Service Level Agreements Training Course

Duration 10 days 21 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Contract Managers, Procurement Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CM-086

Before you join: Participants should understand basic contract terms, supplier relationships or service operations and be comfortable reading operational documents such as statements of work, service reports or incident records.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Service level agreements fail when commitments are vague, metrics cannot be measured, responsibilities are split across suppliers, or reporting does not reveal whether customers receive the promised service. Poorly drafted SLAs create recurring disputes over availability, response times, exclusions, service credits and change requests. Contract and operations teams need agreements that translate business requirements into measurable, governable service commitments.

This course teaches participants to design, negotiate, administer and improve SLAs for outsourced, internal and multi-supplier services. Participants define service scope, customer journeys, service-level objectives, measurement rules, targets, reporting arrangements, escalation routes and remedies. They examine operational level agreements, underpinning contracts, service credits, governance forums, audit rights, data protection requirements and transition arrangements. The course uses IT service, facilities management, business process outsourcing, cloud service and managed support cases.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with clause analysis, service-definition work, metric design, negotiation simulations, reporting reviews and case-based decisions. Participants progressively build an SLA package during the course, beginning with a service catalogue and ending with a completed agreement supported by schedules, scorecards and governance arrangements. They leave with reusable templates and a practical approach for applying SLA controls to live supplier or internal-service relationships.

The course suits professionals who already work with contracts, suppliers, service operations or customer commitments and need stronger control over measurable service performance.

What you will be able to do

  • Define service scope, boundaries and exclusions using a service catalogue
  • Translate business requirements into measurable service-level objectives and targets
  • Design SLA metrics, data sources, formulas and measurement rules
  • Draft SLA schedules covering responsibilities, reporting, escalation and remedies
  • Set service-credit mechanisms linked to material performance failures
  • Establish governance forums, performance reviews and continuous-improvement actions
  • Negotiate service commitments using structured trade-off and risk analysis
  • Produce a complete SLA package for a defined outsourced or internal service

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Draft service schedules that remove ambiguity from operational commitments
  • Challenge weak supplier metrics before they become disputed performance measures
  • Run service reviews using evidence, thresholds and agreed escalation rules
  • Calculate service credits and distinguish operational failures from contractual breaches
  • Lead SLA negotiations with clear trade-offs between cost, risk and service quality

For your organisation

  • Fewer disputes caused by undefined services, exclusions and measurement methods
  • More reliable supplier reporting through agreed data sources and calculation rules
  • Earlier intervention when service performance breaches agreed thresholds
  • Better alignment between business priorities, service targets and contractual remedies
  • Reusable SLA templates that improve consistency across service contracts

Course modules

21 modules over 10 days

Participants can distinguish an SLA from related contract and service-management documents.

  • Purpose of SLAs within customer, supplier and internal service relationships
  • Service commitments compared with statements of work and master agreements
  • Customer outcomes translated into observable service commitments and boundaries
  • SLA hierarchy: contract, schedule, service catalogue, OLA and underpinning contract
  • Common SLA failure modes: ambiguity, misaligned targets and unavailable data
  • ITIL 4 service relationship model applied to contractual service commitments

Participants can define accountable parties, service recipients and boundaries for an SLA.

  • Stakeholder mapping for customers, users, providers, subcontractors and regulators
  • RACI matrix defining accountable, responsible, consulted and informed parties
  • Service boundary statements separating included, excluded and optional activities
  • Customer journey mapping identifies moments requiring measurable service commitments
  • Assumptions, dependencies and customer obligations documented as SLA conditions
  • Multi-supplier responsibility gaps identified through service integration mapping

Participants can convert business needs into prioritised service requirements.

  • Voice-of-customer interviews structured around outcomes, pain points and priorities
  • MoSCoW prioritisation separates mandatory, expected and optional service requirements
  • Requirements traceability matrix links needs, clauses, measures and acceptance evidence
  • Critical service scenarios identify peak demand, failure conditions and recovery needs
  • Non-functional requirements cover capacity, security, accessibility and continuity expectations
  • Acceptance criteria define evidence required before services enter steady operation

Participants can create service catalogue entries that support precise SLA schedules.

  • Service catalogue entries specify description, users, channels, hours and ownership
  • Requestable services distinguished from standard operational service components
  • Service options structured by tier, volume band, location and support window
  • Catalogue identifiers connect requests, reports, invoices and performance measures
  • Service exclusions documented without creating hidden delivery obligations
  • Baseline volumes and demand assumptions established for capacity-related commitments

Participants can formulate service-level objectives with defensible targets and tolerances.

  • SMART service-level objectives aligned with customer outcomes and operating constraints
  • Target-setting methods use baselines, demand patterns, risk appetite and cost
  • Thresholds distinguish acceptable performance, warnings, breaches and critical failures
  • Percentile targets prevent averages masking long customer delays and outliers
  • Service hours, maintenance windows and holiday calendars set measurement context
  • Target rationales recorded to support approval, negotiation and later review

Participants can specify metrics that are measurable, auditable and difficult to manipulate.

