International Journal of Business Information Systems (IJBIS), 9(4), S. 385–401.
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A Holistic Framework for the Implementation of a Next Generation Network Christian Czarnecki (1, 2) and Myra Spiliopoulou (2) (1) Detecon International GmbH, Oberkasseler Str. 2, 53227 Bonn, Germany (2) Faculty of Computer Science, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitaetsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany Email:
[email protected] Email:
[email protected] Abstract: As the potential of a Next Generation Network (NGN) is recognized, telecommunication companies consider switching to it. Although the implementation of an NGN seems to be merely a modification of the network infrastructure, it may trigger or require changes in the whole company, because it builds upon the separation between service and transport, a flexible bundling of services to products and the streamlining of the IT infrastructure. We propose a holistic framework, structured into the layers “Strategy”, “Processes” and “Information Systems” and incorporate into each layer all concepts necessary for the implementation of an NGN, as well as the alignment of these concepts. As a first proof-of-concept for our framework we have performed a case study on the introduction of NGN in a large telecommunication company; we show that our framework captures all topics that are affected by an NGN implementation. Keywords: NGN; next generation network; telecommunication; IP-based networks; product bundling; streamlining; services; implementation; framework; holistic; strategy; processes; information systems; enterprise architecture. Bibliographical notes: Christian Czarnecki studied Information Systems at the University of Muenster, Germany. He is a PhD student at the Faculty of Computer Science, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany. He works as a Senior Consultant at Detecon International GmbH specialized on telecommunication industry. His consulting work is focused on business process management, telecommunication processes and Next Generation Network. He has broad experiences with large international projects in Europe and the Middle East. His research interests include the transformation of telecommunication companies related to technological, market and organizational changes. Myra Spiliopoulou received her PhD in Computer Science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is Professor of Business Information Systems at the Faculty of Computer Science, Otto-von-GuerickeUniversity Magdeburg, Germany. Her research interests include knowledge management and knowledge discovery with data mining methods with emphasis on business applications. Much of her research work concerns the role of new technologies, including Web technologies and RFID. She is author of many international publications in journals and renowned conferences and has given several tutorials on data mining for the Web. She is regular reviewer for major data mining journals and conferences.
final post-acceptance manuscript Czarnecki, C. & Spiliopoulou, M. (2012). A holistic framework for the implementation of a next generation network. International Journal of Business Information Systems, 9, 385–401.
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1
Introduction
A Next Generation Network (NGN) is understood as a changeover from traditional circuit-switched networks to IP-based networks (Choi and Won-Ki-Hong, 2007). The primary advantage of NGN is the high flexibility in the design of services in combination with efficient production structures (Grida et al., 2006). Much standardization work has been done to define the architecture of an NGN from a technical perspective (Choi and Won-Ki-Hong, 2007; Grida et al., 2006; ITU-T, 2004; Knightson et al., 2005; Lee and Knight, 2005). But the sole technical implementation of the network capabilities is not yet unveiling the full potential of NGN. For example, NGN offers an appropriate basis for the design of bundled products, such as so-called “Triple Play packages” that consist of telephony, broadband, and multimedia components (Knightson et al., 2005). Using NGN as enabler for the design of new products, while keeping production costs low, requires more than a standardized NGN architecture. In this study, we propose a framework that captures all aspects of a company’s strategy, processes and information systems that should be aligned to exploit the potential of NGN. The impact of NGN on processes, IT and network infrastructure has already been recognized (e.g. Knightson et al., 2005, Mikkonen et al., 2008, Bruce et. al., 2007, Bertin and Crespi, 2008). The need for fundamental changes is being anticipated particularly among the so-called “incumbents”, namely established telecommunication companies with historically grown business and production strategies (Peppard and Rylander, 2006). Fischer and Winter (2007) stress therefore that a cross-functional alignment of strategic goals, processes and IT must be in place already during planning and conceptual design of a transformation. The strategy of telecommunication companies is subjected to the dilemma of two contrary objectives. From a marketing perspective, innovative products have to be flexible and swiftly taken to the market (Knightson et al., 2005). From the production perspective, cost reductions have to be guaranteed (Bruce et al., 2008). Product