Background

 A major internet services, security, and communications provider decided to leverage several of its existing capabilities into a secure workflow-based ordering, provisioning, and telephone number (TN) inventory management service for VoIP providers and network service providers.  This service is designed to streamline and automate the entire process and all interfaces between the TN user (such as a VoIP provider, or a network service providers), the TN provider (such as a traditional LEC), and the PSTN network databases (such as LIDB/CNAM, E911, NPAC, and the LEC databases).  The new service was scoped to cover new TN assignments as well as ported TNs, and to manage the pre-order and order processes.  The design team for this effort was highly complex and included multiple client teams (a product management team and two development teams in various locations), and teams from each of the various partners such as LEC, E911, etc.

 XD3 Engagement

 XD3 was engaged in the first phase of the project to identify, define, and document the functional and technical requirements for the system.  As a result of our requirements work, XD3 was retained to assist with the general and detailed design phases of the project, particularly to perform a software evaluation and requirements gap analysis of a third party workflow and order management software product to assess the fit for the designed solution.

 
Methodology

For the requirements analysis, XD3 used its business process flow methodology as the mechanism to identify, validate, refine, and document system requirements.  This methodology builds the high level business process flows, then adds details about data flows and data validations.  At this point, an accurate high level process/data view is established.  Below is an example for the TN Portability Qualification process.

From this view, we can directly develop the flow of the data elements, the logical data stores, and the specific and detailed requirements matrix.

Deliverables

The requirements analysis produced by XD3 enabled the company to provide the design team – in-house architecture and development teams as well as partner teams - with detailed requirements and system and business process specifications sufficient to support the technical design, development, and system integration efforts.  The business process specifications delivered by XD3 also provided the company with internal and external organizational requirements to ensure that the service could be fully tested and implemented by the company, the VoIP providers, and the network providers.

Results

As a result of XD3’s work, the new TN provisioning service progressed smoothly from the design phase to the build phase in a challenging multi-partner environment.  It helped set budgeting and time-to-market expectations for the new service.