Quality perspectives

Industry experience shows that SLA metric s are necessary but not sufficient to measure the quality of service delivered to customers. The quality of services perceived by customers and their users rests on the utility and warranty delivered. In other words, the notions of service quality are embedded within the notions of service utility and warranty. Service quality takes into account the positive impact of the service (utility) and the certainty of impact (warranty). There are many definitions of quality that are summarized below into four broad perspectives:

• Level of excellence
• Value for money
• Conformance to specifications
• Meeting or exceeding expectations.

The dominant perspective will influence how services are measured and controlled particularly within the context of Service level management.

Each perspective has its own strengths and weaknesses with respect to measurement, general applicability, its usefulness to managers and relevance to customers. It is therefore a strategic decision for service provider s to make, or a strategic imperative they support based on the customers they serve and distinctions they must make. One or more, if not all four, perspectives, are usually required to guide the measurement and control of service management processes (Figure 7.18).

Figure 7.18 Quality perspectives and strategic imperatives influence each other

Defining the meaning of service quality is one of the important decisions that senior leadership makes. Quality by itself is a basis of strategies in a market space and therefore the definition of quality influences strategic decisions and objective s. It influences the way services are designed and operated, and it influences internal performance measures, policies and incentives used by managers.

Warranty factors

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14