bundling combined with an efficient production, as enabled by NGN, is indicatory of the new technology’s potential in helping companies out of this dilemma. We propose a framework for the introduction of NGN into a telecommunication company. Our framework is intended to assist the decision makers in designing their strategy, in aligning the processes and in expanding the company’s information systems to set the basis for exploiting NGN to achieve the company’s goals. To set-up our framework, we highlight strategic goals that are typical for telecommunication companies in the light of the present market situation (including regulations, competition and pricing policies). We identify those processes that are either known to be affected by the implementation of NGN or whose redesign is advisable to take full advantage of NGN. We built upon the advances on NGN standardization but extend them towards requirements for the existing information systems. Accordingly, we organize our framework across the layers of “Strategy”, “Processes” and “Information Systems”. According to the distinction commonly made in computer science and economics, a research work may pursue an explanatory goal or a design goal (Hevner et al., 2004). Our work has a clear design goal: our framework is an instrument for the realization of an exploitable NGN implementation, and its emphasis is on highlighting the aspects to be considered and the interplay among them. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In Section 2 we discuss related work on frameworks, starting with guidelines for the implementation of NGN and continuing with an elaboration on various frameworks proposed for the realization of different types of enterprise-wide solutions. In Section 3 we develop our framework by synthesizing and extending advances and findings from the literature. In Section 4 we describe a first proof-of-concept evaluation of our framework in a telecommunication company, where
3 the need for a change to NGN and the potential of such a change had been recognized prior to our study but had not yet been organized into a course of action. The last Section summarizes our study with further steps towards refining and evaluating our framework in a wider context.
2
Related Work
We understand the implementation of an NGN as a transformation of the whole company enabled by an innovative technology. To describe the implementation of an NGN all changes from the as-is situation to the target situation have to be described. This change is a transformation in the direction of a new business solution (Österle and Blessing, 2003) that can be described using existing transformation approaches. The need for coordinating strategic positioning, organizational structures and business processes on the one hand and IS design on the other hand have already been studied in the literature, see e.g. Frank (2002), Winter and Fischer (2007), Zachmann (1997). “Enterprise architecture” has been proposed as a concept to support this coordination task on various levels of abstraction. On the basis of the ANSI/IEEE Standard 1471-2000, the “enterprise architecture” can be considered as a fundamental structure of an organization, its individual elements and their relationships to one another and to the environment (Winter and Fischer, 2007). Whereas “enterprise architecture” represents a concrete presentation of the as-is or to-be situation for a specific enterprise, an “enterprise architecture framework” includes metamodels for description, methods for design and evaluation as well as a standardized vocabulary (Winter and Fischer, 2007). It exists a broad variety of “enterprise architecture frameworks”. To discuss how this approach can be used for the implementation of an NGN, it follows a short summary of two concrete enterprise architecture frameworks (Urbaczewski and Mrdalj, 2006): Zachmann Framework for Enterprise Architecture (Zachmann, 1997): John Zachmann can be seen as a pioneer in this domain. He published his framework already in 1987. It is based on classical architecture and engnieering approaches. The main objective is to establish a common language and a set of perspectives for the description of enterprises. The Zachmann Framework builds-up a matrix: the first dimension consists of the different stakeholeders “planner”, “owner”, “designer”, “builder”, “subcontractor” and “user”; the second dimension contains the six basic questions “what”, “how”, “where”, “who”, “when” and “why”. The Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGAF): TOGAF was developed in 1995. It is subdivided into the Architecture Development Method (ADM) and the Architecture Content Framework. The ADM describes a method for developing an enterprise architecture. It consists of the phases archtitecture vision, business architetcure, information systems architetcure, technology architetcure, migration planning, implementation governance, architetcure change management. The Architetcure Content Framework provides a structure for architecture content and is divided into the three categories deliverable, artifact and building block. Enterprise architecture frameworks are rather complex due to their aim of achieving a complete coverage of all fundamental artifacts and their interdependencies. The frameworks differ according to target group and approach (Urbaczewski, 2006); there is no common language or standard for enterprise architecture. To reduce complexity many frameworks are structured into different layers (Schekkermann, J., 2004). Most proposals call for a hierarchical relationship of these layers (Winter and Fischer, 2007). This means that processes must be derived from a business perspective. And then processes lead to the specification of the IT, including interactions with people and other IT systems. We
