Managing Service Level Agreements

Course Overview

Service level agreements (SLAs) are designed to allow contractors to propose and implement innovative ways to achieve contract objectives and provide companies with effective tools to objectively assess and enforce contractor performance. The proper use of performance standards, acceptable quality levels, incentives and other performance-based acquisition (PBA) tools can lead to enhanced contractor performance resulting in cost savings to the companies and improvements in customer satisfaction.

Managing Service level agreements (SLA) will outline the major processes and tools of developing and managing SLA as a part of a performance-based service contract. This course is designed to equip the personnel involved in developing and managing SLAs with the knowledge needed to maximize the benefits of performance-based service contracts. You will learn to measure and document contractor performance and reach successful contract completion by applying the appropriate incentives.

The course exercises are based on real-life, performance-based contract management scenarios that take participants beyond a mere review of the process aspects of obtaining effective contractor performance. By completing these practical, interactive exercises, you will have an opportunity to observe the key activities of developing and managing SLAs and apply that knowledge to your day-to-day contracting environment.

Course Topics

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1. SLA Basics
   1. SLA definition
   2. SLA purposes
   3. SLA types
   4. Levels of SLA
   5. SLA vs. contract
   6. SLA format
   7. SLA management tasks
   8. SLA management process
   9. SLA management tools
   10. Roles & responsibilities of SLA management
   11. SLA in a PBA context
2. Performance-Based Acquisition
   1. Definition of Performance-Based Acquisition
   2. Why use Performance-Based Acquisition?
   3. Requirements for PBA
   4. Services acquired through PBA
   5. Key elements of PBA
   6. Performance indicator/measure/standard
   7. PBA within the contracting process
   8. Benefits and challenges of PBA
3. Developing Performance-based Requirements
   1. Performance-based business relationship
   2. Instituting a business alliance for performance management
   3. Strategic communication mechanisms
   4. Tactical communication mechanisms
   5. Post award orientation conference
4. Performance monitoring and management
   1. Performance-based monitoring methods
   2. Ways to measure
   3. Use the QAP to monitor performance
   4. EV: a sophisticated way to monitor contractor performance
   5. Conduct progress meetings with the contractor
   6. Manage contract performance
   7. Applying incentives to manage performance
   8. Using the award term incentive
   9. Past performance as an incentive
   10. Change happens
   11. Risk management in PBA
   12. Modifications
   13. Contract change modifications
   14. Contract change process
   15. Change management in PBA
   16. Impact on QASP
   17. Contractor claims
   18. Buyer claims
   19. PBA as a conflict avoidance strategy
   20. Beyond disputes and litigation
   21. ADR in PBA
5. Payment and Closeout
   1. Payment in PBA
   2. Performance-based payments
   3. Advance payments
   4. Invoice
   5. Executing the payment process
   6. The importance of final payment
   7. Withholding payment
   8. Contract closeout
   9. Steps in contract closeout