Virtual Private Network DesignFest Problem
Yun Feng Kurt Weiss Mohamed Fayad, PhD
[email protected] [email protected] and
[email protected]
Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Domain .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Program Desired................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Detailed Requirements ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Use Cases and user context ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Use Case Diagram......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Use Case Descriptions................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. User Context.................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Interfaces ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. References ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Abstract A local Insurance Company, headquartered in Lincoln, NE desires a virtual private network for licensed independent agents to conduct certain transactions. The company has hundreds of agencies, and thousands of individual agents scattered over a wide area in Nebraska and adjoining states.
Domain A protected internet based system is desired. The intended users fall into two broad classes: Agency is an aggregation, and employee is the parent class of a generalization. Agency users are the individual independent agents, and the customer service representatives (CSR) who support those agents. Insurance company employee users are underwriters and raters. Underwriters decide what coverage will be allowed and how it will be written. Raters apply various rating factors to arrive at a premium for each coverage. We have included a third insurance company employee class, “data processing employee” because that class will control access to the system, and monitor usage. Data processing will not be involved in the actual transactions between agencies and the insurance company. Currently the insurance company provides limited automation for coverage and rating services used at the agency remote site, but actual applications for coverage must be submitted on paper. The information on that paper is then input to the insurance company’s internal system by data processing employees. Automation is limited to the insurance company internally, or agency internally. Any negotiations, coverage documentation, etc. conducted with an agent are not automated.
Program Desired The virtual private network should allow agents, and the agency customer service representatives who support agents, access to the insurance company’s internal system to automate the following activities: Apply for coverage Endorse (change) existing coverage Cancel coverage Reinstate coverage that has been cancelled Renew expiring coverage
Detailed Requirements We are not sure what is expected in the form of detailed requirements.
Use Cases and user context Use Case Diagram
U n de rw rite r
Ap ply
A gent
Evalu ate R e q ue s t
Rat er Renew
C alculate Pre m iu m
CS R
En d ors em e nt
Tra ns a ctio n
DP
Cancel
Reins tate
Use Case Descriptions Note while the desired system will have several use cases, for purposes of the assignments we will concentrate on the following five. Apply for new policy: An agent, or CSR on the agent’s behalf, submits an application for coverage. The application is routed to the appropriate insurance company underwriter for review. If the coverage is acceptable, the underwriter gives approval, and forwards the application to a rater. The rater calculates premiums for the coverage. The new policy and rating (premium) are then returned to the underwriter for final review. The underwriter then
forwards this information to the agency. The agent or CSR can accept the policy and premium and issue appropriate paper documentation for the customer, or either agency employee can negotiate with the underwriter for different coverage or different premium. Renew coverage: Another insurance company system tracks expiring coverage and will alert the appropriate underwriter of an upcoming expiration. Either the underwriter or the rater (on the underwriter’s instruction) can request renewal of expiring coverage. Any of the four actors: Underwriter, Rater, Agent, or CSR can calculate and advise the other three actors of a renewal premium. The CSR and Rater can re-calculate premiums. Endorse policy: This is a change to the policy. The agency contacts the insurance company and requests the change. The transaction file tracks the request. The request is given to the underwriter for review. The underwriter approves or declines the request. If the request is approved, it is then given to the rater. The rater assigns premiums as per the endorsement request. The rater returns the endorsement to the underwriter for final review. The underwriter then forwards the endorsement to the agent or the CSR. Cancel: The agency contacts the insurance company to requests cancellation. Cancellation is not subject to underwriter review. The rater calculates a return premium, and enters that return premium in the system. Reinstate: After cancellation a policy can be reinstated. The agency contacts the insurance company to request reinstatement. The request is reviewed by the underwriter. If approved, the rater calculates and assigns premium. If the request is declined by the underwriter, the policy is not reinstated and the agent is advised.
User Context Agency: Can be either a group of individual agents working together, or a single agent. All agencies are independent contractors, and run their agency business themselves. They have a choice of insurance companies, and are not obligated to place a particular coverage with the insurance company. Agent: An individual, licensed by a state department of insurance, who can solicit, and obtain insurance coverage. CSR: Customer service representative. An employee of an agency, who handles the dayto-day transactions and maintenance on insurance policies. Assists the agent. Not all agents employ CSR’s.
Underwriter: Employed by the insurance company. The underwriter is the primary contact for an agency. Underwriter reviews applications and endorsements, decides whether to write coverage, and how to best write coverage. Rater: Employed by insurance company. Analyzes risks to be covered and assigns rates to those coverages. Calculates premium for each policy of insurance. Receives assignments from the underwriter. Rating is now being automated, but still requires a human rater to oversee the process. Fully automated rating will fit nicely in the model. The rater class can either be a person, or another system, or a combination of both.
Interfaces A secure (protected) interface with the insurance company mainframe would enhance the functionality of the system. Interface with the client system will be via internet.
References Riel, Arthur J., Object-Oriented Design Heuristics, Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. 1996. Oestereich, Bernd, Developing Software with UML, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd, 2001. Mohamed E. Fayad, Douglas C. Schmidt, Ralph E. Johnson, Building Application Frameworks: Object-Oriented Foundations of Framework Design, New York: John Wiley & Sons, September 1999 Mohamed E. Fayad, Douglas C. Schmidt, Ralph E. Johnson, Implementing Application Frameworks: Object-Oriented Frameworks at Work, New York: John Wiley & Sons, September 1999 Mohamed E. Fayad, Ralph E. Johnson. Domain-Specific Application Frameworks: Experience by Industry, New York: John Wiley & Sons, October 1999 Mohamed E. Fayad, L. Hawn, M. Roberts, and J. Klatt. "Using The Shlaer-Mellor Object-Oriented Analysis Method," IEEE Software, March 1993, pp. 43-52 Mohamed E. Fayad and Marshall Cline. "Managing Object-Oriented Software Developments," IEEE Computer, September 1996, pp. 26-31. Jacobson, Ivar, Magnus Christerson, Patrik Jonsson, Gunnar Overgaard. Object Oriented Software Engineering: A Use Case Driven Approach, Addison-Wesley, 1995. Jacobson, Ivar, Maria Ericsson, Agneta Jacobson. The Object Advantage: Business Process Re-Engineering with Object Technology, Addison-Wesley, 1995.
Jacobson, Ivar. “The Confused World of OOA & OOD,” J. Object-Oriented Programming, Sigs Publications, September 1995. Various virtual private network articles and publications.
