SLA breach
An SLA breach occurs when a support ticket is not responded to or resolved within the time limit set by the team's service level agreement.
An SLA breach means a ticket has exceeded the committed response or resolution window without being handled. Most support platforms highlight approaching or breached tickets with warnings so the team can prioritize them.
Breaches can result from unexpected volume spikes, understaffing, tickets falling through routing gaps, or no escalation process for tickets that stall. Tracking breach rate by ticket type or time period helps surface patterns.
Some teams distinguish a "first response SLA breach" (the first reply was too slow) from a "resolution SLA breach" (the full resolution took too long), since each calls for a different fix.