4 take over this viewpoint, which implies the challenge of designing a meta-model for the mapping of all relevant artifacts (Braun and Winter, 2005). Core artifacts of an enterprise architecture are strategy specification, process specification, application specification, sofware specification, technical infrastructure specification and specification of dependencies (Winter and Fischer, 2007). Two major goals are the support of IT business alignment and transformation. Therefore “enterprise architetcure should be broad rather than deep” (Winter and Fischer, 2007), i.e. covering a large number of artifacts and their dependencies. A simple and clearly communicable structure is indispensable for the implementation of an NGN because the illustration of cross-functional interdependencies is one of the key challenges. Due to the complexity of existing “enterprise architecture frameworks” we focus on the common layers of existing approaches to develop a lean framework. Most frameworks distinguish among the following layers (Winter and Fischer, 2007): •
Business Architecture describes the fundamental organization from a business strategy perspective, e.g. value networks, targeted market segments and offered services.
•
Process Architecture describes business processes, responsibilities, performance indicators and informational flows of the enterprise.
•
Integration Architecture describes the fundamental information system components, e.g. enterprise service, application clusters and data flows.
•
Software Architecture describes the software artifacts like software services and data structures.
•
Technology (or Infrastructure) Architecture describes computing / telecommunications hardware and networks. Beside these generic approaches of “enterprise architecture”, the TMForum proposed a specific approach for telecommunication companies (Reilly and Creaner, 2005). They call this specific approach “Solution Framework”. The TMForum is an international nonprofit organization that comprises telecommunication companies, equipment and software suppliers, solution integrators, consulting companies and research organizations. It provides strategic guidance and practical solutions to improve the management and operation of telecommunication companies. The objective of TMForum’s “Solution Framework” is to enable telecommunication companies to analyze their processes and systems against industry standards as well as to support the development and implementation. It provides a methodology and a repository of documentations, models and guidelines. The “Solution Framework” consists of (Reilly and Creaner, 2005) •
Application Framework: It considers the roles and the functionalities of the various applications.
•
Business Process Framework: It provides a map and common language of business processes that are used in the industry.
•
Information Framework: It provides the concepts and principles needed to defined a shared information model, the elements or entities of the model as well as class models and sequence diagrams to provide a system view of the information and data
•
Systems Integration Framework: It defines architectural principles to create components that operate successfully in a distributed environment; including a “Contract Interface” defining the interfaces between different elements across the architecture.
5 One major objective of the “Solution Framework” is the definition of a common language between telecommunication companies, software vendors and system integrators. Compliance with the “Solution Framework” assures interoperability of distributed solutions by different vendors. We use both, the aspects that are common to all “enterprise architecture frameworks” and those aspects that are proposed by TMForum’s “Solution Framework” as a starting point for the development of our NGN implementation framework.
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Development of a holistic framework for the implementation of an NGN
Our objective is the development of a holistic framework to exploit the full benefit of an NGN implementation. Essential is the systematic analysis of the impact of all changes as well as an explicit documentation of the involved structures and their interrelations (Aier et. al., 2008). Therefore we identify the topics and their interdependencies involved in the implementation of an NGN and we visualize them within a high-level framework (cf. Table 1). In accordance with the existing approaches, we are focussing on the layers strategy, process and information technology. Layers
Topics to be considered during the implementation of an NGN Increase of turnover
Strategy
Reduction of production costs Consideration of additional strategic goals End-to-end process model
Processes
Redesign of existing business processes
(Re-)design of operational processes
Integration in overall IT infrastructure Information Systems
Redesign of existing business support systems
(Re-)design of the operational support systems
Standardized interface to the network layer Incremental implementation and migration Table 1.
