Service Review Business Service Management
Post Office Limited
Business Service Management
Supplier & Service Performance Team
POL Service Review Framework :
Updated Draft
Sue Stewart
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Contents
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1.0 Introduction
2.0 Approach
3.0 Theory
4.0 Service Review Structure
5.0 Support Processes
6.0 Individual Forum Structure
7.0 Management Information
8.0 Timescales
9.0 Summary and Aim
Appendix a - Service Review Concept
Appendix b - Service Review Hierarchy
Appendix c - Service Review Forum Structure
Appendix d - Management Information Proforma
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1.0 Introduction
The following sets out the hierarchy and structure for service review for the
automated network incorporating Horizon.
This includes service review processes :
¢ between POCL and ICL Pathway,
¢ between POCL and Post Office Customer Management Ltd (POCML)
* review processes internal to POCL which feed the service review hierarchy.
* review processes which incorporate relevant interfaces with iT.
This is illustrated in appendix a. [DN: appendix needs updating]
2.0 Approach
Prior to the introduction of Service Management disciplines, there were no
precedents or theories on how the service review process should be designed.
There are, however, several ways in which it could be viewed :
¢ Structure it around Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Operational Level
Agreements (OLA).
¢ Study initial incident and problem management and look at where the areas of
focus should be.
¢ Only review the service when it appears that it needs to be reviewed (i.e. when a
contractual or documented agreement fails).
¢ Identify each relevant service supply chain and base review around this.
¢ Formulate a generic structure and fit each relevant review process into this.
The approach taken has been to identify all those areas which can contribute to an
assessment of supplier performance and cluster these into several ‘review zones’.
All current contractual service level agreements and operational level / interface
agreements have been identified. A basis for each agreement to be reviewed both at
an operational level and at a more senior management level has been developed
using appropriate high level and operational forums.
A generic structure that will be applied to each service review forum, including a
clear path (within a hierarchy) for escalation and delegation, has also been
developed.
It is also recognised that imposing a structure does not rule out the potential for ad
hoc service review forums but it is important that should they happen, there is an
agreed and clearly understood feed into the existing review structure.
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3.0 Theory
The theory behind the service review structure is one of escalation and delegation,
with consistent format and clear purpose at all review forums, irrespective of
business level.
The nature of the service is complex. In order to maximise the benefit of the service
review process, agreed service levels should be viewed from two perspectives - at a
senior management level and at an operational level.
Review at an operational level should be detailed and specific and should have a
focus on the relevant operational level agreements supporting the appropriate
Service Level Agreement. The representatives at this part of the review process
should be close to the operation and should be able to :
* report on the overall performance status of the specific part of the service
¢ identify and record associated risks, issues and problems with this part of the
service
¢ offer informed opinion on the service which can be escalated and easily
understood
¢ deliver delegated and/or escalated actions and ensure results are communicated
Higher level review will cover all aspects of the service. This high level of review
will not be able to focus on the fine detail of each supply chain. Therefore they will
have a two way feed with the operational review groups. This will allow them to :
¢ deal with those issues that have been escalated.
¢ become informed of the operational situation via the status reports which are
communicated from each forum.
¢ delegate actions to specific forums.
Each SLA should therefore feature at least twice in the hierarchy - once as part of the
overall service review and once at the review forum which focuses on the specific
part of the service to which it refers.
Each OLA should only be reviewed at an operational level - they are put in place to
enable a supply chain to function more effectively and discussion around them
should be kept at this level.
The failure of an SLA will be discussed and possibly remedied at high level but the
action to monitor the remedial action and ensure it doesn’t happen again should sit
at the operational level.
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4.0 Service Review Structure
The structure has three key business levels which together form the service review
hierarchy :
Senior Management level
Operational level
Business Unit level
Within the operational level, there are five review ‘zones’ which will combine to
produce quality information to feed the senior management review groups - the
Automated Services Forum and the Horizon Service Review Forum. The zones are :
New Requirements
Live processes and systems
Live Environment
Other interfaces
Each of the service review forums will either be internal to Post Office Counters or
will be cross domain, involving representatives from both POCL and the supplier -
either Pathway, POCML or iT.
