Managed IT Operations Readiness Checklist — know before you commit to an SLA.

Test procedureCheck the SLA document names each severity tier with distinct response and resolution targets, not a single generic turnaround time.

Practical example / evidenceSigned SLA document or contract schedule listing tiers and targets.

Test procedureCross-check the scope document against the actual asset/system inventory for anything left off or ambiguous.

Practical example / evidenceSigned scope document with an explicit exclusions section.

Test procedureConfirm the coverage schedule is documented per system/service, matching what each one actually needs.

Practical example / evidenceCoverage schedule or roster signed off by both sides.

Test procedureSample a week of chat/email channels and check whether any genuine incident requests bypassed the ticketing system entirely.

Practical example / evidenceTicketing system export showing volume consistent with actual request flow.

Test procedureCheck the ticketing system has an automated or documented escalation rule tied to SLA breach, not a manual, ad hoc step.

Practical example / evidenceEscalation rule configuration or documented escalation matrix.

Test procedureAsk for a sample monthly report and confirm it breaks performance down by tier, not just an aggregate "98% met" figure.

Practical example / evidenceSample monthly SLA performance report.

Test procedureCheck the patch policy names a cadence per criticality tier and a staging step before production rollout.

Practical example / evidenceDocumented patch management policy with staging workflow.

Test procedurePull a live inventory export and check its last-updated timestamp is recent, not stale by months.

Practical example / evidenceEndpoint management console export with a current timestamp.

Test procedureConfirm the patch policy or runbook names a specific rollback procedure, not just "we'll figure it out."

Practical example / evidencePatch rollback runbook or documented procedure.

Test procedureCheck each critical system has a stated RTO/RPO tied to a business-impact justification, not a copied default value.

Practical example / evidenceBusiness continuity plan or DR policy naming RTO/RPO per system.

Test procedureAsk for the record of the most recent test restore and check the date is within the stated schedule.

Practical example / evidenceTest-restore log with date, system and outcome.

Test procedureConfirm at least one backup copy is physically or logically isolated (offsite, air-gapped or immutable) from the primary storage.

Practical example / evidenceBackup architecture diagram showing copy locations and immutability settings.

Test procedureCheck the escalation matrix names specific people and channels, not just a team alias with no guaranteed after-hours coverage.

Practical example / evidenceEscalation matrix or on-call roster shared with both sides.

Test procedureConfirm any subcontracted vendor's committed SLA is at least as tight as the SLA promised to the end customer, with the gap documented if not.

Practical example / evidenceVendor dependency register with SLA terms noted.