World Class Telecommunications Service Development Ellen Ward

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World Class Telecommunications Service Development Ellen Ward

Contents

Acknowledgments xix
Introduction xxi
Part I Opportunities and Challenges for New Service
Development in Today’s Telecommunications Industry 1
1 The Telecommunications Industry—What’s Ahead 3
1.1 Where are we heading? 4
1.2 What’s the outlook? 5
1.3 Reasons for change 5
1.4 Effect on telecommunications service providers
and customers 6
1.5 Service and product directions: the bandwidth
revolution 7
vii
1.5.1 Bandwidth summarized 8
1.5.2 Billowing bandwidth? 9
1.6 The real challenge 9
References 10
2 The Challenge of Development Within the
Telecommunications Industry 11
2.1 The development challenge 12
2.1.1 Common problems with development 12
2.1.2 Categorizing telecommunications: what’s being developed? 13
2.1.3 A unique service industry 14
2.2 The service delivery challenge 15
2.3 The industry challenge 16
2.3.1 Unique demands: interoperability and the role of standards 16
2.3.2 What was gained, what was lost 17
2.4 Where do we go from here? 18
References 18
Part II A Framework for Telecommunications Service
Development 19
3 The Product Development Orientation 21
3.1 Competing factors 22
3.2 The paradox of product development 23
3.2.1 Common problems with product development within
telecommunications services environments 24
3.2.2 The clearinghouse effect 26
3.3 Product development and the world-class service
provider 27
4 Views Into Product Development 31
4.1 The unraveling world of telecommunications 32
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4.2 Three views into product development: the network
service, the service delivery process, and the product
development process 32
4.2.1 The network service view 33
4.2.2 The service delivery process view 33
4.2.3 The product development process view 34
4.3 Telecommunications: is it a product or a process? 35
4.4 Infrastructure versus infostructure 36
4.5 How important will service delivery become? 37
4.6 Service delivery and operational excellence 38
References 39
5 The Cycle and Phases of Product Development 41
5.1 The six-phase cycle for telecommunications service
development 42
5.2 Development as a strategic management process 43
5.3 The six phases summarized 44
5.3.1 Phase 1: opportunity analysis 44
5.3.2 Phase 2: definition and feasibility 45
5.3.3 Phase 3: design and testing 46
5.3.4 Phase 4: development 47
5.3.5 Phase 5: implementation and trials 48
5.3.6 Phase 6: commercial launch and review 49
References 49
Part III Deciding What To Build 51
6 Phase 1: Opportunity Analysis 53
6.1 Are these really choices? 54
6.2 Grouping projects into categories 55
6.3 The seven-layered telecommunications service
development model 55
Contents ix
6.4 Evaluating opportunities using the seven-layered
model 59
6.4.1 Targeting the layer 60
6.4.2 Building, expanding, protecting 60
6.5 Evaluating opportunities and deciding what goes
forward 62
6.6 Exit criteria for Phase 1/entrance criteria for Phase 2 62
7 Phase 2: Defining the Product and Determining
Feasibility 65
7.1 Finalizing product details: the first goal 66
7.1.1 Service performance standards and service level agreements 66
7.1.2 Customer service and service delivery requirements 67
7.1.3 Clarifying the customer perspective: arraying customer
attributes 67
7.1.4 Looking outside: competitive market analysis and regulatory
assessments 69
7.2 Assessing what it will take: the second goal 69
7.2.1 Establishing market forecasts and sales capacities 70
7.2.2 Technology and service capability assessments 71
7.2.3 Network engineering and planning 72
7.2.4 Operations analysis 73
7.2.5 Billing and information systems analysis 73
7.2.6 Identifying product releases 74
7.3 Developing the project timeline: the third goal 75
8 Phase 2 Continued: Issues of Product Definition
and Design 77
8.1 Creating service configurations 78
8.1.1 Taking decisions out and implementing a limited choice
approach 78
8.1.2 BRI: an example of the limited-choice menu 79
8.1.3 Where does this leave product differentiation? 80
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8.2 Structuring the product 80
8.2.1 Elements common to all telecommunications products
and services 81
8.2.2 The five elements of service definition 81
8.2.3 Using the five elements to structure a product 82
8.2.4 Dependencies of elements 82
8.3 Link to unbundling 83
8.3.1 Resale versus unbundling 84
8.3.2 The seven elements of unbundling and the five elements of
telecommunications services 86
8.3.3 The impact of unbundling on providers and developers of
service 87
8.4 Product structure and service delivery 88
8.5 Exit criteria for Phase 2/entrance criteria for Phase 3 88
Part IV The Service Delivery Process 91
9 The Process and Processes of Service Delivery 93
9.1 The process view 93
9.1.1 What is actually meant by a process? 94
9.2 Types of processes 95
9.3 The seven functions (and processes) of service delivery 97
9.4 Customer service and reporting 100
9.5 Looking at the processes that underlie service delivery 100
References 101
10 Phase 3: Designing Process Requirements 103
10.1 Relational flow of processes 104
10.2 Ordering the processes: where to start 104
10.3 Process area requirements 106
10.3.1 Installation and provisioning 106
10.3.2 Order handling and service order design 108
10.3.3 Billing 110
Contents xi
10.3.4 Network management and trouble handling 112
10.3.5 Sales and fulfillment 113
11 Phase 3 Continued: Tools and Techniques for
Process Design 115
11.1 Why map processes? 116
11.2 Deciding what to map 116
11.3 What does process design include? 117
