Telecommunications Project Management Service Development Final Thoughts

Telecommunications Project Management

Service Development

Final Thoughts

Service Development

Opportunity analysisProduct definition and project setupDesign and procurementDevelopment, implementation, and

system testingService turn-upCommissioning and life-cycle

management

Opportunity Analysis and Concept Definition

1. Congruence of the proposed service with the strategic objectives of the company and its image in the marketplace.

2. Service objectives and position with respect to other offers.

3. Financial objectives in terms of revenues and profitability.4. Internal capabilities including the skills and motivation

available workforce.5. Regulatory environment.6. The various risks that the project could face, include

changing regulations, technology difficulty, market shifts, etc.

Product Definition and Project Setup

Clarification of the sponsor’s objectives and the project scope

Definition of the project charter, project plan and resources

Specification of the service in terms of the technology and the market sector to be served. Sustaining innovation – marketing analysis can rely on customary

tools Disruptive innovation – definition tentative and must include

agreed criteria to track the environment and determine when corrective actions warranted

Estimation and justification of the investment required through a business case


Need to explore management’s commitment to stated objectives

1. Establish market presence

2. Increase market penetration

3. Recover the investment and generate profits


Project charterWhat goals and parameters guide the projectStakeholders roles and responsibilitiesMetrics of success for customer acceptanceTriple constraints performance

Charter is the guide as scope established and team assembled

Next step is to establish project plan

Project Plan

Various aspects of the projectScope, resources, communication, quality

management, etc.Progress indicators, measurements to assess the

client/customer satisfaction indicators, criteria to track the ongoing project viability

More precise definition of opportunities and threatsUpdated view of competition, regulatory environment,

technology trends, and market shifts

Design and Procurement

1. Definition of an architecture to meet project objective

2. Supplier management

3. Technical definition of service

4. Operations support systems (OSS)

5. Disaster recovery

6. Communications plans

Architecture Design

Geographic span of the servicePerformance characteristicsService availability

Impacts design of the topologyRedundancy requirements

Partitioning or duplication

Supplier Management

Select suppliersDefine the evaluation and acceptance

criteria in the purchase contractCollaborate with suppliers and exchange

informationProcedures and systems to maintain

records

Technical Definition of the Service

Documents the planned mix of servicesPerformance and availability expectations

Anticipated traffic volumesGeographic and temporal distributionBilling elements per serviceQoS - reliability, availability, lead times

Site Selection

Site to host network equipment – PoPsSite that hosts equipment that can be owned

or rentedSpecifications cover floor space, power,

connector types, security, etc.

Work centerPhysical site where people provide various

roles such as customer care or network care

Service Operations Technical Plan (SOTP)

Describes various processes and systems for sales, ordering, provisioning, maintenance and capacity management

Covers processes ranging from business management to network element management including the OSS

Management Systems Model

Figure 11.3

Support Processes

1. Pre-sales and sales

2. Service ordering

3. Provisioning of the network configuration according to the terms of contract and the engineering rules of the network

4. Operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM)

5. Accounting and billing

Acquisition and Sales

All activities that precede salesBegins with initial customer contact or

inquiry and ends with signed contract or hand-off

Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OA&M)

Day-to-day service to meet service level agreements (SLAs)

Capability to diagnose problems and localize faults

Physical and logical access controlAble to handle internal and external

needs

OSS

Meet needs of internal and external customersInternal

Evaluate current usageBillingTraffic records

ExternalDetailed and transparent billing

Maintenance Processes

Reduce outage risk and maintain performance

1. Type of data collected (e.g. failure/intrusion)

2. Method for collecting data (intrusive/non-intrusive testing

3. Procedure used to analyze the data4. Network maintenance organization,

procedures and tools

Scheduled (Routine/Preventive) Maintenance

Scheduled outages to fix software/hardware issues

Perform upgradesTypically done during off-peak hoursData networks notify customers 4-8

weeks in advance

Unscheduled (Corrective) Maintenance

Problems such as trunk congestion, blockage or misrouting of traffic, transmission cuts

Administrative Reorganization of workflow for

maintenance and response to failures Record the details of trouble reports Customer interface for repairs, outages, etc

Unscheduled (Corrective) Maintenance

Maintenance1.Fault identification

2.Network event evaluation

3.Creation of a trouble report

4.Trouble isolation and diagnosis

5.Service restoration and network repair

6.Test and turn-up

Trouble Reports (Tickets) / Escalation Procedures

Trouble tickets Date/time of problem, type of problem,

assigned associate, status, symptoms

Escalation procedures Problem resolution/repair takes longer

than specified in SLA or beyond local control

Disaster Recovery

1. Relief activities at the site of the disaster event to reduce the impact of the disaster on the employees, their families and communities

2. Recovery activities to provide a temporary, “survival” level of service by reestablishing the most critical business processes and functions in one or more sites other than affected site

3. Restoration activities to fully restore the business functions or processes to their normal capabilities through rerouting of traffic, rebuilding of a failed site, movement to a new site, absorption of the business function into existing facilities, etc.

