A formal SLA between the user and the provider of the computing service is one of the keystones of today’s IT and telecommunications management. SLAs are as appropriate to in-house computing, communications, development and support activities as they are to commercial or facilities management operations. By embracing the business case of the user, SLAs can help to justify the company’s overall computing requirements, ease capacity planning, justify resources and establish the case for security and disaster recovery planning.

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Understand the strategic value of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and their role in the internal and external supply chain
• Learn how to implement an SLA project and explore the key performance indicators (KPIs) required in service measurement
• Design an SLA format for immediate use in your organization and discover how to ensure vendor supply services exactly match your needs
• Understand the essential legal background for the contracts and essential terms and conditions
• Understand the essential legal background for IT contracts and essential terms and conditions
• Discover advanced techniques to evaluate tenders and how to get the best deal from your suppliers

This innovative course has been specially designed for:

Purchasing, sales and marketing managers, supervisors and staff taking up such appointments for the first time the course will also benefit those who have had little formal training in purchasing and negotiation who wish to consolidate their experience

Session I

·         SLA Basics SLA definition

·         SLA purposes

·         SLA types

·         Levels of SLA

·         SLA vs. contract

·         SLA format

·         SLA management tasks

·         SLA management process

·         SLA management tools

·         Roles & responsibilities of SLA management

·         SLA in a PBA context.

·         Performance-based Acquisition Definition of performance-based Acquisition

·         Why Use Performance-Based Acquisition?

Session II

·         Requirements for PBA

·         Services Acquired Through PBA

·         Key elements of PBA

·         Performance indicator/measure/standard

·         PBA within the contracting process, Benefits and Challenges of PBA.

·         Developing Performance-based Requirements Performance-based business relationship

·         Instituting a business alliance for performance management

·         Strategic communication mechanisms, Tactical communication mechanisms

·         Post award orientation conference.

·         Performance monitoring and management Performance-based monitoring methods

·         Ways to measure

·         Use the QAP to monitor performance

Session III

·         EV: a sophisticated way to monitor contractor performance

·         Conduct progress meetings with the contractor

·         Manage contract performance

·         Applying incentives to manage performance

·         Using the award term incentive

·         Past performance as an incentive, Change happens, Risk management in PBA

·         Modifications

·         Contract change modifications

·         Contract change process

·         Change management in PBA

·         Impact on QASP

·         Contractor claims

·         Buyer claims

·         PBA as a conflict avoidance strategy

·         Beyond disputes and litigation

·         ADR in PBA.

Session IV

·         Payment and Closeout Payment in PBA

·         Performance-based payments

·         Advance payments, Invoice

·         Executing the payment process

·         The importance of final payment

·         Withholding payment

·         Contract closeout

·         Steps in contract closeout

Session V

Effective Negotiation and Management of IT Contracts

·         The Legal Background – Standards And Contracts

·         Why, What and How?

·         Tendering, Response And Supplier Evaluation

·         Case Study: The Supplier Perspective

·         Practical Assessment Exercises

·         Tactics And Behavior In Negotiation

·         Managing Supplier Performance

·         How Suppliers Charge

A variety of methodologies will be used during the course that includes:

·         (30%) Based on Case Studies

·         (30%) Techniques 

·         (30%) Role Play

·         (10%) Concepts

·         Pre-test and Post-test

·         Variety of Learning Methods

·         Lectures

·         Case Studies and Self Questionaires

·         Group Work

·         Discussion

·         Presentation

This rate includes participant’s manual, Hand-Outs, buffet lunch, coffee/tea on arrival, morning & afternoon of each day.

Daily Course Timings:

    08:00 - 08:20       Morning Coffee / Tea

    08:20 - 10:00       First Session

    10:00 - 10:20       Coffee / Tea / Snacks

    10:20 - 12:20       Second Session

    12:20 - 13:30       Lunch Break & Prayer Break

    13:30 - 15:00       Last Session