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Service level agreement for hourly and retainer projects

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Introduction

This Service Level Agreement (SLA) describes the general framework for hourly and retainer projects provided by Letters & Science Computing Resources (LSCR). It details both LSCR's and customers' responsibilities.

Description of services

Hourly and retainer services offered by LSCR on a recharge basis are described below. Specific services provided under a contract will be written into the contract.

Retainer and hourly computer support

Computing services or support not covered by LSCR's administrative or faculty contracts may be provided by an hourly or retainer contract. Hourly and retainer contracts are similar, but they differ in the following ways:

• Hourly contracts are generally appropriate for one-time services that will likely require little or no follow-up once the initial work is completed.
• Retainer contracts are generally appropriate for ongoing services (such as the support of a lab, a server, a website, or an unusual computing configuration).
• There is a higher up-front charge for retainer projects.

LSCR provides hourly and retainer contracts to L&S departments when requirements for a particular job cannot be met by other LSCR contract types. An LSCR consultant will assess the customer's needs and provide an estimate of the total hours of work to be performed over a certain period.

An up-front charge (two hours for hourly contracts, five hours for retainer contracts) will be billed to cover administrative overhead such as providing estimates, logging hours, billing, and reconciliation. After the up-front hours have been exhausted, the customer will only be charged for actual hours of service. Costs vary by consultant fees and project types. See Rates and contracts.

Below are examples of hourly support we offer:

• One-time configuration of a home machine.
• Disaster recovery from a security incident.
• Creation of a web page or database to be maintained by someone else.

Below are examples of retainer support we offer:

• Maintaining computers and peripheral devices.
• Staffed help-desk hours for phone consultation.
• On-call emergency services.
• Network server and client administration.
• Ongoing maintenance of web sites or databases.

The Retainer and Hourly Computer Support program in general assumes the following:

• All work must be performed on campus.
• Hourly and retainer contracts for desktop support will be provided only as time permits. LSCR's desktop support teams prioritize the people and computers on annual contracts.
• Customers must pay for any required hardware and software for their computer.
• All software must be licensed.
• There are no guarantees implied or offered in any hourly work. All work is performed strictly on an hourly basis; a contract buys our time to work on a particular project. Every hour we work on the project, for whatever reason, will be billed to the customer.
• Some hardware and software may be specifically prohibited because of known conflicts.

LSCR responsibilities

LSCR will provide a written estimate describing the work to be done and the approximate number of hours to complete the work. The estimate will be as accurate as we can make it; however, our estimates are not binding. We will contact the department if, during the course of work, we come to believe that the amount of work required will be more than 20% higher than the original estimate. Regardless of the original estimate, all work LSCR performs will be billed on an hourly basis. Major changes to the scope or definition of a project may require signing a separate Change Order agreement.

Department responsibilities

The estimate must be approved by the manager of the department or person with funding authority where the work is to be performed.

Requesting service

Under normal circumstances, customers should send electronic mail to the appropriate support team's service address. Attempting to contact individual consultants directly may result in delays due to workload, illness, or vacation.

LSCR responsibilities

Upon approval of the project proposal by the person with funding authority, LSCR staff will perform the necessary work.

Department responsibilities:

Customers should always request service using the team email address whenever possible.

Customers must provide a funding source (chart-string) before work can be performed.

LSCR must be given a defined list of faculty and staff who can request service. Departments that wish to arrange to have all requests routed through the department manager should notify LSCR of the preference to do so.

Response time

LSCR response time is determined by the type of contract and the specifics of the contract.

Billing and renewals

LSCR will send billing statements listing dates of service calls, charges, and brief summaries of work done approximately every two months.

All contracts expire at the end of each fiscal year. Retainer contracts are automatically renewed unless LSCR is notified otherwise. Hourly contracts are not renewed unless requested by the client, and in those cases they would normally be renewed as retainer contracts. LSCR's hourly rates are subject to change at each fiscal year boundary (July 1); rate changes affect all contracts, including existing ones. We will strive to make any yearly rate change have a minimal impact on existing contracts.