Technical Project Management - Operating Level Agreements

When conducting a project that requires coordination with an internal entity that is organizationally separate from your own, it is helpful to borrow a concept from the IT Infrastructure Library:  Operating Level Agreement (OLA).  Most IT professionals today are familiar with the concept of the Service Level Agreements (SLA).  SLAs are needed when two organizations are doing business with each other, and one is providing a service to the other.  They are helpful/needed since there has to be a metric to dictate when the service provider is satisfying the requirements of the service consumer.  This seems obvious when looking at an arrangement between two companies.  At the heart of the matter is the question - "What happens if we're not satisfied?"  And the counter questions - "What are you not satisfied with?  What are the consequences of your dissatisfaction?"  And the one no one want to address early on - "How do we end this relationship?"  Really, the last one is the crux of the issue, as that drives the entire relationship.

At the point where sales is getting ready to collect their commission and everyone is on an all-time high, who wants to discuss the question of ending the relationship after-all?  Well, it is certainly not in the provider's interest to have the discussion, but it is certainly in the consumer's.  As a simple example, if you had to move your email to a new service provider today, would it not be one of your wisest questions - "Once I get transferred over to the new service, how do I get it out, if I'm not happy?"  Because the search and selection process is so "fun" and marketing makes sure you can't wait to join, this question is often skipped.  But it is critical to your enjoyment of the system.  Even if you never want to move off, it's good to know that you can.  And it gives you much more leverage in making demands of the provider.  It also forces you to ask the intermediate questions - "What is it that I care about the most?  What, if it was not working, would cause me to want to take my money and run?"

Starting from this position, it is easier to see why you might use this same approach for a large company or organization, where one division or department is providing a service to another.  It is important to look at this from an organizational standpoint.  If Charlie is providing a service to Kelly, and they both report directly to Jim, it is relatively easy to raise issues and get them resolved.  If however, Charlie and Kelly are in two different divisions in the company, on two sides of the globe, how do issues get resolved?  This is where an OLA can be very useful.  In discussions, establishing the service provider/consumer relationship, thinking through these questions, and even documenting them, can be critical to long term satisfaction of the relationship.  This may cause some additional stress on the relationship in the beginning, but the long term payoff may well be worth it.