How to build an experience-level agreement

Modern IT organizations are measured on more than basic operational reliability. CIOs and technology leaders are increasingly expected to demonstrate how technology improves employee productivity, business agility, customer outcomes and workforce experience.

Traditional IT metrics do not provide sufficient depth to accurately measure these values. While standard service-level agreements (SLAs) remain valuable, they primarily measure operational performance. Metrics such as uptime, response time and ticket resolution do not always reveal whether users can effectively complete their work. A service can meet SLA targets while still creating a poor employee experience.

Experience-level agreements (XLAs) offer a framework for measuring technology performance based on UX and business impact. XLAs extend traditional IT service measurement by connecting technical outcomes to business results.

Explore the core elements of an effective XLA, a practical XLA template and how XLAs complement existing SLAs.

Why organizations need XLAs

The business drivers behind XLA adoption address UX in hybrid work environments, increased dependence on digital services and rising employee expectations for seamless technology experiences. Traditional IT performance measures only show whether systems operate within defined parameters, not whether technology enables employees to work effectively.

XLAs help leaders prioritize technology investments based on user and organizational impact by measuring IT's contribution to business outcomes. Better experience measurement helps identify productivity barriers, reduce recurring issues and improve technology investment decisions.

What makes an effective XLA?

Because XLAs measure different values from SLAs, the approach to creating them differs.

Start with business outcomes rather than technology measurements. Then, connect XLA goals to objectives such as improving employee productivity, increasing workforce satisfaction, supporting customer experience and reducing operational friction.

For example, instead of measuring only the availability of collaboration platforms, determine whether employees can collaborate effectively without workflow disruption.

Essential stakeholders -- including business, IT, HR, operations and security leaders -- should agree on desired outcomes before selecting XLA metrics.

The following steps can help ensure all stakeholders involved are on the same page.

1. Select user-centric metrics

Focus on user-centric metrics built around the following:

• Service reliability. Measure whether the technology consistently performs, including application availability, system performance and incident frequency.
• Service quality. Measure how users experience technology services, including employee satisfaction scores, ease-of-use ratings and support experience scores.
• Business impact. Measure whether technology enables business outcomes, including productivity improvements, application adoption and reduced workflow interruptions.

Select a focused set of meaningful metrics rather than creating an overly complex scorecard containing unnecessary information.

For example, consider the following approaches to measuring the effectiveness of a collaboration platform:

• SLA: 99.9% service availability.
• XLA: Employee satisfaction score, time lost to collaboration issues and user-reported ease of completing collaboration tasks.

Each measure provides useful information.

2. Establish governance and ownership

Effective governance is crucial to XLA implementation. Define key ownership responsibilities, including XLA design, performance monitoring, trend analysis and improvement actions. This governance typically requires cross-functional ownership to avoid creating an IT-only measurement program. Include business stakeholders who understand user needs.

Establish a regular review cadence, such as a monthly operational review and quarterly strategic assessments.

3. Create measurement and feedback loops

Organizations collect experience data using surveys, embedded feedback tools, sentiment analysis, digital experience monitoring and IT service data. Collect both quantitative and qualitative data to identify trends and establish the root cause for specific feedback. Maintain user privacy and transparency throughout the process.

4. Build continuous improvement processes

Establish continuous improvement strategies that act on specific XLA metrics. Define thresholds that trigger actions, such as declining satisfaction scores, increased workflow disruptions and reduced application adoption. Connect XLA insights to service improvement initiatives. Finally, shift from optimizing ticket closure volume to improving end-user outcomes.

XLA framework template

An effective XLA framework defines the service, expected outcomes, measurement approach, ownership model and improvement process.

Answer the following questions before starting to construct the XLA:

• Service definition. What service does the XLA cover? Which workflows and users are affected?
• Business objectives. What business outcomes does the service support? How does improved experience contribute to value?
• Target audience. Which user groups does the XLA serve? Are experience expectations different by role or region?

An XLA framework template includes the following:

• Experience metrics. Include three to five IT experience metrics and define realistic targets for each. Examples include user satisfaction target score, application performance target and adoption target.
• Measurement method. Include data collection sources, analysis and reporting frequency.
• Governance structure. Include owners, responsibilities and review cadence.
• Improvement triggers. Include thresholds requiring action and escalation processes.
• Review schedule. Include XLA evaluation frequency and how metrics evolve with business priorities.

Integration with traditional SLAs

XLAs complement SLAs; they don't replace them. Both tools play a critical role in measuring and maintaining the health, reliability and usability of IT systems. The key distinction is that SLAs measure service delivery performance, while XLAs measure whether services create successful user experiences.

Complementing an existing SLA strategy with XLAs means identifying specific measurables and focusing on more than basic system availability. However, organizations regularly face several pitfalls that impede the migration.

Those pitfalls include the following:

• Measuring too many values. Tie indicators to business priorities to avoid metric noise.
• Making XLA an IT-only initiative. UX requires business and stakeholder involvement.
• Collecting data without acting on insights. Connect measurement to improvement processes.
• Setting unrealistic experience targets. Align XLA goals with operational capabilities.

Select a high-impact service with measurable user experiences. Examples include collaboration platforms, employee productivity applications and customer-facing systems.

Take the following steps for a successful integration:

• Use SLA data as input for XLAs. Availability, incidents and response times provide operational context to UX information.
• Set realistic XLA targets. SLA data shows service capabilities and informs experience goals.
• Create improvement feedback loops. XLA insights can identify where SLA commitments or service designs should evolve.

Together, they provide actionable information.

An effective XLA doesn't replace existing SLAs. Instead, it helps connect IT performance to the business outcomes executives care about most. Start with one critical service, measure the UX and refine the XLAs as organizational priorities evolve.

By combining XLAs with SLAs, IT leaders can demonstrate better business value while delivering technology experiences that help employees and customers succeed.

Damon Garn owns Cogspinner Coaction and provides freelance IT writing and editing services. He has written multiple CompTIA study guides, including the Linux+, Cloud Essentials+ and Server+ guides, and contributes extensively to TechTarget Editorial, The New Stack and CompTIA Blogs.