Background

Several large multi-site state government customers of a large Telecom Carrier were looking to upgrade their networks to state of the art technology (MLPS).   As part of the Request for Proposal for these services the customers required that the carrier supply a web portal for network monitoring and management, ordering, and billing.  In looking for a solution among the carrier’s inventory of systems, it was determined that a new set of systems should be deployed to support these customers.  This solution would eventually lead to a capability that could then be marketed to other similar customers.

XD3 Engagement

XD3 was engaged to assist in the implementation of the ordering and billing solution, including:

• the creation of a detailed requirements document,
• the configuration of the COTS solutions,
• the design and implementation of the reporting solution,
• the design and implementation of the interfaces with the carriers legacy environment, and
• the production of an interim bill that could be sent to the customer as the new services are being turned up and while the new systems are still in development

Methodology

XD3 resources took a lead role in defining and documenting the requirements.  These sessions were held with a core group of carrier personnel, bringing in necessary specialists for special subjects (e.g., taxing, accounting).  The output of this process were the following requirements documents:

• user,
• functional, and
  
• technical
  

In addition to system functionality these documents included testing, operational, and performance requirements. 

XD3 resources were then involved in determining how the COTS package should be configured to meet the requirements.  In conjunction with the carrier, personnel from the COTS provider were involved in determining the optimal configuration based on the requirements.

XD3 also took the lead in determining the appropriate mechanisms for interfacing with the carrier’s complex legacy environment, and for negotiating with the appropriate carrier resources to facilitate the necessary process and procedures to deploy the solution. 

XD3 resources also took a lead in determining the approach for creating the appropriate outputs both for the customer and for carrier operations and revenue assurance.  These outputs included bills, reports, and interface files.

Outcome

Interim bills were produced (in the same format that the new billing system would produce them) as the new services were being deployed, and the new billing and ordering system was not yet available.  The customer was pleased with the results and was able to create the necessary interfaces to their applications to accept these bills.  The carrier was able to use the interim billing data to seed the new system. 

The new ordering and billing portal was deployed and is being used by the customer and carrier to continue the upgrade to the new network technology.

A second customer has requested a similar capability and the carrier is in the midst of  creating the next generation of the ordering and billing portal that supports both the initial customer and the requirements of the next customer.

Benefits

XD3 resources helped to ensure the success of the project, without having to add (find, hire) new permanent carrier staff while the project is being implemented.  In this case, XD3 resources brought a unique mix of the skills with knowledge of:

• the ordering and billing requirements that customers and carriers require to support their functional and operational needs,
• the legacy carrier environments and how to be productive in navigating through those environments, and
• the COTS applications and how they can be creatively leveraged and configured to be meet  requirements.

XD3 has the functional knowledge, project management know-how, and creativity needed to successfully pull together a team to ensure successful projects.