CIPS Updated L4M3 Exam Questions and Answers by agatha

A service-level agreement (SLA) defines the level of service you expect from a vendor, laying out the metrics by which service is measured, as well as remedies or penalties should agreed-on service levels not be achieved.

According to CIPS L4M3 study guide, SLA should cover the following:

- KPIs

- How the measurements convert into scores

- Any other service level standards

- Minimum acceptable standards or scores in each case

- Range of scores both above and below the minimum acceptable

- Any mitigating factors which might apply in the event of poor performance

- Any time period permitted in which to remedy a situation of poor performance

- Remedies available

- Dispute settlement

- How to deal with inconsistencies or conflicts between KPIs and any other documents.

In IT service (such as in the scenario), the SLA often covers:

- Uptime

- Call metrics

- Customer satisfaction

- Turn around time

- Quality

- Mean time to recovery

- Mean time between failure

- Backlog

- Business results

You can read the details of above indicators here.

- The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its preamble, its purpose was the "substantial reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis."

- CISG is the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. This is a voluntary treaty under United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The purpose of the Vienna Convention is to set out a framework for international transactions based on a uniform approach. It establishes substantive rules that regulate the duties and obligations of both parties, including the delivery of goods, contract formation, and remedies for breach of contract.

- The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It sets down minimum standards for the regulation by national governments of many forms of intellectual property (IP) as applied to nationals of other WTO member nations.

- The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; Spanish: Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; French: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America.

An implied term is a term which the courts imply into a contract because it has not been expressly included by the parties. This may be because the parties did not consider it, did not think that any problem would arise in relation to it or simply omitted to include it.

The courts are very reluctant to imply terms into contracts and will only do so in the following circumstances:

- terms implied under statute

- terms implied under common law

- terms implied because of custom or usage

- terms implied due to previous dealings

- terms implied ‘in fact’ or to reflect the parties’ intentions

Performance management framework often consists of KPIs, targets and consequences that arise from achieved scores. To ensure that the framework has binding effect on contracting parties, it should be developed, appended to the main contract document and agreed by both parties. So the answer should be "Yes, because the framework should have legal standing as a part of contract".