service design stage of the service lifecycle 
  6. Key activities associated with the service operation stage of the lifecycle
  7. Standards and frameworks
  8. Tools
  9. Defining service levels
  10. Marketing the SLA
  11. Process maturity
  12. A day in the life of a Service Level Manager 
  13. Career progression and skills development
  14. Appendices 
'The real success of this book is that rather than talk in ethereal, theoretical terms it addresses the subject from a practical standpoint with usable suggestions highlighting the ‘how’ rather than just the ‘what’. This is a focus that so many books in the ITSM space are missing.'

Chris Evans

'Provides pragmatic guidance for both the new and seasoned service level manager. John Sansbury takes the reader beyond the theory and provides practical insights and advice about the role and responsibilities of the SLM. John’s relevant, actionable examples from his 20+ year career, along with his clear descriptions and real-world illustrations of how the service level manager works across all areas of an organisation make this book a great addition to the ITSM professional’s bookshelf.'

Doug Tedder
Principal