Dolf van der haven

NEN and XLA Institute: Standardizing Experience Level Agreements

By Dolf van der Haven

The Royal Dutch Standardization Institute (NEN) is spearheading efforts to standardize Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) in service management. This initiative aims to bring clarity and consistency to the emerging concept of XLAs across different organizations and countries. The XLA institute is represented in the NEN committee that covers service management and governance of IT.

The NEN-standard is developed by a consortium of 12 companies representing a group of experienced XLA professionals. This standard serves as a foundation for a proposed international ISO standard, tentatively titled “Customer experience of a service management system” (ISO/IEC 20000-18).

The standardization process involves consensus-building among various stakeholders, ensuring wide acceptance and applicability of the final standard. By integrating XLA concepts into the broader framework of service management, this new ISO standard aims to enhance customer experience measurement and management.

The proposal for ISO/IEC 20000-18 will be presented to the international ISO committee in November, with expectations of publication in early 2026. This development marks a significant step in formalizing experience management within the established service management landscape.

The development of national and international standards is governed by consensus: all parties involved in standardization should be able to provide their input and feel that their perspective has been heard. That’s why it is so important to work together with XLA Institute.