The structure is discussed below and is illustrated in appendix b.
4.1 Senior Management Forums
It is here that the contractual agreements are reviewed at the highest level.
There are two key bodies in of people involved in this service managment
framework and these are described as follows :
4.1.1 Horizon Service Review Forum (HSRF)
This forum will concentrate on :
* reviewing the Pathway performance and associated MIS reports
¢ making quantitative and qualitative assessment of the service
¢ reviewing major incidents and significant outstanding problems
* assessing matters escalated from the operational review forums
¢ reviewing pending changes
¢ identifying/ monitoring service improvement initiatives
4.1.2 Automated Services Forum (ASF)
The focus of this group will be similar to the HSRF but will be purely from a POL
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perspective to assess the impact of automated services across the business
operations.
4.2 Operational Level Forums
Operational level forums are clustered into several areas or zones and are described
in this section.
Operational reviews will focus on specific processes, systems, users and suppliers
and will enable those closest to the operation to review it, initiate improvements and
deal with actions arising.
The detailed level of discussion can then be summarised and escalated to the senior
management forums.
4.2.1 New Requirements
This area needs to be included within the review hierarchy so that there is an
established feed of information around new products and new software releases.
4.2.2 Processes
These review forums, listed below, are based on the various operational processes
that contribute to managing the automated network.
There will be two main aspects to these reviews - the process itself and the part of
the operation that each supports.
For example, the Problem Management review forum will review how the Problem
Management process is working. Procedural discussion may include :
if impact assessments are being completed correctly or
¢ if the end to end resolution of problems is meeting expected time scales
This group would also provide information on the operation, which may include
how many problems are open, what they concern and if they threaten the agreed
service levels.
This format will be followed through all the operational process reviews which are :
¢ Problem Management Forum.
¢ OBC Product review
¢ OBC Network review
¢ Service Improvement process
¢ Business Continuity
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4.2.3 System groups
There are four identified operational areas for systems:
¢ Transaction Data Forum
This will focus on the associated system performance and the related SLA’s
concerning transaction file delivery and should combine discussion around
agreements with iT that could impact on the service.
¢ Reference Data Forum
This will look at the reference data system and file delivery and will also be linked to
the OBC processes and associated relationships with iT
¢ Automated Products Forum
This will focus on the AP system performance and the related SLA’s concerning
transaction file delivery and should also combine discussion around agreements
with iT that could impact on the service.
¢ Logistics Feeder Service (LFS) Forum
As LFS goes live, this element will be built into the review process
4.2.5 Live Environment
The live environment part of the review examines the impact that automation is
having in the Network. It takes two forms - impact reviews and impact reports.
4.2.5.1 Impact Reviews
¢ User Groups
The user groups will take place frequently across the network. The aim is to capture
the views and opinions of system users and provide a structure for these to be fed to
the appropriate sources to be actioned.
This source of information should also be able to offer a strong opinion on the
quality of support that is received from the Horizon System Helpdesk and should
therefore provide a more quantitative view on how they actually perform against
the contractual agreements.
¢ Joint outlet visits
There is a managed schedule of regular joint visits by ICL Pathway managers and
POL managers to post office branches across the network. Feedback obtained from
these visits (qualitative) and questionaires (quantitative) which are left behind is
summarised and fed into the HSRF.
¢ Territorial Input
Territorial representation is via the Heads of Retail Network at the ASF.
4.2.5.2 Impact Reports
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Management information is used to support the service review process - be it
through standard business mechanisms (e.g. Business KPI information) or specially
focused /commissioned pieces of analysis
4.2.6 Other interfaces
4.2.6.1 Post Office Customer Management Ltd
This will provide detail on the overall quality of front line helpdesk support.
Though this part of the review structure is not directly related to the management of
Pathway, there will be information on call types, volumes and referrals to the
Horizon System Helpdesk which will also add value to the review process.
