The XLA Pocketbook is both a theoretical and practical beginner’s guide to the art of XLA. In this blog series, we take you through the different chapters of the book. Part 6 of this series tackles some of the bottlenecks you encounter in transforming your IT Service Management Organization.
People who introduce XLA in their organization may feel as if the odds are stacked against them. Maybe some of their colleagues will embrace XLA from the beginning, but probably quite a few will give them a hard time. Changing a dominant belief system takes time – and balls. To introduce XLA, it’s necessary to challenge the belief system that SLA-thinking is based on. This can be achieved by highlighting the flaws and shortcomings of SLAs and presenting XLA as a complementary force that can coexist with SLAs.
The power of storytelling can be used to evoke empathy and emotions, making it easier for people to rethink their views and accept the change to XLA. An effective way of doing this is by providing real life examples. Share stories about actual customer cases with real people impacted by IT services. Those will help people to see the impact that IT services have on customers’ lives, and how XLAs can help to deliver a better experience.
XLA is an evolving concept that requires continuous monitoring, improvement, and adaptation to meet desired outcomes. It is a never-ending story that will live on in its offspring, even as the term itself may be replaced by something else. Emotional intelligence is a must-have in tech for digital product discovery and delivery, and the IT industry needs more people ​“in tech” rather than simply acting like they are ​“from tech.”
Moving beyond SLA-thinking requires challenging the belief system that is based on it, using storytelling to evoke empathy and emotions, and continuously monitoring and adapting XLAs to meet desired outcomes. The XLA movement is a never-ending story that will continue to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of customers and organizations alike.
The XLA Consortium was founded to foster the further development of Experience Management for digital and information technology, and is driven by organizations that care about the impact of their digital services on their customers and end users. It helps organizations perform at the top of their game by working with the Xperience Level Agreement framework and good practices. By combining the expertise and knowledge of all partners the XLA framework will continue to evolve over time, and create a lasting impact in the way we think, experience and do business.
More information about the Consortium can be found on the XLA Consortium website. Much more useful XLA knowledge and tips how to move beyond SLA-thinking can be found in the XLA Pocketbook, which can be ordered here.
This is the last blog article in the XLA Pocketbook series. Missed out on earlier posts? Read previous parts of our blog series, about topics as the history of XLA and the XLA 6P Framework here.