NGN Implementation Framework
We recommend the following key concepts as a clear basis for our framework and describe detailed solutions for each concept in this section. •
Separation between service and transport: We follow the international standard that proposes an architecture solution that clearly separates between service and transport.
•
Flexible bundling of services to products: A flexible development of products and product bundles is necessary to assure that the company benefits from the NGN.
•
Streamlining of the IT infrastructure: We propose an efficient and flexible ITarchitecture as a prerequisite for the implementation of an NGN.
•
Aligning strategy, processes and information systems: We propose a top-down alignment that starts with an explicit formulation of strategic goals for the NGN
6 implementation. Based on it we derive specific recommendations for processes and information systems. •
Planning the migration: We recommend an incremental migration following the structure of our framework and starting with the network infrastructure.
3.1 Separation between Service and Transport The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recommends an NGN architecture (ITU-T, 2004), for the conversion of a heterogeneous architecture of established telecommunication companies to a homogeneous IP-based architecture. This architecture realizes the fundamental principle of separation between service and transport. These are the prerequisites for a flexible design of services, which is independent of the underlying network infrastructure responsible for data transport (Grida et al., 2006). Transportation is understood to include all functions which are required for the transmission of data over any network (Choi and Won-Ki-Hong, 2007). The design of services independent of the transport is supported by a quality of service agreed upon for the complete transportation (Choi and Won-Ki-Hong, 2007). Figure 1 shows a simplified version of the NGN architecture recommended by the ITU. Its fundamental elements are described below analogously to Knightson et al. (2005). The NGN architecture is divided into the service and the transport stratum. The transport stratum is divided primarily into transport functions and control functions. Whereas the transport functions secure the physical transmission of data via the network, thereby assuring the agreed quality of service, the control functions cover the logical allocation to services and the related verification. Furthermore, additional functions for the support of media services (e.g. conference connections) and for the coupling with other networks are provided. The service stratum provides the functions required for the administration and control of services (service and control functions), including registration, management of sessions and others. Further functions can be covered by additional applications for the end users. Both layers dispose of independent user profiles which can be used by correspondent control functions. This ensures a clear separation between transport and service during verification and administration of users. Communication with the environment takes place exclusively via three interfaces: the coupling with other networks, the integration of third-party providers and the integration of end users. The management of transport and services with respect to quality, security and availability is regarded as an overall function and includes the remedy of problems as well as configuration, billing, performance and security management. We follow this standard in our proposed framework and link it with a standardized interface to the network layer (cf. Table 1). *** please insert figure 1 about here ***
3.2 Flexible Bundling of Services to Products In telecommunication market a product bundle is a mix of telecommunication, multimedia and content services. Typically such bundles integrate hardware, software and highly personalised services such as telephony, broadband, TV, radio, video rental, e-mail and instant messaging (Mikkonen et al., 2008). Services are understood in this sense as the subset of a market product. They can be offered in various products and combinations at varying prices (Grida et al., 2006). Such services can be either session-based (e.g. IP
7 telephony or video conferences) or non-session-based (e.g. video-on-demand) (Knightson et al., 2005). Today the problem to realize flexible product bundling is the historically grown, vertically integrated structure of telecommunication companies (Bertin and Crespi, 2009). This structure is based on silo-oriented production lines, i.e. there are different processes and systems for different products. E.g. fixed telephony and broadband are based on different technologies. Therefore back-end systems for ordering, delivering and billing are technology specific (Mikkonen et al., 2008). For a product bundle either all these systems must be changed or integrated in one new system. Today telecommunication companies need up-to 18 months to change their systems for a new product (Bruce et. al., 2007). From a network perspective the implementation of an NGN assures the separation between service and transport. This is the technical prerequisite for a product-independent structure. To achieve this flexibility from a product perspective a decoupling between products, processes and systems is required. Mass customization and service bundling are used to achieve this flexibility. The need for higher flexibility of products is widely discussed in manufacturing industries. Product customization and mass customization are well recognized concepts. The term mass customization was already defined in 1987 by Davis (1987) as delivering individualized products to customers quickly and affordably as result of integrating flexible and agile processes. A number of approaches for mass-customized products have been proposed and studied; in general these approaches can be classified as follows (Du et. al, 2006): •
Enhance design, manufacturing and logistics with specific functions for masscustomization, e.g. postponement in supply-chain-management (Lee and Billington, 1994).