11.3.1 Identifying process functions: the input-process-output
chart 117
11.3.2 Identifying process flows 119
11.4 Mapping processes for new services 120
11.4.1 Process design example 1: one wireless provider’s
experience with sales and acquisition 122
11.4.2 Process design example 2: using the access server request
to study process requirements 123
11.5 Testing and prototyping 125
11.6 Phase review: exit criteria for Phase 3/
entrance criteria for Phase 4 125
12 Integrating and Automating the Service Delivery
Process 127
12.1 Integration and full-service automation 128
12.2 Current state of affairs 128
12.3 The network to systems link 129
12.3.1 The arrival of the intelligent network 130
12.4 The systems to network link 130
12.4.1 A look back: the legacy of legacy systems 131
12.4.2 The reaction: short term solutions and quick fixes 131
12.4.3 The current legacy 132
12.4.4 System drivers 132
12.5 The systems to process link 133
12.6 Where systems need to be heading 133
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12.6.1 The provider’s view: vertically integrated systems
and services 134
12.6.2 The customer’s view: horizontally integrated services
and solutions 135
12.7 The challenge for providers: integrating and linking
the pieces 136
12.8 The payoff: process integration leading to full-service
automation 136
References 138
Part V Issues and Approaches to Process Development 139
13 The Environment of Service Creation and Delivery 141
13.1 The new trading environment 142
13.2 Establishing processes with outside suppliers 142
13.2.1 Suppliers as competitors 144
13.3 Implementing supplier-level agreements on systems
and processes 145
13.4 Process development through standards and
automation 146
13.5 Obstacles to progress 147
References 148
14 Telecommunications Management Network 149
14.1 Telecommunications management network:
a room with a view 150
14.2 TMN basics 152
14.2.1 Element management layer 152
14.2.2 Network management layer 153
14.2.3 Service management layer 154
14.2.4 Business management layer 154
14.3 TMN and product development: where to focus? 155
14.4 Service management and service delivery 156
Contents xiii
14.5 Why look at TMN? 158
14.6 Mapping the service definition and the service
delivery process into TMN 158
14.7 Impediments to progress with TMN 160
References 162
Part VI Preparing for Market 163
15 Phase 4: Into Development 165
15.1 The expanding role of project and team management 166
15.2 When is a product developed? Establishing criteria
for readiness 167
15.3 The first level of readiness: delivering the network
service 167
15.3.1 Criteria for readiness at the network service level 168
15.4 The second level of readiness: delivering on the
service delivery processes 169
15.4.1 Criteria for readiness at the service delivery level 170
15.5 The third level of readiness: organizational
preparedness 171
15.5.1 Criteria for readiness at the organizational level 172
15.6 Phase review: exit criteria for Phase 4/
entrance criteria for Phase 5 172
16 Phase 5: Implementation and Trials 175
16.1 Building quality in 176
16.2 Customer trials 177
16.2.1 Types of trials 178
16.2.2 Commercial trial read-outs: determining departmental
readiness 178
16.3 Developing the implementation strategy 180
16.4 Area-specific implementation plans 181
16.5 Checkpoints and supportability reviews 183
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16.6 Phase review/summary 184
17 Phase 6: Launching the Service 187
17.1 Determining the launch strategy 188
17.2 Determining the launch sequence:
where to launch first 188
17.3 Localizing the launch plan 190
17.4 Swat teams and market operations 191
17.5 Market certification 192
17.6 Prelaunch countdown 194
17.7 Phase 6: summary 194
Part VII Product Development Inside the Organization 197
18 Organizing for Product Development 199
18.1 Structure follows strategy 200
18.2 Taking inventory 201
18.3 Product development: bringing order to disorder 201
18.4 Product development as an organizational entity 202
18.5 A higher order 202
18.5.1 Oversight and control 203
18.5.2 Senior-management project review board 203
18.6 Lining up the pieces and identifying the gaps 205
18.6.1 Identifying the need 206
18.6.2 Answering the need 206
18.6.3 Process engineering is the need (and the answer) 207
References 208
19 Building Teams That Win 209
19.1 Teams: the new unit of business 210
19.2 Winning development teams 210
19.3 Assembling the product development team 212
19.3.1 Team roles: the area lead 213
Contents xv
19.3.2 Team roles: the project leader 213
19.4 Summary 214
20 Approaches to Team Building and Rapid
Development 215
20.1 Why development teams fail 216
20.2 Skunkworks: going around the system 217
20.3 Skunkworks as a way to break the mold 217
20.4 The new mold: rapid development 218
20.5 Implementing a rapid development approach 219
20.5.1 Seven elements of rapid development 220
20.6 Systems: the rapid development dealbreaker? 222
21 Beyond Product Launch: Completing the
Development Cycle and Managing the Product in Life 225
21.1 Holding a post-launch review 226
21.2 Post-launch product evaluation 227
21.3 Requirements deferred 228
21.4 In-life management 229
21.5 Product infancy and the post-launch product plan 230
21.6 In-life product development 230
21.7 Portfolio management 231
21.7.1 Formulating the strategic product direction 231
21.7.2 Managing the mix 232
21.8 Directions and life-cycle management 233
21.9 Portfolio drivers 235
22 The World-Class Service Provider 237
List of Acronyms 243
Selected Bibliography 247
xvi World-Class Telecommunications Service Development
About the Author 249
Index 251
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