Contract Types
You can define different contract types in order to create different profiles. For example you may want to set up different kinds of Contracts such as on-site, off-site, contract and warranty. You may define as many contract types as you wish.
Contract Types play a vital role in the framework of ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) and ITSM (Information Technology Service Management), facilitating a structured approach to service delivery and management. Contracts serve as formal agreements between service providers and their clients or between internal service providers and their company's business units. These agreements outline service level expectations, responsibilities, and metrics, ensuring that both parties agree on service delivery standards and assessments.
Examples of Contract Types in ITIL and ITSM:
Service Level Agreements (SLAs): These are traditional contracts outlining the quality and timeliness of the service provided. An example could be an agreement for the resolution of IT support tickets within a specified timeframe. These would be linked to the applicable SLA in ASM.
Underpinning Contracts (UCs): These involve agreements with third-party vendors or internal units that support the SLA. For instance, a hardware vendor might have an UC guaranteeing the replacement of faulty components within 24 hours to uphold the IT service provider's SLA with their client. These would be linked to the applicable UC in ASM.
Operational Level Agreements (OLAs): These are internal contracts between different teams of the same organization, detailing specific support or services one team provides to another to achieve SLA targets. For example, the IT security team may have an OLA to provide monthly security patches to the application support team. These would be linked to the applicable OLA in ASM.
Off-site and On-site Contracts: Refers to the location where services will be delivered. On-site contracts may stipulate a technician's physical presence at the client's location for maintenance, while off-site contracts might involve remote support or services provided from a vendor’s or service provider's facility.
Contract and Warranty: Often seen in product-centric ITIL implementations, these contracts define the terms of repair, replacement, and support for physical products. Warranties serve as a promise or guarantee regarding the condition of a product.
By defining various contract types clearly, organizations can better manage expectations, responsibilities, and performance metrics, thereby enhancing service delivery quality and customer satisfaction within the ITIL and ITSM frameworks.
Creating a Contract Type
Select the Menu button, then Admin, and then select System Administration. The System Administration window is displayed.
In the Explorer pane expand CMDB.
Select the Contract Types option from the Explorer pane. The Contract types window appears, allowing you to define profiles for different types of contracts.
Select the new icon. A new row is created to the browse table.
In the Name list, type the name of the new contract type you want to create.
Repeat these steps for each contract type you want to create.
Save the changes.
Provide the Change Reasons if prompted to do so.
Renaming a Contract Type
You can rename the default contract type, but it is not recommended. This is because it is a static record in the database and in the future, if renamed, this fact could be lost to time and personnel changes.
Select the Menu button, then Admin, and then select System Administration. The System Administration window is displayed.
In the Explorer pane expand CMDB.
Select the Contract Types option from the Explorer pane. The Contract types window appears, allowing you to define profiles for different types of contracts.
Select the contract type entry you want to edit by highlighting it.
Type the name you want to assign for the selected contract type.
Select to save the changes.
Provide the Change Reasons if prompted to do so.
Deleting a Contract Type
You cannot reverse this procedure. If you delete a contract type by mistake, you have to re-create the entry by creating a new contract type.
Select the Menu button, then Admin, and then select System Administration. The System Administration window is displayed.
In the Explorer pane expand CMDB.
Select the Contract Types option from the Explorer pane.
Select the contract type you want to delete from the list by highlighting it.
Select the delete icon. If you attempt to delete the system default, you will receive a warning message.
Save the changes.
Provide the Change Reasons if prompted to do so.
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