4.2.6.2 Post Office iT services
Each one of the system review groups, that look at systems which rely on iT
support, will manage this relationship and build it into that operational review
forum.
4.2.6.3 Logistics
There is a requirement for a review of the SAPADS system and a feed of information
from this forum concerning the related service level agreements.
4.3 Business Units
Each business unit or business area that provides representation to any of the
templated review forums will need to have an effective internal review procedure.
This will ensure that the review forum representatives are informed and able to
make decisions and recommendations with regard to their business unit and any
relevant interfaces it may have with the processes and systems under review.
4.4 Commercial Interface
There is a part of the review hierarchy which will require discussion with the
commercial team.
For instance, any issue arising from the operational review forums that may have
contractual implications should be referred to the Horizon commercial team.
This will establish clarity on the contractual position to assess if the issue requires
escalation and if so, what back up information may be needed to support the case.
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4.5 Supplier & Service Performance Team
This team will be the focal point for managing the review hierarchy and the
associated management information ensuring that concise, value adding reports are
produced to inform the senior management forums.
5.0 Support Processes
There are a number of support processes that are embedded into service review :
5.1 Incident Management Process
Any one off incidents which may arise from forums such as the user groups will be
fed to incident management and resolved through that channel.
5.2 Problem Management Process
Each forum will be advised to use this process to log all problems and allow them to
be managed in the established manor. Any problems which relate to the contracted
service will then be reported from the problem management review forum and also
will be logged in the respective status report from the appropriate forum.
5.3 Change Management Process
Business Service Management will deliver an automated solution for change in the
operational environment that will interface with the Product Development Process,
Product Implementation Process and Operational Business Change. This will be
supported by configuration management.
5.4 Service Improvement Process
Each forum should forward Horizon service improvements for processing and
managing through this channel. This process is also used for managing
improvement proposals direct from branches and other users in relation to the
Horizon service
5.5 Risk/Issue Management Process
Any risks and/or issues that are raised should be managed locally (i.e. within that
specific forum) or raised as problems.
6.0 Individual forum structure
In order that the service review hierarchy is effective, a generic structure needs to be
embedded into each of the service review forums.
This should contain the following and is illustrated in appendix c.
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6.1 Reports that drive the agenda:
¢ Clear and relevant reports that feed the forum with an agreed format which are
produced to an agreed time scale in advance of the service review forum.
¢ Production of the reports should be controlled by an established business area.
¢ Supply of information and data for the reports should be agreed and
documented.
¢ Reports should drive at least part of the agenda for the service review forum and
should include details of associated SLA’s and OLA’s and updates on work in
progress relating to issues, risks, problems or improvements.
6.2 Meeting format :
¢ Agreed and established list of attendees empowered to represent their part of the
service under discussion.
¢ Clearly defined roles and responsibilities, including nominated chairperson, note
taker and facilitator (if deemed to be necessary).
¢ Clearly defined purpose and objective(s).
6.3 Discussion should be based upon:
A prioritised agenda likely to include :
¢ Review of the relevant contractual agreements - SLA’s
¢ Review of the operational process - OLA’s
¢ Service Improvements discussed
¢ Work in progress relating to problems, issues or service improvements
¢ Risks/Issues relating to the specific service
¢ Matters requiring escalation or which need to be delegated
6.4 Outputs from the forum :
e Service Review Feedback form detailing the overall status of service, including
issues escalated/ delegated for communication to higher level forum.
¢ Minutes of the forum documented and distributed.
¢ Problems proposed and data fed to established resolution channel.
¢ Service Improvements recorded and responsibility for progression agreed
¢ Actions documented and responsibility allocated.
7.0 Management Information
A successful review process will be highly dependant on quality management
information.
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The nature and level of information required will be specific to each review forum
and will be determined and agreed by that review forum (with input from Supplier
& Service performance team as required). However, as a minimum, each operational
review forum will be asked to complete a one sheet proforma that summarises the
key information. (appendix d)
These will be collated by the Supplier & Service Performance team and included in
the report that feeds the Horizon Evaluation Review Forum
8.0 Time scales
The review structure relies on timescales that are strictly adhered to.
