Using service-level indices to manage the quality of computing services: A case study
Abstract This article shows how utility and 1 decision theory is applied to develop a service-level index (SLI) to judge the quality of delivered computing service. The SLI integrates objectively measurable systems performance data with customer value judgements. Hidden assumptions and implicit tradeoffs among service attributes are made explicit in the process. An objective discussion of critical service issues between the computing service provider and the customer is supported. The SLI development process is discussed, and results obtained in a software development environment are presented. Also shown is how the SLI helped to evaluate computing service quality and guide system tuning and load balancing efforts in a mainframe computing environment under the UNIX ® operating system.