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SLA review · agenda

Read in 60 seconds before the review. The SLA review is a contract conversation, not a sales conversation. Numbers, not impressions.

TIP

The 45-minute review is bounded on purpose. Read the numbers before the meeting; refuse the off-agenda topic; sign the outcome.

Before the review (do this the day before)

  • [ ] Numbers read and one-pager written. Availability · Response time · Resolution time · Data integrity — all dimensions, all severities. because: reading dashboards in the meeting burns 20 of the 45 minutesPractice · Step 1

  • [ ] Approached-without-breaching list written. Leading indicators. The dimensions where you got close.

  • [ ] Breach summary written (if any). Two sentences per breach, referencing the existing postmortem. Already in client's prior weekly update is the discipline.

  • [ ] Named client representative attending. Internal-only SLA review is not an SLA review.

In the 45 minutes — three questions, in order

  • [ ] Q1 (10 min) — Did we meet the SLA? Walk each dimension. Met cleanly: 30 seconds. Approached: one minute. Breached: read the postmortem summary, two sentences.

  • [ ] Q2 (15 min) — Where did we approach without breaching? The leading indicators. We met every threshold but here's where we were close, here's the cause, here's what's changing.

  • [ ] Q3 (15 min) — Are the categories still right? Do P1/P2/P3 still match how the client experiences severity? Is the maintenance window still right? Is data integrity defined the way the client measures their data? because: the SLA was written against a model of the world that may have movedPractice · Step 2

Discipline against drift

  • [ ] Sales topics deferred to the bi-weekly sync. Roadmap, pricing, new scope — that's a roadmap conversation; let's hold it.because: the SLA review is a contract conversation; sales conversations have a different time and ownerClinic

  • [ ] Breaches not re-litigated. Two-sentence reference to existing postmortem. The work was done at the time.

Sign the outcome — one of three

  • [ ] Contract holds — no changes; sign for the next quarter.
  • [ ] Thresholds adjusted — numbers shift, categories don't. Sign new numbers.
  • [ ] Categories rewritten — structure changes. Schedule a follow-up to draft; do not improvise the new contract in the meeting.

After the review

  • [ ] Outcome signed by PO + CS Lead + client representative.

  • [ ] Filed next to the SLA document, dated.

  • [ ] Next quarter's review on the calendar.


If the conversation drifted into sales, the review didn't happen. Re-schedule.

See also

200apps · How We Work · NWIRE