Metrics, Measurement and Continual Improvement
The measure hierarchy
An SLI is an indicator you measure, an SLO is the internal target for it, and an SLA is the agreement with the customer. Confusing an internal objective with a contractual commitment is a common exam error.
A balanced set
- Customer: CSAT, customer effort score, NPS.
- Quality: first contact resolution, reopen rate, SLA achievement, escalation rate.
- Speed: mean time to acknowledge, mean time to restore, average handling time.
- Demand and capacity: contact volume, backlog, abandon rate, utilisation, self-service adoption.
- People and cost: knowledge contributions, schedule adherence, cost per ticket.
Every efficiency metric must be paired with a quality metric. AHT alone rewards rushed calls, so pair it with FCR and reopen rate. Distinguish leading indicators (self-service adoption, knowledge reuse) from lagging ones (CSAT).
Continual improvement
ITIL 4's continual improvement model asks, in order: what is the vision; where are we now; where do we want to be; how do we get there; take action; did we get there; how do we keep momentum. Improvements are recorded in an improvement register and prioritised, with techniques such as retrospectives, value stream mapping, Pareto analysis, PDCA or DMAIC.
Worked example
AHT falls 20% while first contact resolution drops eight points and reopens double. The desk is closing contacts early rather than resolving them. Action: pair AHT with FCR on the same dashboard, sample closed tickets for quality, adjust targets and coaching, then re-measure. Reasoning: the trend across three related measures, not any single number, reveals the behaviour change.
Traps
Managing on one metric, which invites gaming (Goodhart's law); comparing AHT across teams with different contact mixes; reporting SLA compliance as if it proved customer satisfaction; launching improvements without a baseline; and surveying customers only after good outcomes.