What will be the impact if SLA duration is changed in the existing SLA?

[ATRIVEDI]

We have a requirement to change the duration of an existing SLA. While reviewing the documentation, I found recommendations to create a new SLA and use conditions so that the new SLA applies from the effective date onward, while the existing SLA continues to apply to older records.

Could someone clarify why this approach is recommended and what the impact would be if we simply modified the duration of the existing SLA instead?

Thanks.

[KanchanBartwal]

Hello @Dr Atul G- LNG and everyone,

Thank you for the clarification.

In our case, the original SLA duration was configured incorrectly, and we have approval to align all tickets, be closed, active, and future records, to a single consistent SLA target.

Based on my testing, updating the existing SLA recalculates active SLAs as expected. For historical records, we plan to update the existing data through SLA Repair so that closed tickets are also aligned with the new duration.

Given this approach, are there any drawbacks or risks we should be aware of beyond the reporting and historical data considerations already mentioned?

Thanks.

[Dr Atul G- LNG · Accepted solution]

Hi @KanchanBartwal 

I already informed you earlier that the only impact is on reporting. If you’ve already tested this and are comfortable accepting it, then there’s no issue and we can proceed, as we are only changing the timing logic and not the SLA definition or any other configuration.

One thing I would strongly recommend before executing is to take a backup of the running SLA in production. That way, if you ever need to compare or validate actual SLA timings later, you’ll have a reference to fall back on.

Also, please suppress any SLA-related emails (if any). There’s a possibility that emails already sent might be triggered again due to the SLA timing changes, so we should prevent duplicate notifications reaching users.

[pr8172510]

Hi @ATRIVEDI,

 New SLA Definition rather than modifying an existing one to preserve historical accuracy and reporting consistency.

If you change the duration on the existing SLA

• Existing completed SLA records remain unchanged.
• New SLA instances will use the new duration.
• Historical and future records will be measured against different targets under the same SLA definition, which can make reporting and trend analysis misleading.

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @pr8172510 

SLA definition is created and go live against service level agreement.

Without any requirement coming from SLM team+Client , Duration should not be changed.

Next if you have the approval -

• Changes to the SLA duration do not automatically affect currently running or in-flight SLA records. The recalculation typically occurs only when the associated task is updated, which can result in inconsistent breach times across active records.
• SLA records that have already completed remain unchanged. Their original target and breach calculations are preserved, regardless of any modifications made to the SLA definition afterward.
• Updating the target duration within an existing SLA definition can distort reporting. Historical records and future records may be measured against different SLA targets while still referencing the same SLA definition name. As a result, performance metrics, compliance reports, and trend analyses can become misleading, making it difficult to accurately compare service performance over time.

To maintain historical data integrity and ensure consistent reporting, follow the process below when transitioning to new SLA definitions.

• Deactivate existing SLA definition,
• Create new with expected duration and other criteria