•
Manage the technical variety by modularisation, standardization and later point differentiation. In the context of our work standardization and modularization are major aspects. Therefore we propose an overall product catalogue to capture the knowledge about all products. This catalogue is the prerequisite for a company-wide standardization of product structures to overcome the silo-oriented production. For a flexible service bundling modularization and decoupling are mandatory requirements. To assure both, different levels of abstraction are used to define telecommunication products (Bruce et. al., 2007): •
Products are defined on a commercial level containing a bundle of different services related to a specific package and price.
•
Services are functional independent elements of a product that can be combined flexibly.
•
Resources are the technical capabilities to deliver a service. They might be dependent from the specific client location. To implement this decoupled product structure we propose a clear support of both product creation and product sales (cf. Figure 2). In our framework this concept is presented by the differentiation between business and operation processes (cf. Table 1). For the product development existing approaches of product lifecycle management (PLM) can be used. Important is the creation of a company-wide product catalogue containing the product specification (Bruce et al., 2007). The product specification follows the same decoupled structure described above. When a product is sold, an instance of the product specification is created containing the specific data (e.g. customer
8 location, price) (Snoeck and Michiels, 2002). This instance follows the same decoupled structure of product, service and resource. While the product specification is defined and maintained during the PLM process within the company, the instance (i.e. the product itself) is an important input for the sales process in a direct contact with the customer. As a prerequisite we clearly recommend in our framework that processes and data structures have to be flexible and independent from network technologies. *** please insert figure 2 about here ***
3.3 Streamlining of the IT-Architecture Higher process automation combined with a more flexible product development is a main objective of today’s telecommunication companies. To achieve this objective they have to overcome the silo-oriented boundaries between their various systems. This change is enabled by a service-oriented architecture (SOA) (Bertin and Crespi, 2008). We follow the definition of SOA as “a paradigm for organizing and utilizing distributed capabilities that may be under the control of different ownership domains” (OASIS, 2006). The capabilities are defined as independent services with well defined invocable interfaces. Services in this context must not be mixed up with telecommunication services in the context of an NGN (cf. Section 3.2). Therefore we call services related to SOA “IT-services” in this article. IT-services are orchestrated to a process, i.e. their requirements are based on the process definition. IT-services communicate with each other via a service bus. The orchestration of different IT-services to a process can be supported by a workflow management system (Wade and Richardson, 2000). Hence the use of SOA implies that functionalities are realized via reusable and flexible IT-services, each performing a defined and limited task, which can be invoked in a common way. In our framework this is part of the integration in the overall IT-infrastructure (cf. Table 1). Telecommunication companies can roughly be structured into the business part (presales, sales and after-sales) and the operational or production part (development and provisioning of products). Therefore their IT-systems are normally divided into business support systems (BSS) and operational support systems (OSS) (Snoeck and Michiels, 2002). We follow this differentiation in our framework (cf. Table 1). In the past most telecommunication companies have developed and introduced new products due to technological innovations. For new technologies new OSS were created. To integrate these new systems in the overall IT architecture interfaces between different OSS and BSS were developed. This leads to complex and silo-oriented IT-structures (cf. Figure 3). Telecommunication companies have discovered that the main challenge to apply SOA was not a technical challenge. Technical approaches and technologies are available. The main issue is to identify and define the IT-services from a business perspective (Bertin and Crespi, 2008). As automation and cost reduction are major objectives the use of standard IT products – so called commercial-of-the-shelf systems (COTS) – is a mandatory requirement for most telecommunication companies (Bruce et. al., 2008). Therefore we propose a clear mapping of the process requirements to standardized ITservices delivered by COTS. While the requirements are part of the layer “Processes” of our framework, the integration in the overall IT-infrastructure is also needed. This is depicted in the lower part of Table 1 and discussed in the next subsection. *** please insert figure 3 about here ***