9.0 Summary and Aim
The aim of the service review process is :
‘to provide the Automated Services Forum and the Horizon Service Review forum
with quality management information to enable effective supplier management
and continuous service improvement’
To do this we will establish a clearly defined service review hierarchy where each
forum has a clear route for both escalation and delegation where all forums have a
generic structure and a clear purpose.
This structure will be embedded onto existing forums and used when designing and
developing new ones.
Though we believe that all forums have been captured, the proposed structure
allows for new groups to be added, or indeed existing ones removed, with relative
ease.
The development of underpinning operational level agreements is seen as critical
and is to be emphasised when new forums are needed.
Terms of reference have are written for the operational groups which give each
element of the review process the necessary focus and attention to ensure that any
deficiencies are identified and improvements introduced so that the benefits that an
automated network offers are maximised.
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[DN: slightly out of date, eg names of boards etc but relevant as a demonstration of concept etc.]
Appendix a
NRO
BOARD
SERVICE REVIEW CONCEPT
= POCL VIEW
HORIZON SRF
SERVICE
IMPROVEMENT
/ PATHWAY
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[dn should be appendix b and needs updating to reflect changes to forums which now exist]
Appendix ¢
Service Review Structure
Horizon Service
(ed)
Review Forum
ry
NRO Board
__f
Framework {Operational
Group Team}
{ I +l I
Implementation
Hz Programme I
Processes
‘Systems
i Live Environment Other interfaces
Automation Board
Delivery Mtg
New
Developments Mig
Release
‘Authorisation
Hz/Pathway Implementation
Forum (x-d)
BIMS Forum (x-d)
Problem Mgt Forum (x-d)
Business Continuity Forum (x-d)
OBC Product Forum (dev)
OBC Network Forum (dev)
‘Service Improvement Forum.
(dev)
Transaction Data Forum (x-d)
Reference Data Forum (x-d)
Automated Products Forum (x-d)
LFS Forum (x-d)
Impact Reviews
User Groups
Territorial Input (HLMs)
Post Office Customer
Management Ltd (POCML)
Post Office iT services
Impact Reports
Business KPI's
Critical Success Factors
Logistics (SAPADS)
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.
Business Units
x-d - forum is cross domain
int - forum intemal to the business
dev - forum being developed and format yet to be agreed
* Ad hoc change is currently managed through different
channels within the business but ultimately this will
be the forum that should assess all ad hoc changes
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[DN: should be Appendix c]
Appendix b
Genetic Service Review
Forum Structure
Review documented
Issues escalated
Improvements identified and responsibilty for
actions allocated
‘Ad hoc working group established! Data fed to established
resolution channel
‘Communication agreed
Clear route in place
Service Review Forum to ensure actions and
(Content of each forums based on improvements are
criteria specified in sections 7.2 and 7.3)
clearly communicated,
‘monitored and reported.
Performance Reports produced to agreed time in advance
of the service review forum.
Production should be controlled by Operational Performance
Reporting team in BSM,
Information supply and ad hoc reporting - fed from
previous forums to be agreed.
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SERVICE REVIEW FEEDBACK FORM Appendix d
This feedback will be used to compile an overall monthly report of the status and issues of
each service review forum. The information will be used in two ways:
1 To give an overview of each forum and its current status and issues
2 To identify issues which require escalation to the Horizon Service Review Forum.
Escalation will normally occur either:
sue is causing increased concern through time delay and consequent
s impact or
@ when it has not been possible to reach agreement on some aspect of the definition
or management of the issue.
Review Forum
Date of meeting
Update
Overall Comments
Comments on each related Service Level Agreements or service measurements
discussed at the forum
Comments on related Operational Level Agreements
Issues for escalation
Detail of any problems discussed or raised (include actions/owners/dates)
Compiled by: Date:
This report must be sent to the Service Review Manager by the 10" of the month to
allow time for the information to be included in the report for the Horizon
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Evaluation Review Forum
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