In today’s transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0, businesses are being challenged to shift from pure efficiency to resilience, human-centricity, and value co-creation. Service Management must evolve with this shift, and in the ongoing discussion of SLAs vs XLAs, it’s becoming clear that the traditional SLA (Service Level Agreement) model no longer cuts it.
Instead, XLAs—Experience Level Agreements—are gaining ground. Why? Because they measure what truly matters: the end-user experience. In an age where services must be adaptive, ethical, and people-first, XLAs provide the framework needed to deliver on Industry 5.0’s promises. And ITIL 4 provides the scaffolding to make that shift possible.
SLAs vs XLAs: Measuring the Wrong Thing?
SLAs vs XLAs: SLAs are rooted in technical metrics—uptime, ticket response time, resolution speed. These are typical service management metrics that reflect operational health, not user sentiment. Useful, but limited. They focus on outputs, not outcomes.
XLAs, in contrast, measure how the user *feels* about the service. Are they productive? Empowered? Satisfied? XLAs are rooted in sentiment, context, and continuous improvement—exactly what ITIL 4 and Industry 5.0 prioritise.
Here’s the contrast in a nutshell:
- SLAs:
- – Measure performance indicators (PIs) like uptime and ticket response
- – Assume technical success equals business success
- – Often used to penalise suppliers
- XLAs:
- – Measure experience indicators (XIs) that align with business outcomes
- – Focus on how services enable users and teams to perform
- – Create shared ownership for value delivery
Industry 5.0 and Human-Centric Service Experience
Industry 5.0 emphasises values like sustainability, well-being, and human-machine collaboration. The old SLA model simply isn’t equipped to capture the nuances of experience in such a context.
An SLA might tell you the email system was only down for five minutes. An XLA tells you that five minutes of downtime at the wrong time cost the sales team a deal. In short: SLAs vs XLAs—XLAs connect service metrics to real human and business impact.
This aligns perfectly with ITIL 4’s Service Value System (SVS), which encourages organisations to co-create value, not just meet static benchmarks. The ITIL Service Value System provides a strategic lens through which service teams can align outcomes with experience.
How ITIL 4 Supports the Move from SLA to XLA
ITIL 4 is designed with agility and experience in mind. Its practices such as ‘Continual Improvement’, ‘Service Desk’, ‘Service Request Management’ and ‘Relationship Management’ are naturally aligned with experience-based design.
Where ITIL 3 focused on service delivery, ITIL 4 focuses on **value co-creation** and **customer journey mapping**—the foundations for building meaningful XLAs.
Creating Meaningful XLAs with PDCA Consulting, Coaching & Training
At PDCA, we help organisations modernise their service management approach by:
– Coaching leadership and service teams to think in terms of outcomes, not outputs
– Designing XLAs that reflect real user experiences and business value
– Aligning XLA design with ITIL 4’s guiding principles and SVS
– Using service experience design to map satisfaction and emotional impact
– Delivering service improvement coaching to connect ops with user outcomes
– Providing ITIL workshops and training sessions to embed XLA culture across the organization.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to evolve your current SLA framework, PDCA ensures your approach reflects the human-centric spirit of Industry 5.0.
Conclusion: Ready to Trade SLAs for XLAs?
SLAs may have served us in the past, but XLAs are the future of service management—especially in an Industry 5.0 world where people, experience, and value matter most. Human-centric IT services are no longer a luxury—they’re the new benchmark for success in Industry 5.0. With ITIL 4 as your foundation and PDCA as your guide, transforming your metrics from technical to meaningful is not just possible—it’s essential. This is the essence of service metrics transformation—shifting from system outputs to human impact, embodying the shift in SLAs vs XLAs.
To find out more about PDCA Consulting’s expert consulting services either:
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- Call +49 172 579 4719