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3.4 Aligning Strategy, Processes and Information Systems To gain the full benefits of an NGN the specific solutions for strategy, processes and information systems must be aligned (Aier et. al., 2008). Therefore we visualize all relevant topics in our framework (cf. Table 1) and propose a clear top-down alignment of these topics. The explicit formulation of the strategy is an indispensable for the introduction of an NGN. Reduced churn, reduced time-to-market and increased flexibility of customer products are appropriate objectives from the marketing perspective (Mikkonen et al., 2008). We summarize these objectives to the overall strategic goal of increase in turnover. Taking the viewpoint of production the objectives of increased automation and optimized processes (Bruce et al., 2008) are linked to the reduction of costs. The two objectives “increase in turnover” and “reduction of costs” are antagonistic in nature. Therefore we recommend in our framework to capture their impact upon the layers of process and IT infrastructure. The strategy may be of the above, but additional strategic goals are possible, e.g. maximization of market share in a specific market. However the strategic goals must be clearly defined and linked to the other layers. In case of contrary goals a prioritization is important to facilitate decisions during design and implementation of the NGN. We categorize the processes of a telecommunication company into “business processes” that are primarily responsible for sales, delivery and after-sales of telecommunication products and “operational processes” that run internally during the provisioning of services, assurance of incidents as well as planning and maintenance of the network. The implementation of an NGN influences both groups of processes. And normally both groups of processes are already in place within an existing telecommunication company. Therefore the implementation of an NGN will lead to a redesign of existing processes. Due to the competitive situation and the complexity of bundled products a clear focus on the customer requirements is important (Übernickel et al., 2006). We recommend a customer-oriented view for the process design. Therefore an end-to-end process model is an essential part of our framework. We propose to design interdependencies between business and operational processes within this end-to-end process model. We propose to structure the IT systems into BSS and OSS as well as a clear integration into the overall IT infrastructure. We assume an incremental change for the implementation of the business processes, the BSS and the overall IT architecture. As the implementation of the new operational processes is subject to comprehensive changes it leads to a completely new design of the OSS. The OSS covers the communication with the network elements. Therefore we assume a standardized interface between OSS and network elements. Our framework contains all the above described areas: integration into existing IT systems, design of BSS and design of OSS as well as the standardized interface.
3.5 Planning the Migration The migration process must be designed with the interrelations between existing processes and information systems in mind. Schekkermann (2004) stresses that these interrelations must be taken into account for the time plan of the migration, while Bohl et al (2004) remind that costs must be reduced and investment costs kept low, so that making only technical considerations is not adequate. Indeed, one area of information system development encompasses the identification of migration problems as a management task, for which strategic and process-related issues play as a central role as technical aspects (Dömer, 1998). The most significant starting point is the selection of the right migration approach which must be seen in direct dependency to complexity. The
10 major migration approaches that we consider are the “Cold Turkey” approach, i.e. the complete migration to the target architecture in one step (also known as “big bang”’) and the “Chicken Little” approach, i.e. the structured, incremental change from a legacy landscape to the target architecture in small steps (Stonebraker and Brodie, 1991). However, the approach must be selected in such a way that the migration stage(s) represent(s) a zero risk for the implementation from the strategy, process and information system perspective. An NGN implementation is very complex. Therefore we propose an incremental migration at different layers (cf. Table 1). The first step is the migration of the network infrastructure in conjunction with a migration of the operational processes and IT systems. This affects the overall business and leads to a migration of business processes and IT systems. Our proposal is to start bottom-up (i.e. with the network infrastructure) and then follow precisely the reverse hierarchy of the top-down planning and design. Parallel to this, the migration of current customers and products must be considered, which also includes regulatory and contract law issues.
