Monitoring and Measurement of an SMS Based on ISO/IEC 20000-1
This domain tests clause 9: what you measure, how you audit, and how management review closes the loop. Items often describe a measurement or audit practice and ask what is wrong with it.
Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation (9.1)
Determine what must be monitored, the methods, when, who analyses and who evaluates, and the criteria for judging performance. Measures should trace back to service management objectives and SLA targets. Retain documented information as evidence. Service reporting to customers should use the same definitions as internal reporting.
Internal audit (9.2)
Plan an audit programme with frequency, methods, responsibilities, requirements and reporting. Each audit needs criteria and scope. Auditors must be objective and impartial - a process owner cannot audit their own work. Results are reported to relevant management and feed management review.
Management review (9.3)
At planned intervals, top management reviews the SMS. Inputs include status of prior actions, changes in issues and interested-party needs, feedback and complaints, objective achievement, nonconformities and corrective actions, audit results, supplier performance, resource adequacy, effectiveness of risk actions and improvement opportunities. Outputs are decisions on improvement opportunities and any need to change the SMS. Decisions need owners and dates.
Worked example
A KPI states "98% of incidents resolved within four hours". Closer reading shows the clock starts when the ticket is assigned to an engineer, and reopened tickets are excluded. Reasoning: the definition is undocumented, the clock starts late and exclusions flatter the result. It is not a valid measure of the SLA target; it needs a documented definition, start at ticket creation, inclusion of reopenings and a stated data source.
Traps
Measuring everything with no link to objectives; auditors auditing their own process; a management review that is a slide deck with no decisions; changing measure definitions mid-period; no evidence retained for reported figures.