Infonova Order Management Improve efficiencies and raise customer satisfaction with Infonova Order Management

Transcription

1 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Infnva Order Management Imprve efficiencies and raise custmer satisfactin with Infnva Order Management Fr Telcs and service prviders, rder management, service prvisining and fulfillment is a critical activity. Custmer satisfactin and acquisitin, as well as peratr success depend n a flexible and efficient rder and fulfillment prcess. Many f tday s prducts incrprate cmpnents frm multiple suppliers and in many instances, there are crss dependencies that need t be rchestrated. Service Prviders expect easy cnfiguratin f business rules and wrkflws, with the capability t autmate prcesses and incrprate manual interventins where necessary (tasks, SLAs, ntificatins). In this paper, we shw hw the Infnva R6 is aligned t service riented architecture principles and hw Infnva Order Management helps t manage delivery and activatin f services efficiently thrugh the entire rder handling prcess. In additin, we demnstrate hw rchestratin f crss dependencies are realized via a pwerful wrkflw management and a sphisticated rule engine and hw end-t-end prcess autmatin is achieved using a fully integrated Task and Ntificatin Management. R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management

2 INFONOVA S NEXT GENERATION R6 Infnva's R6 is specifically designed t supprt crss-industry 2.0 and Telc 1.0 business mdels: triple & quad play bundling, white labeling, rich whlesale prducts and innvative partner mdels. At the same time, Infnva s platfrm helps ptimize existing business mdels and allws flexible intercmmunicatin between legacy and next generatin systems. The prven prduct family mdules cver the enhanced 'Order-t-Cash' lifecycle: Platfrm and Business Management, Prduct Management, Custmer Management, Order Management, Billing and Finance. Fr internal as well as external integratin, Infnva R6 is aligned t SOA principles and cntains a pwerful cmbinatin f sftware cmpnents t deliver the sphisticated functinality required fr successful rder management. By using this SOA integratin apprach each f the Infnva mdules has the ability t be used and integrated with existing OSS/BSS platfrm envirnments separately by using the Infnva API suite. THE INFONOVA SOA APPROACH Service-riented architecture (SOA) can be defined as a sftware design and implementatin methdlgy (i.e. architecture) f lsely cupled, carse-grained, reusable artifacts (i.e. services), which can be integrated in a wide variety f platfrm independent service interfaces. SOA plays an imprtant rle in the Infnva R6 platfrm. SOA ptimizatin prvides greater flexibility, efficiency, and respnsiveness fr services used and prvided by cmpanies, particularly, when OSS/BSS envirnments are hetergeneus, and business requirements are dynamic. Figure 1: SOA aligned Infnva API The SOA-aligned Infnva API is implemented t enable mre efficient interactin with external systems, e.g., Custmer Care, Ticket Systems and Netwrk Layers. It prvides a set R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 2

3 f interfaces that can be used t extend r t allw clients t integrate such functinality int an existing IT envirnment. Examples f this include searching fr fullfillment f custmer's rders and services ver multiple systems, submitting tickets r triggering credit card payments int external systems. Business prcesses are essential t the SOA apprach, therefre the mdel must als integrate an additinal standard fr this aspect: the jbpm Prcess Definitin Language (jpdl) is used t implement the chregraphy and rchestratin f services. Business Prcess Management prvides the fundatin t respnd faster t changing business requirements and t react t events in real-time. INFONOVA R6 ORDER MANAGEMENT Infnva R6 Order Management handles the end-t-end prcess f a custmer's request fr services. This includes custmizing the ffers, rder entry, preparing the rder fr prvisining, decmpsing the rder int rder items and managing the service activatin and fulfillment prcess including all crss dependencies. WORKFLOWS AND RULES FOR A COMPLEX SERVICE ORCHESTRATION Order Management is wrkflw driven; this means wrkflws are the central element f this cmpnent. Additinally, Infnva s Rules Engine allws the definitin f business rules that can be applied n wrkflw steps. An rder encapsulates a custmer's request fr services. This applies t new custmers as well as existing nes, if they want t mdify r terminate their services. Each rder cnsists f ne r mre rder items that describe the selected service features. The rder entry prcess is wrkflw-cntrlled and calls functinality prvided by ther functinal areas like Custmer/Accunt Management, Prduct Catalgue/Prduct Cnfiguratin and Resurce Prvisining. Pre-rder checks can be implemented and include address check, credit check, fraud check and service availability. Order entry triggers prcesses in varius ther areas and cntrls handver and status f the end-t-end prcess. All calls t 3 rd -party interfaces are dne via the cmpnent Service & Resurce Prvisining (SRP). Additinally, Wrkflw Management has a request/respnse mechanism fr easy interfacing with asynchrnus external interfaces. This includes SLA vilatin tasks and scheduled executin f service calls. ORDER HANDLING AND SERVICE & RESOURCE PROVISIONING After an rder is placed and stred, Order Handling is triggered t initiate the prvisining prcess that is wrkflw cntrlled. Order Handling uses Service & Resurce Prvisining t relay requests t internal OSS stacks and element managers r t external service prviders, fr example, R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 3