  • KPI specification sheets define purpose, formula, unit and reporting frequency
  • Numerators, denominators and populations prevent inconsistent performance calculations
  • Availability formulas distinguish agreed service time from planned maintenance periods
  • Response and resolution metrics use timestamp rules and priority definitions
  • First-contact resolution, backlog age and reopen rates reveal service quality
  • Leading indicators complement lagging measures for earlier operational intervention

Participants can establish measurement rules and evidence sources for SLA reporting.

  • Measurement plan identifies systems, data owners, controls and retention periods
  • Single source of truth agreed for tickets, uptime and transaction data
  • Data-quality checks test completeness, timeliness, accuracy and duplicate records
  • Sampling methods support quality audits where full inspection is impractical
  • Audit trails preserve evidence for disputed reports, credits and service failures
  • Metric exceptions documented for force majeure, customer delays and approved changes

Participants can structure an SLA document and draft clear operational clauses.

  • SLA document architecture separates core terms from operational schedules
  • Definitions schedule removes ambiguity from recurring operational terminology and abbreviations
  • Plain-language drafting states obligations, conditions, evidence and consequences precisely
  • Clause cross-references connect service descriptions, metrics, remedies and governance
  • Version-control rules protect approved schedules from undocumented operational changes
  • Drafting checklist tests completeness, consistency, measurability and contract alignment

Participants can design governance arrangements that maintain SLA accountability.

  • Governance model assigns operational, tactical and executive decision authorities
  • RACI schedules allocate ownership for incidents, reports, changes and improvements
  • Service-review terms define attendees, agenda, decisions and action tracking
  • Escalation matrix sets triggers, contacts, response periods and decision rights
  • Decision logs capture approvals, exceptions, disputes and agreed corrective actions
  • Governance calendar coordinates monthly reviews, quarterly boards and annual resets

Participants can define service commitments for incidents, requests and recurring failures.

  • Priority matrix combines impact and urgency to classify service incidents
  • Incident response commitments specify acknowledgement, updates, restoration and closure
  • Service request targets distinguish fulfilment time from customer approval delays
  • Problem-management obligations address root causes, workarounds and corrective actions
  • Major incident procedures define communications, command roles and post-incident reviews
  • Ticket lifecycle rules prevent clock disputes during assignment, suspension and closure

Participants can set service commitments for availability, demand and recovery.

  • Availability targets calculated using agreed service time and excluded periods
  • Capacity commitments address forecast demand, peak loads and scaling lead times
  • Recovery time objective and recovery point objective linked to service priorities
  • Business continuity obligations define testing frequency, evidence and corrective actions
  • Planned maintenance controls require notice periods, approvals and outage limits
  • Dependency mapping identifies third-party failures affecting end-to-end availability

Participants can incorporate operational security and privacy obligations into SLA schedules.

  • Security responsibilities mapped across customer, provider and subcontractor control owners
  • ISO/IEC 27001 controls translated into measurable service-provider obligations
  • Personal data processing clauses define access, retention, breach notification and deletion
  • Privileged-access reviews set frequency, evidence requirements and remediation deadlines
  • Vulnerability remediation targets differentiate severity, exposure and compensating controls
  • Compliance reporting identifies certifications, attestations, audit evidence and exceptions

Participants can align external SLAs with subcontractor commitments and internal agreements.

  • Operational level agreements support internal teams delivering shared service components
  • Underpinning contracts align subcontractor targets with customer-facing SLA commitments
  • Flow-down clauses transfer security, continuity and reporting obligations downstream
  • Back-to-back obligations tested against supplier exclusions and liability limitations
  • Service integrator roles coordinate accountability across multiple specialist providers
  • Dependency scorecards monitor suppliers whose failures affect end-to-end service delivery

Participants can design proportionate remedies for service-performance failures.

  • Service-credit schedules link breaches to predefined financial or operational remedies
  • Credit calculation methods use fixed amounts, fee percentages and performance bands
  • Caps, aggregation rules and carry-forward provisions control financial exposure
  • Chronic failure clauses trigger improvement plans, executive review or termination rights
  • Remedies distinguished from indemnities, damages and general contractual liability
  • Commercial incentives reward verified improvements without weakening essential service targets

Participants can create reports and review routines that drive accountable performance management.

  • Service scorecards present targets, actuals, trends, breaches and corrective actions
  • Traffic-light status rules prevent subjective reporting of service performance
  • Trend analysis separates isolated failures from recurring operational deterioration
  • Root-cause analysis uses five whys, fishbone diagrams and fault-tree logic
  • Corrective action registers assign owners, due dates, evidence and closure criteria
  • Executive summaries connect performance results with risks, decisions and customer impact

Participants can manage SLA changes and resolve performance disputes through defined procedures.

  • Change-control workflow assesses scope, cost, risk, target and documentation effects
  • Change requests distinguish operational adjustments from contractual amendments requiring approval
  • Impact assessments test dependencies, measurement changes and transition requirements
  • Dispute-resolution clauses define evidence exchange, escalation stages and decision timescales
  • Without-prejudice negotiation separates commercial settlement discussions from performance records
  • Exception registers record temporary waivers, expiry dates and approval authorities

Participants can plan assurance activity that tests SLA controls and reported performance.

