OPS.13:4.1 - Recover the service and the parties’ current position
Identify the promising party, recipient, accepted result, eligible demand, start and end events, horizon, required service level and any agreed exceptions. Use the recipient’s service boundary. Waiting that begins before an internal queue is visible can still matter to the promise.
Keep three statements distinguishable:
| Statement | Meaning and required basis |
|---|---|
| Forecast | An estimate of what may happen under stated demand, method and conditions, with uncertainty appropriate to the use. |
| Service objective | The level of service the relevant parties want the operation to achieve. |
| Commitment | An undertaking by identified parties, to an identified recipient, for a result under agreed conditions and authority. |
Recover outstanding commitments, including work already admitted and obligations to other recipients that a new plan would displace. A newly requested target does not silently replace them. When an existing promise is wider than the currently supportable result, keep the unresolved part explicit.
If the desired improvement or its comparison is still arbitrary, use OPS.21 to construct a meaningful aim. An ambition can exceed the current expectation while exposing a worthwhile improvement question. Establish its actual service promise here only after the work, resources and parties support it.
Ask what acceptance requires. A completed test attempt, a passed test with applicable evidence, the customer’s acceptance of that evidence and an authorized product release can occur at different times and under different authorities.