SMS Objectives

1. Purpose

This statement records the objectives that top management has set for the service management system and the services, so that each commitment in the Service Management Policy has a number against it, an owner, and a date when it will be judged. It is the reference used by process owners to plan their work and by top management to review it.

• Translate policy commitments into targets that can be measured with the data the Organisation already collects.
• Give every objective one owner who is accountable for the result.
• Make clear how and when an objective is reviewed, changed or retired.

2. Scope

The objectives cover the SMS and all services in its scope, from the service catalogue. They are set for the [financial year] and reviewed during it.

• In scope: objectives for customer outcomes, service delivery, process performance, supplier and asset control, resilience and security, people, and improvement.
• In scope: the service level targets that the Organisation applies by default in service level agreements (section 8).
• Out of scope: individual performance targets for employees and commercial targets such as revenue; these are handled by management and Human Resources.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

4. How Objectives Are Set and Managed

4.1 Criteria

Every objective in this statement must meet the following criteria, checked by the management representative before approval.

An objective that fails a criterion is returned to its proposer; it is not approved with a blank.

4.2 Annual cycle

1. ReviewIn [month] the management representative reviews last year's results, audit findings, customer feedback and the Context of the Organization.
2. ProposeService owners and process owners propose objectives and targets within [20 working days].
3. ApproveTop management approves the set at the first management review of the year.
4. PlanEach owner completes an objective plan (Annexure A) within [20 working days] of approval.
5. CommunicateThe objectives are published on [the intranet] and discussed in the quarterly all-hands briefing.
6. Monitor and adjustResults are reported monthly or quarterly; a target is changed only by top management and recorded in the document history.

4.3 Rating of results

5. Service Management Objectives

The objectives below are defaults for the Organisation to adopt or adjust. Each target in brackets is a decision for the adopter.

5.1 Customer and service outcomes

5.2 Resolution and fulfilment

5.3 Change, release and configuration

5.4 Capacity, suppliers and finance

5.5 Resilience and security

5.6 People, governance and improvement

6. Objectives Mapped to Policy Commitments

Each commitment in the Service Management Policy is supported by at least one objective. The management representative checks this mapping when objectives are proposed, and the internal audit uses it to test that the policy is being carried out.

7. Worked Example of an Objective Plan

The example shows how objective O7 (incident resolution) is planned. Owners complete the same fields for each objective.

Where the baseline is far from the target, the owner may set an interim milestone, for example [93 percent] by mid-year, provided top management approves it and the final target is not removed.

8. Service Level Targets Applied by Default

Unless a customer agreement states otherwise, the following default targets apply to services in the catalogue. Detail of how they are measured is in the Service Operating Model and the Service Level Management Procedure.

9. Monitoring, Reporting and Review

Objective owners supply their measures by the [fifth working day] after the end of the period. The management representative publishes a consolidated objectives report within [10 working days] and presents it at the management review. Objectives that are red in two consecutive periods are placed on the agenda of the next management review with a recovery plan.

When a target changes, the previous value, new value, date, approver and reason are recorded in the document history. Retired objectives remain in the history with the closing date and result.

10. Records and Evidence

• Approved objectives and approval date [5 years].
• Objective plans and status reports [5 years].
• Source data extracts supporting reported figures, as exported from the ticketing and monitoring tools [3 years].
• Management review minutes recording decisions on objectives [5 years].

Annexure A: Objective plan

Annexure B: Objectives status report

Annexure C: Document history

11. Exception

Exceptions to this document are allowed only where compliance is not practicable and the risk has been assessed. A request must state what is to be excepted, why, the risk it creates, the compensating controls, and an end date no later than [6 months]. It is approved in writing by the document owner and the risk owner, recorded in the exceptions register, and reviewed at the end date. An exception does not change the document.

12. Enforcement

Compliance is monitored through internal audits, management review and routine checks by the document owner. Non-compliance is reported through the incident or non-conformity process and handled under the organisation's disciplinary procedure, and under the terms of any contract for people who are not employees. Serious or repeated non-compliance may lead to loss of access and, where the law is broken, to referral to the authorities.

13. Review

This document is reviewed at least every [12 months], and when there is a significant change to the organisation, its systems, its risks or the law, or after an incident that shows it was not effective. Each review is recorded in the revision history.

ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 references

Related documents

• Service Management Policy
• Service Management System Manual
• Service Level Management Procedure
• Service Reporting and Continual Improvement Procedure
• Service Evaluation Criteria
• Internal Audit and Management Review Procedure