  • ISO 19011 audit principles applied to service-performance assurance activities
  • Audit plans define objectives, scope, criteria, evidence and interview roles
  • Control testing verifies metric calculations, approvals, access and report accuracy
  • Sampling plans select tickets, incidents and transactions for evidence review
  • Findings classified by severity, root cause, corrective action and due date
  • Management responses tested for ownership, evidence and sustained corrective action

Participants can prepare and conduct SLA negotiations using structured positions and trade-offs.

  • Negotiation mandate defines objectives, authority limits, concessions and walk-away points
  • BATNA analysis clarifies alternatives when proposed service terms remain unacceptable
  • Issue matrices compare customer needs, supplier positions, risks and options
  • Package bargaining trades service scope, targets, price and remedy structures
  • Objective criteria support target discussions using baselines, benchmarks and evidence
  • Negotiation records capture agreed wording, open issues and approval requirements

Participants can prepare an SLA for operational launch and controlled service transition.

  • Transition plan defines milestones, owners, acceptance gates and readiness evidence
  • Service baseline established before contract commencement and target enforcement
  • Knowledge-transfer obligations cover documentation, training, access and operational handover
  • Parallel-run arrangements validate reporting, measurement rules and data quality
  • Go-live criteria confirm staffing, tools, procedures and escalation contacts
  • Early-life support period addresses heightened risk, reporting frequency and governance

Participants can use performance evidence to improve services and refresh SLA commitments.

  • Plan-do-check-act cycle structures service improvement from evidence to verification
  • Improvement registers prioritise actions by customer impact, risk, effort and cost
  • Benchmarking compares service performance, targets and cost against relevant peer data
  • Quarterly business reviews assess strategic fit, demand changes and improvement priorities
  • Target recalibration uses sustained performance, customer feedback and operating changes
  • Lessons-learned reviews update clauses, templates and supplier-selection requirements

Participants can build, review and present a complete SLA package for a defined service.

  • Service catalogue and scope statement assembled for the selected service
  • Stakeholder map, RACI matrix and dependency model validated against delivery arrangements
  • Service-level objectives, formulas and targets documented in KPI specification sheets
  • Governance calendar, escalation matrix and reporting scorecard completed for review
  • Service-credit schedule and change-control procedure tested against failure scenarios
  • Peer review identifies ambiguities, measurement gaps, risks and missing contract links
  • Final presentation defends the SLA package, assumptions and implementation priorities

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. SLA document template
  2. Service catalogue template
  3. KPI specification sheet
  4. SLA governance calendar
  5. Service-credit calculation model
  6. SLA implementation plan

Who should attend

  • Contract Managers — need enforceable service commitments and performance controls
  • Procurement Managers — need service requirements that support supplier selection and contract awards
  • Vendor Managers — need evidence-based oversight of supplier performance and remedies
  • Service Delivery Managers — need clear operating responsibilities, targets and escalation routes
  • Operations Managers — need measurable commitments for internal or outsourced services
  • Legal Counsel — need practical alignment between SLA schedules and contractual terms

Skills and tools covered

SLA draftingService metric designSupplier performance managementContract governanceService-credit calculationNegotiation planning

Tools and standards

ITIL 4, ISO/IEC 20000-1, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 19011

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to introduce SLA structures, standards and drafting methods, followed by case work based on managed services, outsourced operations and internal shared services. Participants analyse weak clauses, define service scope, build metrics, calculate service credits and prepare governance arrangements. Group exercises test negotiation choices, performance-report interpretation and escalation decisions. Simulations recreate service-review meetings and supplier discussions. Application planning helps participants adapt the templates and methods to a current service relationship or planned procurement.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic contract terms, supplier relationships or service operations and be comfortable reading operational documents such as statements of work, service reports or incident records. Experience managing a supplier, internal service team, help desk, facilities contract or outsourced process is useful. The course assumes no legal qualification and does not require prior knowledge of ITIL, ISO standards, procurement law or advanced contract drafting. Participants benefit most when they can bring a current or planned service arrangement to consider during application planning.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should be familiar with basic contracts, supplier management or service operations. A legal qualification, prior SLA drafting experience and knowledge of ITIL are not required.

Bring a current SLA, statement of work, service report or planned service procurement if you can do so within your confidentiality rules. The course materials provide case documents and templates for participants without a live example.

It is designed for contract, procurement, vendor-management, service-delivery and operations professionals. It also suits legal and compliance staff who review operational service schedules.

Contract management courses usually address the wider contract lifecycle, while supplier management focuses on relationship and performance oversight. This course concentrates on the detailed service commitments, metrics, governance and remedies that make an SLA operationally usable.

Participants build an SLA package using service definitions, metric sheets, reporting controls and governance tools. These materials can be adapted for a new procurement, a contract renewal or a poorly performing existing service.

The first part builds the service definition, targets, metrics and core SLA structure. The later modules address governance, remedies, assurance, negotiation, transition and improvement, ending with a capstone SLA package review and presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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