Milestone processing
Milestones are an integral part of BMC Service Level Management because they help users take action before service targets and compliance targets are missed. You can define milestones for agreements and each type of service target, except compliance-only. The processing of milestones, such as when they trigger, is different in each case.
For more information about milestone processing for the different types of service targets, see the following sections.
Milestone processing for request-based service targets
The following image provides a flow chart showing how the milestones are processed for request-based service targets.
The following types of milestones can exist for request-based service targets:
Milestone type | Description |
|---|---|
Percentage of time from start or end of the measurement | With this milestone, the specified percentage is converted into seconds, based on the goal hours and minutes. For example, if the service target has a 2 hour goal, then a 50% milestone should trigger at 1 hour or 3600 seconds from start time of the measurement. The appropriate calculation of the number of seconds is done based on the percentage specified and whether it is from start or end of the measurement. |
Hours and minutes from start or end of the measurement | This type of milestone is very similar to the percentage of time, except that the milestone executes in a specific number of hours and minutes after the measurement start condition is met. |
Start, Stop or Exclude qualifications occurs on the Application form | This milestone has no time criteria. The milestone action occurs as soon as any of the start, stop or exclude conditions are met by the request. |
Custom condition occurs on the Application form | This milestone is similar to the start, stop, or exclude qualification milestone, except that it executes based on a user-defined custom qualification. Each request-based milestone generates one filter that executes on the Application form. The SLM:EventSchedule form is used to track the time for executing a milestone for time-based milestones. Every time a service target measurement starts for a request, such as if the OverallStartTime is changed on the SLM:Measurement form, an entry is created in the SLM:EventSchedule form with a due date and time for the milestone. An escalation monitors the entries in this form to ensure that the milestones execute at the correct time. When the milestone executes, the entry in SLM:EventSchedule is deleted. |
Milestone processing for availability service targets
Availability milestones execute based on calculation of the cumulative availability percentage or down time of assets stored in the SLM:Measurement form. There are three options for Availability milestones, based on which milestone can execute:
Availability milestone options | Description |
|---|---|
Availability Percentage | Condition based on the Available % field on the SLM:Measurement form that can be specified for the milestone to execute, for example, Available %' < 90. |
Down Count | Condition based on the Down Count field on the SLM:Measurement form that can be specified for the milestone to execute. |
Down Time | Condition based on the Down Time field on the SLM:Measurement form that can be specified for the milestone to execute. |
Each availability milestone generates one filter on the join form between the SLM:Measurement form and the application form. For example, SLM:ServiceRequest_SLA.
Milestone processing for agreement and compliance service targets
For agreements, the milestones are triggered based on the compliance calculations. The types of milestones are based on each review period. For example, daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. For each of these compliance calculations, the following milestones can be triggered:
Compliance calculation type | Description |
|---|---|
Compliance at risk | The milestone executes when the calculated compliance percentage is less than the compliance at risk field on the agreement. One filter is created on the SLM:SLACompliance form that monitors the value of the Met Percent field and compares it to the compliance at risk on the agreement to trigger the milestone. |
Compliance target missed | The milestone executes when the calculated compliance percentage is less than the target compliance on the agreement. One filter created on the SLM:SLACompliance form that monitors the value of the Met Percent field and compares it to the contents of the Compliance Target field on the SLM:SLADefinition form to trigger the milestone. |
Compliance percentage less than | The milestone executes when the calculated compliance percentage is less than the value specified on the Milestone. One filter created on the SLM:SLACompliance form that monitors the value of the Met Percent field and compares it to the contents of the SLA Compliance Percentage field on the SLM:Milestone form to trigger the milestone. |