Service Management

Tech can drive us crazy and delight us. The omnipresence of digital technology underlines the need for Experience Management (XM). XM is the discipline of designing, measuring and improving the experiences provided to customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

Xperience Level Agreement (XLA)® is the framework and commitment to apply XM in tech-driven organizations and ecosystems. The three technology management philosophies that influenced our way of working are Lean, ITIL, and Agile. XLA is the missing piece of the puzzle. Why? In just two words: Lean is “No Waste”, ITIL is “No Chaos”, Agile is “No Delay”, and XLA is “No Frustration”.

XLA® fosters curiosity, empathy, and courage to be customer-centric. This pocketbook explains the XLA framework and its practical use. We added a glossary to ensure we are all on the same page. This book is for those with an open mindset in IT, tech, outsourcing, and digital transformation.

The Basics:

The XLA Pocketbook introduces the concept of “Xperience Level Agreement” (XLA) and the XLA 6P Framework for understanding and applying IT service experience management. The pocketbook is intended for IT service providers and consumers who want to learn the basics of XLA in order to derive more value from IT services.

The XLA Pocketbook introduces the concept of “Xperience Level Agreement” (XLA). The pocketbook is intended for IT service providers and consumers who get value from IT services and are usually expressed in terms of efficiency or effectiveness. Organizations are more efficient when information processing has been automated. They are more effective when IT services provide new information that enables them to take – and act upon – better decisions. Traditional IT Service Management often focuses too much on technology and not enough on its impact upon people and their business. The underlying assertion is that investment in IT service experience and its business impact fosters more meaningful, rewarding, and productive work.

IT service is where value is actually realized. The moment of truth is when people experience the IT solution and benefit from it. Even if IT solution design, application development, and IT operations were executed perfectly, an inadequate IT solution generates limited value. There is also value leakage when IT solution design and application development spend more time than necessary enabling the right IT service experience. Experience Management (XM) is therefore an integral part of IT solution design and application development, as well as IT Service Management. Although most of this pocketbook is written in the context of IT Service Management, IT solution designers and application developers will understand that their contribution to the right IT service experience is crucial. They can apply empathy and focus on ensuring that there is “experience inside” their valuable contributions.

The XLA Pocketbook includes:

Examples of the application of XLA

• An introduction to the XLA 6P Framework
• An overview of the key XLA concepts
• The XLA template
• The official Giarte XLA glossary of terms
• It is structured in chapters that address:

1. Introduction to XLA and the XLA 6P Framework
2. Business case for better IT service experience (why)
3. IT service experience and its management (what)
4. Organization of IT service experience management (who)
5. Transformation of the IT service management organization (how)

The pocketbook is intended for IT service providers and consumers who want to learn the basics of XLA in order to derive more value from IT services.

Although most of this pocketbook is written in the context of IT Service Management, IT solution designers and application developers will understand that their contribution to the right IT service experience is crucial. They can apply empathy and focus on ensuring that there is “experience inside” their valuable contributions.

The XLA Pocketbook is based on the XLA 6P Framework. The vendor-neutral XLA Consortium is tasked with developing the XLA 6P Framework and promoting its effective adoption. This knowledge-sharing organization elicits feedback from the organizations that use the XLA 6P Framework and uses their feedback for future versions of the framework.