4 address checks service availability/quality checks payment checks r credit checks prvisining requests Order Handling selects the right wrkflw based n the rder type, creates a wrkflw instance, and starts the prvisining prcess (ne sub-wrkflw fr every service): Trigger Prcess General rder wrkflw, rder checks e.g.: Place rder Barring Churn in/ut Terminate Prt in/ut Sub-wrkflw Prvisin PSTN Service Sub-wrkflw Prvisin Mbile Service Sub-wrkflw Prvisin Internet Service Order wrkflw cntinues, activate accunts Figure 2: Order Wrkflw Overview WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT The Wrkflw Management cmpnent is based n jbpm and prvides a framewrk fr defining and executing any kind f lng-spanned business r internal prcesses, such as the rder prcess, change f service features, the additin f new peratrs, and task and ntificatin management. R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 4

5 Infnva BSS Wrkflw Engine EJB JCA JMS ESB WebService Figure 3: Infnva's Wrkflw Engine Wrkflw Management features versining f prcess definitins, hierarchical prcess structures, cncurrent parallel executin paths, manual interventin tasks, asynchrnus cntinuatins/wait states, a request/respnse mechanism fr easy interfacing with asynchrnus external interfaces, service level agreement handling, and scheduled executin. WORKFLOW INTEGRATION Business Prcess Management (Infnva R6 BPM) enables the creatin f business prcesses that crdinate the activities f peple, applicatins and services. With its mdular architecture, the wrkflw cmbines easy develpment f wrkflw applicatins with a flexible and scalable prcess engine. Since Infnva BPM is packaged as a simple Java library, it is able t run n an Applicatin Server, JBss4.x, fr highly scalable enterprise applicatins. By prviding a flexible and rbust framewrk fr crdinating, and mnitring business prcesses, Infnva R6 BPM makes changing cmplex business prcesses dramatically easier - significantly enhancing business agility. Because business prcesses are essential t the Service-riented Architecture (SOA) apprach, the Infnva R6 BPM mdel integrates the jbpm Prcess Definitin Language (jpdl). jpdl specifies a XML schema and a mechanism fr packaging all prcess-definitinrelated files int a prcess archive. The integratin f jpdl enables the use f 3rd-party prcess mdelers (e.g., Eclipse integrated prcess designer) t engineer business prcess steps. The fllwing figure shws bth views f an example wrkflw, graphic n the left and XML n the right: R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 5

6 VERSIONING OF PROCESS DEFINITIONS Figure 4: A Basic Wrkflw in Graphic and XML View Typically prcess definitins require regular updates t respnd t the changing needs f the service prvider. Mst systems can be triggered up by this requirement. T avid this prblem, Infnva R6 BPM prvides a prcess versining mechanism. This allws multiple prcess definitins f the same name t cexist in the platfrm. A prcess instance can be started in the latest versin f a prcess definitin, and it will cntinue executing within that definitin fr its entire lifetime. When a newer versin is deplyed, newly created prcess instances start in the newer versin, while lder prcess instances cntinue executing in the lder prcess definitins. R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 6