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Case Study on the Implementation of an NGN
Taking the framework described in the previous section as a basis, we now describe and analyze the implementation of an NGN, as we have observed it in a large telecommunication company. Our objective is a first validation of our theoretical framework. The approach we observed in this case study is also appropriate as the starting point for further extensions of our framework. Research based on case studies can be applied to phenomena which are dynamic in nature and have not yet been fully developed and established (Yin, 2003). So it is a method that is adequate to obtain an impression of the problem and a valid approach in the context of this paper. The case study is based on an NGN implementation project at a major European telecommunication company. The first author has accompanied this project. It is a valid example for the implementation of an NGN in an existing telecommunication company with historically grown processes and information systems. The described solution can be generalized for telecommunication companies with similar structures who have decided to implement an NGN in response to increased competition and changed market demands.
4.1 Description of the Case Study for the Layer “Strategy” The top-management of the observed company decided to implement an NGN as a strategic project. The first two strategic goals were the increase of turnover and the reduction of production costs. An additional strategic goal was the reduction of churn; it should be achieved by a strong orientation towards the customer. These observed points clearly confirm the layer strategy of our framework. But we also propose a linkage of the strategic goals with the other layers. The project team only rudimentary described this linkage; they have created a business case to that purpose when the project started. But this business case was only a static consideration of the effects on costs and turnover. It was not an adequate basis for solving conflicts during the further conception and implementation. This experience shows that the proposed linkage in our framework is necessary.
4.2 Description of the Case Study for the Layer “Processes” According to the strategic goal of customer orientation the project team developed an end-to-end process model based on a customer-centric approach. As proposed in our
11 framework this process model covers all interdependencies from an end-to-end perspective. On a high-level, the following processes were designed (among others): •
Order-to-payment: this process covers the complete sales procedure from the initial customer contact to the clarification of the customer's requirements, the provision of the desired services and the billing of the agreed price.
•
Usage-to-payment: this process covers measures to ensure trouble-free usage, and arrangements for settling the type of billing (e.g. flat rate, volume-based)
•
Problem-to-solution: this process covers the tasks involved in problem solving and ensures that the agreed general conditions (e.g. service level agreements) are satisfied. For the implementation the project team further detailed the end-to-end processes by a structure of process layers. This further detailing encompassed distinguishing between business processes and operational processes; this is in accordance with our framework. The project team re-designed the business processes based on the recently introduced customer-centric approach. And they developed the operational processes anew, based on the requirements of an NGN. Again verifying our framework, the project team defined the interrelation between business and operational processes within the end-to-end process model. The operational processes were subdivided in the following functional categories: •
Operation, support, and readiness: preventive maintenance and servicing of the network (e.g. capacity management)
•
Fulfilment: service provisioning in relation to a customer order (e.g. activation of a service)
•
Assurance: handling of a trouble ticket (e.g. diagnosis of problems on a telecommunication line)
•
Mediation: technical preparation for invoicing (e.g. collection of connection data) This categorization followed essentially the recommendation of the TMForum. Hence, we see that two different approaches for business and operational processes were chosen in the project. This differentiation underlines our structure of the layer “Processes”.
4.3 Description of the Case Study for the Layer “Information Systems” For the IT infrastructure the project team selected a three-layered hierarchical architecture. The communication was exclusively possible via interfaces between neighbouring layers: BSS layer, OSS layer and network layer. The overall concept was based on a SOA approach. The integration was realized by a communication bus. Existing systems were integrated by implementing interfaces based on an overall data model. The BSS layer contains all systems required for the corporate functions sales/distribution, marketing, customer care and billing. The primary system here is an operational CRM. The OSS layer contains all systems required for operational provisioning of services in the sense of production as well as monitoring, maintenance and problem solving. And the network layer contains the network infrastructure and all systems required for direct technical and physical utilization of the network infrastructure. The BSS was primarily based on existing systems, while a complete redesign was necessary for the OSS. From an architectural point of view, this layered structure reflects the separation of layers, as recommended in our framework. A standardized interface
12 between OSS and network layer was designed to separate the OSS from specific details of the network elements. We also propose this standardized interface in our framework.
