IT’s emotional shift: why XLAs matter now

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IT might seem like the last place you’d expect emotions to come into play, but the truth is, IT is an emotional experience.

Think about it: how often do you hear someone say, “Using this app makes me feel stupid,” or “Connecting to the VPN is so frustrating,” or even “I hate having to log in 20 times a day!”  These aren’t just technical complaints—they’re expressions of frustration, stress, and even a sense of personal failure.

Major IT changes, like moving to a new ERP or CRM tool, can evoke feelings of anxiety, loss or grief, as people grapple with altered workflows or worry about their place in the organization.

Conversely, a single positive interaction with IT support—like a helpful engineer at the Tech Bar—can turn a bad day around for someone under pressure.

Why? Because IT sits at the heart of how we work. It enables—or obstructs—our ability to get things done. And since work plays a significant role in shaping our identity, IT has a direct line to our emotions.

In this emotionally-charged environment, IT service managers are realising the importance of Experience Level Agreements (XLAs).

WHAT ARE XLAS?

In IT service management, XLAs have emerged as a game-changer, helping IT focus on user outcomes rather than just technical outputs. Unlike traditional SLAs, which measure operational metrics like response times or system uptime, XLAs also evaluate the emotional resonance and perceived value of IT services.

For example, while an SLA might track how quickly a ticket was resolved, an XLA for the related product or service might help prevent future tickets, based on a deeper understanding of the overall service experience, and the impact on the end user. 

In a world of hybrid work and rising customer expectations, XLAs help IT teams deliver valuable, people-centric experiences.

SENTIMENT ANALYSIS: THE HEART OF XLAS

The XLA Institute identifies three types of data integral to these agreements:

1. Technical (T) data: device crashes, app launch times, CPU load, and so on.
2. Operational (O) data: SLAs and KPIs like availability and mean time to resolve.
3. Sentiment (X) data: feedback on how people actually feel about IT services.

Of these, sentiment data is king. According to the XLA Institute, “Sentiment data is the most important of these three data types. While an XLA may omit the technical and operational data, it must measure sentiment.”

Moving to sophisticated XLAs can feel overwhelming, so the XLA Institute has outlined three maturity levels to help organisations progress through the process:

• XLA 1.0: Sentiment data only.
• XLA 2.0: Multi-data integration (sentiment + operational and/or technical data).
• XLA 3.0: Personas—tailoring services to specific user groups.

While XLA 2.0 and 3.0 can require significant investment, starting with XLA 1.0 is both manageable and impactful. Collecting and analysing sentiment data is the first step to understanding how users truly feel about your IT services and what matters most to them.

Sentiment analysis, especially when powered by AI, transforms end user feedback into actionable insights for IT by identifying and quantifying emotions expressed in survey responses.

In the past few years sentiment gathering technology has advanced tremendously,  providing IT service managers with the ability to quickly and easily:

1. Collect meaningful data: Well-crafted email surveys with automated distribution capabilities help engage a wide audience, ensuring statistically reliable data while avoiding survey fatigue. Aim for response rates in the region of 20%-40%.

• Analyse survey ratings: Advanced statistical tools and machine learning algorithms help identify the main drivers of satisfaction and pinpoint IT’s highest-priority improvements. This is key when you are being asked to do more with less.

• Interpret verbatim text: Specialist AI models can extract trends and generate summaries faster and more accurately than manual analysis. Technology that goes beyond basic keyword matching to detect nuanced emotions like sarcasm, frustration, or gratitude will help you empathise better with end users.

• Segment with precision: It’s not a one-size-fits-all world. Different departments, roles, and locations often have vastly different IT needs. Segmentation ensures that each group’s unique experiences are captured in a way that enables more precise action planning, and can help earn and retain the trust of key stakeholders.

• Create user personas: While full persona mapping belongs to XLA 3.0, specialist AI tools can identify emerging user personas based on patterns in sentiment data, giving you a head start. Aim for 4-6 personas, and maintain a mini-XLA for each one.

• Visualise data intuitively: Not all stakeholders are technically minded, so use an intuitive and user-friendly dashboard to share key findings and get everyone on the same page. Ideally, publish results within 24 hours of survey close to engage decision makers early and accelerate action planning.

WHY THIS MATTERS NOW

The world of IT service management is evolving faster than ever: hybrid work, digital transformation, and rising expectations have made end user experience a key differentiator.

Starting with sentiment allows IT leaders to build a foundation of actionable insights—without overwhelming their teams or stakeholders with complexity.

Whether you’re dealing with frustrated end users, planning a major IT change, or striving to align IT with organisation goals, AI-powered sentiment analysis (XLA 1.0) should be your first step on the path to sustainable—and measurable—success.

It’s time to put emotions at the centre of IT Service Management. After all, IT is an emotional experience—so let’s use those emotions to drive better outcomes for everyone.