7 WORKFLOW RUNTIME INTERFACE The Wrkflw Runtime Interface is used t interact with running prcess instances in the jbpm Wrkflw Engine. All Infnva cmpnents are able t use this interface t cntrl running prcesses. Infnva's WebAC uses this interface fr administrating the prcess definitins and fr prviding necessary infrmatin t Task Management. Infnva BSS Wrkflw Engine EJB JCA JMS ESB WebService Figure 5: Infnva's Wrkflw Interfaces Interactin can be established thrugh fur different kinds f cmmunicatin levels: Interactin Lcal Call EJB, Web Service JMS, ESB JCA Descriptin Fr synchrnus lcal calls when the Infnva BPM runs n the same instance as the caller. Enterprise Java Beans and Web Services fr synchrnus remte calls when the Infnva BPM runs n a remte instance. Java Messaging Service and Enterprise Service Bus fr asynchrnus remte calls when the Infnva BPM runs n a remte instance. Java Cnnectr Architecture fr data strage within files, databases r ther strage media. INFONOVA R6 WORKFLOW ENGINE Infnva R6 BPM interacts with varius external systems as well as internal mdules and the custmer/peratr interface. The main tasks f Infnva R6 BPM include the definitin f time perids such as SLA respnse times, triggering f manual tasks, and management f asynchrnus requests. The current status f prcess tasks and task instances, and cntext variables are maintained in the cre database. R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 7

8 RULE MANAGEMENT Wrkflws cmprise a series f ndes "actin" r decissin pints, in which the wrkflw uses expressins t determin the next delegate nde. Each nde it evaluates has a rule set that dictates which actin has t be taken - this can be dne via a Rules Engine. Infnva's Rules Engine cmplements the Wrkflw Engine by prviding business-user fcused systems fr the creatin, management, deplyment, cllabratin and analysis f rules. The cmbinatin f the Rules Engine and the Wrkflw Engine delivers a prven "Business Rules Apprach" methdlgy. There are many ways t take advantage f the capabilites f a Rules Engine within a wrkflw, fr example, by Delegating sme decisins in the wrkflw t rules t determine which path is t be taken Letting the rules change r update business bjects Prviding interceptr pints (e.g., at the start and end f each wrkflw step) fr rule executin Using rules t raise tasks when certain cnfigurable cnditins are met As already mentined, the Infnva R6 BPM can execute prcesses described in jpdl. It supprts the fllwing prcesses and features: Atmic cre peratins with rllback functinality Functinality t facilitate and mnitr in-rder and n-time executin and delivery f prcess steps Unlimited number f prcess steps Enabling f dependencies between prcess steps Supprt fr parallel event chains Assignment f prcess and step wners Prcess definitin templates and prfiles Status infrmatin like Prgress indicatr Blcking pints Warnings Errrs Onging / final status Wrk rder number / date / wner Task step date / wner Delay R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 8

9 Task step The Rules Engine can be applied t any system that uses rules in any frm t prduce an utcme, fr example, frm validatin systems and dynamic expressin engines. Infnva BSS Rule Engine Wrkflw Engine EJB JCA JMS ESB WebService Figure 6: Rule Engine Business rules can be cnfigured t cntrl parts f ticket distributin flws, wh receives ntificatins, hw the service fullfillment will be triggered, when and fr which services the barring can be dne, service thrttling and similar prcesses. In cmbinatin with a wrkflw engine any kind f lng spanned business rule in an integrated system can be cnfigured during run time. DECLARATIVE PROGRAMMING Rules Engines define "What t d" nt "Hw t d it". The key advantage f this is that rules can make it easy t express slutins t difficult prblems and cnsequently have thse slutins verified (rules are much easier t read then cde). Rules Engines are capable f slving cmplicated prblems, plus prviding an explanatin f hw the slutin was fund and why each decisin was made. LOGIC AND DATA SEPARATION Data is in the dmain bjects, lgic in the rules - this breaks the bject-riented cupling f data and lgic, which can be an advantage r a disadvantage, depending n the pint f view. The upsht f the separatin f data and lgic is that the lgic is easier t maintain, when changes have t be applied, since it is all laid ut in rules. This is especially true fr crss-dmain r multi-dmain lgic. Instead f the lgic being spread acrss many dmain bjects r cntrllers, it can all be rganized in ne r mre very distinct rule files. CENTRALIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE By using rules an executable knwledge base is established. This means there is a single pint f truth fr business plicies (fr example); ideally, rules are readable s they can als serve as dcumentatin. TOOL INTEGRATION Tls like Eclipse (and in future, Web-based UIs) prvide ways t edit and manage rules and get immediate feedback, validatin and cntent assistance. Auditing and debugging tls are als available. R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 9