4.4 Evaluation of the Framework by using the Case Study This case study shows that our framework is an appropriate instrument for the introduction of NGN in a large telecommunication company. In table 2 we linked the solutions realized in the case study to the different parts of our framework. Our Framework Increase of turnover Reduction of production costs
The Case Study The effects on costs and turnover were evaluated in a static business case.
Consideration of additional strategic goals
Customer orientation and satisfaction were considered as an overall paradigm (e.g. in the process model).
End-to-end process model
An end-to-end process model was designed. It includes a customer oriented approach and the orchestration of business and operational processes.
Redesign of existing business processes
The existing business processes were redesigned.
(Re-)design of operational processes
The operational processes were designed anew based on the standards of TMForum.
Integration in overall IT infrastructure
A SOA-based architecture was used and old ITsystems were integrated via interfaces based on an overall data model.
Redesign of existing business support systems
The existing BSS (esp. operational CRM) were changed based on the requirements from the business processes.
(Re-)design of the operational support systems
The OSS was developed anew based on COTS and the requirements from the operational processes.
Incremental implementation and migration
An incremental implementation based on products and regions (e.g. pilot regions) were planned.
Table 2.
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Comparison NGN Implementation Framework and Case Study
Conclusion and Outlook
We have proposed a framework that addresses all necessary aspects to exploit the full benefit of an NGN implementation. Therefore we synthesized and extended existing approaches as well as research advances and reports about NGN architecture and its implementation. Our framework is structured along the three layers “Strategy”, “Processes” and “Information Systems”. Its key concepts are: •
Separation between service and transport has to be realized on the process, system and network level. Therefore we propose a standardized interface to the network layer as well as a separation between product and production. We cover the last point in the differentiation between operational and business processes as well as between OSS and BSS.
13 •
Flexible bundling of services to products is best realized by flexible product independent structures. Therefore we propose in our framework the product independency as an essential part of the business and operational processes (including the definition of clear data structure for services and products).
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Streamlining of the IT-architecture requires considering strategy and processes together as part of the migration strategy. We therefore propose the objective of cost reduction as part of the layer “Strategy”. Our further proposal is to derive the requirements from standardized and product independent processes and to implement them within the layer “Information Systems”. We further distinguish different level of change and propose that the operational processes as well as the OSS need to be developed anew, while business processes and BSS just need to be re-designed. We performed a first proof-of-concept for our framework by means of a case study. We found out that our framework captured all relevant topics for a beneficial implementation of an NGN. Further juxtaposition to research findings and NGN implementation projects is needed, not only for validation but also for further detailing of our framework. An important aspect to be addressed next is the prioritization of requirements, on the basis of the strategic objectives. In particular, which measures and changes are needed to ensure the cost reduction target by the automation of business and operational processes? We plan to address this topic by applying an established theory from the domain of process management to our framework.
Remark This paper is an extended version of a paper previously presented at the European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS), 2009 in Izmir, Turkey.
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Interface to third party providers
Third party application providers
Service stratum
Service user profiles
Service control functions
Transport user profiles
Media handling functions
Transport control functions
Other networks
End-user functions
Management functions
Application functions
Gateway to other networks
Transport functions Transport stratum
Interface to other networks
Interface to End-user Figure 1.
NGN Architecture (simplified illustration) (Knightson et al., 2005)
Sales Order
Product Catalogue Productspecification
Servicespecification
Resourcespecification
Resourcespecification
Product
Servicespecification
Resourcespecification
PLM Process Figure 2.
Decoupled Product Structure
Service
Resource
Resource
Sales Process
Service
Resource
BSS
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Product Group 1
Product Group 2
Order Mgmt. System 1
Order Mgmt. System 2
All Product Groups
…
Order Management System
Billing
Assurance
Fulfillment
Billing 2
Assurance 2
Fulfillment 2
Billing 1
Assurance 1
Fulfillment 1
OSS
Interface BSS - OSS
Network
Interface OSS - Network Network 1
Figure 3.
Network 2
Change of the IT Architecture (illustrative)
Network 1
Network 2
Network …
