ITIL4F ITIL Management Practices Practice Question
An organization has an SLA that specifies a response time of 4 hours for priority 2 incidents. The IT team also has an OLA with the network team to resolve network-related incidents within 2 hours. According to ITIL 4, what is the relationship between the SLA and the OLA?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
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The OLA supports the SLA by ensuring internal teams meet their commitments.
An OLA supports the SLA by defining internal targets that help meet the SLA.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The OLA supports the SLA by ensuring internal teams meet their commitments.
Why this is correct
An Operational Level Agreement (OLA) is an internal contract between a service provider and another part of the same organization, defining the responsibilities and performance targets required to deliver a service. By setting clear expectations and metrics for internal teams, the OLA directly supports the Service Level Agreement (SLA) by ensuring that the underlying components and processes meet their commitments, thereby enabling the overall service to meet its customer-facing obligations.
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The OLA is a contract with an external supplier, while the SLA is with internal customers.
Why it's wrong here
This statement is incorrect because an OLA is an internal agreement, established between different departments or teams within the same service provider organization, to support the delivery of an IT service. Conversely, a contract with an external supplier is known as an Underpinning Contract (UC), which defines the third-party components necessary for service delivery. Furthermore, an SLA can be with either internal or external customers, making the distinction presented here fundamentally flawed.
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The OLA and SLA are independent and have no relationship.
Why it's wrong here
The assertion that OLAs and SLAs are independent is fundamentally incorrect within the ITIL framework. These agreements are intrinsically interdependent, forming a critical chain of accountability for service delivery. Operational Level Agreements define the internal performance targets and responsibilities that directly contribute to the service provider's ability to meet the customer-facing commitments outlined in the Service Level Agreement, making their relationship essential for successful service management.
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The SLA is more important than the OLA, so the OLA can be ignored if needed.
Why it's wrong here
While the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is indeed paramount as it defines the customer's agreed-upon service expectations, asserting that the OLA can be ignored is a critical misunderstanding of effective service management. The OLA translates those external SLA commitments into actionable, measurable targets for internal support groups, ensuring that the necessary internal components and processes are in place. Ignoring an OLA would severely jeopardize the service provider's capability to consistently meet the customer-facing SLA, leading to potential breaches and customer dissatisfaction.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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