10 TRACEABILITY Rules Engines effectively prvide traceability by lgging the decisins and why they were made. UNDERSTANDABLE RULES By creating bject mdels and dmain-specific languages (ptinal) that mdel the prblem dmain, rules can be defined s they resemble natural language. This als means the rules and lgic can be understd by (pssibly nntechnical) dmain experts. Hwever, all ther functinality is still in the cde, as usual. TASK AND NOTIFICATION MANAGEMENT Task Management prvides functinality fr tw task types, autmatic and manual. Autmatic tasks are created by the system, when, fr example, an errr ccurs and actins frm a CSR, technical supprt persn r ther perative are required. It is fully integrated with the rule and wrkflw engine and allws any kind f errr and cmplaint management used fr fullfillment and assurance. Task Management Infnva BSS Rule Engine Wrkflw Engine EJB JCA JMS ESB WebService Figure 7: Task Management If a task is raised by a wrkflw step in the Order Management prcess, fr example, the task is assigned t a CSR. After the task has been reslved, the wrkflw is autmatically r manually triggered t cntinue with the next step. Ntificatins are triggered autmatically, fr example, by a wrkflw step, r sent manually by a CSR. The ntificatin methds can be specified fr each actr and include mail, phne, e- mail r text message (SMS). Any kind f escalatin path can be defined within the wrkflw, rule and task management t define: SLA time Number f retries and duratin Rules Task definitin and assignment Task severity Escalatin R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 10

11 EXAMPLE OF INFONOVA R6 ORDER MANAGEMENT The fllwing flwchart depicts a typical Order Management wrkflw within the Infnva R6 system. The different subwrkflws are rchestrated after the rder has been placed and are triggered t decmpse the rder int services and several wrkflw steps t cmmunicate t any kind f netwrk layer fr service prvisining and activatin. Figure 8: Example - A Typical Order Wrkflw in Infnva R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 11

12 The abve example shws hw a very cmplex wrkflw is rganized by the Infnva R6 system t achieve the gal f full autmatin and zer-tuch prvisining (r -upgrading, - repairing, etc.). The start f the prcess can be triggered autmatically (mbile number prt in request, service utage alert) r manually (place rder), and then dzens f internal and external systems are visited in a wrkflw spanning mre than a hundred ndes in multiple cncurrent r alternative paths. In real-live scenaris at ur custmers the ndes in this wrkflw are visited ften in excess f 700 times, using the built in rules engine t cnfigure dependencies and actins at decisin pints. Steps requesting manual steps are minimized t where target systems are nt implemented r where they are required fr business r legal reasns (apprve discunt, sign T&C). Tgether with autmated retry mechanisms (in case f netwrk r interface utages) and escalatin paths, ur clients are able t ptimize their prcesses t run withut manual interventin fr almst 100% f their prduct ffering. EXEMPLARY METRICS In a typical carrier deplyment f Infnva R6, wrkflws like in the abve example are typically executed in an envirnment that exhibits the fllwing specs: New Orders placed: Wrkflw steps executed: Average wrkflw transitins per custmer rder: ~ 6 Millin ~ 100 R6 is ideal t cater fr shrt, very effective turnarund times in service and billing activatin with cmplex wrkflws and multiple, parallel reslutin paths. It easily scales up t millins f wrkflw steps and thusands f manuals tasks triggered and cntrlled thrugh the system each mnth. R6 Functinal Overview Infnva R6 Order Management 12

13 INFONOVA Infnva, funded in 1989, specializes in prviding technlgy and business-riented slutins and services t telecmmunicatins, media, utility and cnvergent industries. Infnva s BSS slutins have been implemented fr incumbent, attacker and cable peratrs supprting triple & quadruple play service prtflis. Encapsulating decades f knwledge, Infnva s latest BSS prduct, R6 is a fully J2EE platfrm that supprts real multi-tenant cncept-t-cash peratins fr fully cnvergent and cmplex multi-industry 2.0 business mdels while als supprting Telc 1.0 simultaneusly. R6 als delivers transfrmatin scenaris and Pre- & Pst-paid Cnvergence at a fractin the cst and time f traditinal integratin scenaris. Fr mre infrmatin please visit