From Theory to Practice—When and How to Implement Service Value Agreement

Merat Ziyarazavi, Christer Magnusson

Department of Computer and System Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden;.

DOI: 10.4236/jssm.2013.61013                

Abstract

Traditionally, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is used as an appendix in IT Service Management agreements to set expectations and delineate the service delivery description as well as the terms and conditions of delivery. However, SLAs are unable to imply and guarantee the added values expected by the customer. Service Value Agreement (SVA) is a newly developed framework that identifies the deliverable added values along with metrics to measure the quality and quantity of achievements in terms of business added values. The objective of this study is to expand the concept of SVA for Application Management (AM) services and suggest guidelines for its implementation in real business cases. This goal is fulfilled through the case study approach and outsourcing industry contributions. Authors suggest discussing the concept of SVA from early stages of the sales lifecycle and implementing it gradually during the steady state phase. Combination of Service Value Mapping approach and Piloting method is suggested for SVA proposition as an option with successful practical history.

Keywords

IT Outsourcing; Application Management; Service Value Agreement; Service Level Agreement; Value Co-Creation; Outsourcing Lifecycle

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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