4. Internal and external communication plan

Disaster Recovery

Planning Identify critical elements that may cause outage Utilize extensive analysis

Various combinations of factors that cause disruptionsHow disruptions happen and how to control

Plan and prepare recovery including management escalation process

Document the recovery and restoration plans Approve and distribute the plan Execute the plan through review, walk-through, or simulation Establish change control procedures Continuous improvement

Disaster Recovery

Content of the planRecovery teamEvents that trigger execution of the planOrder and flow of activities at recovery site(s)Decision chain of command in case of unanticipated

events or problems during recovery processSequence of tasks and related procedures for

recovery

Development

Equipment handoff1. Release notes specifying defects that have

been fixed since previous release, known issues, exception conditions

2. Software installation and back-out procedures

3. Upgrade/downgrade procedures

Development

System and Integration TestingFunctional tests for product featuresSystem verification test plan and resultsIntegration test plans and resultsRegression test results (new versions of same

software)Performance characterization test plans/results

7 day “soak test” – 80% capacity without downtime48 hour “stress test” – Verify equipment can sustain data

rate at full capacity without problems

Network Operations Center (NOC)

Single point of contact for operations, management, and administration of network infrastructureHuman resources

Attract, retain, reward, and develop qualified associates

Training to ensure transfer of knowledgeCover local and remote staff

NOC

Return Maintenance Authorization (RMA)Up to date list of hardwareRMA treatment per categoryOn-site workforce should have accurate

readout of statusVerify spares are correct revision and in

working orderMeasure manufacturer’s performance

Customer Care

Call-center is typically the main point of contact

Two key constraints:Volume of inquiriesQuality of responses

Quality measuresService queue, wait time, unanswered requests,

average time for resolution, etcOptimized with automation – scripts

Service Turn-up

Installation of EquipmentIn-Field TestsPilot TrialsControlled IntroductionGeneral Availability

Service Turn-up

Installing the equipmentMounting the equipment, cabling,

connections, power, test & turn-upIn-Field Tests

Switch Validation Testing (SVT) – turning up the switch and running diagnostics

Network Validation Test (NVT) – Ensures network element can communicate with the network

Service Turn-up

In-Field Tests Operation Readiness Testing (ORT)

Ensures readiness of entire organization before introduction

1. Methods and procedures developed

2. Administrative processes defined

3. Work center personnel trained

4. All support systems functional

Service Turn-up

Pilot Trials Evaluate service delivery capabilities of the infrastructure1. Performance of the network with respect to design

requirements2. Effectiveness of service delivery3. Effectiveness of preventive and corrective maintenance4. Effectiveness of the customer care organization with relation

to answering inquiries/complaints5. Accuracy of billing6. Effectiveness of education and training7. Responsiveness of equipment supplier to field problems and

interfaces such as RMA

Service Turn-up

Final Marketing and Sales Plan for General AvailabilitySales and revenue forecasts for the product and for

each marketPricing and introductory promotions for each

marketSpecial conditions and rules for provisioning the

serviceTraining requirements for field and branch office

support

Commissioning and Life-cycle Management

Lessons learned and closeoutFeedback related to team experience with processes,

tools, techniques, and project organization throughout the project

Recommendations for future endeavorsSuccess depends on atmosphere of trust without

blame and finger-pointingShould be done after each sub-phase rather than at

the endOutcome is a list of root causes of problems or

successes and a plan how to deal with them


Quality-of-Service MetricsQuality of user interfaceAvailability of meaningful service

instructions and ease of useIntegrity of service from subjective and objective

viewpointsNetwork-oriented parameters Operations management


Customer Care PerformanceNetwork Performance

Specified in SLA


Figure 11.6

Business and Network Evolution

Enhance existing services spanIntroduce new servicesEvolve network technologiesFigure 11.8

Final Thoughts

Continuity and changeProject success and service successCompetition and government policiesStandardizationOutsourcing

Continuity and Change

Highly specialized knowledgePotential entrants can not readily replicate

expertiseNo matter the size or financial backingFace branding and customer attraction issuesDevelop formal processes for operating services,

managing suppliers, assisting customersHigher costs for same service quality than

established firms

Project and Service Success

Manage customer expectationsTable 12.1

Competition and Government Policies

Power of suppliers and customersThreat of new entrants and substitutes and

rivalry among existing customersGovernment addresses:

Basic obligations of service providersTypes of services that should be subsidizedSource of the subsidies and way they are distributedCompetition

Government Policies Continued

Content controlRules on encryptionCensorshipIntellectual property rightsPatent lawsCopyright laws – World Intellectual

Property Organization (WIPO)

Standardization

Motorola – Push-to-talk – 3G MigrationRequires identification and articulation

of most important issuesIncremental innovation – anticipate

expectations of the usersRadical innovation – Maintain

technological neutrality and avoid being tied to one specific implementation

Outsourcing

Disperse locations of executionEnsure round-the-clock operationOff-load fringe activities to specialized providersReduce labor costsAnti-union strategyInternal operations such as payroll and pension

planHuman resources administrationIT support