TM Forum Community

 View Only
  • 1.  BSS/OSS/ODA RFP template/guidline for Service Operators

    TM Forum Member
    Posted May 16, 2023 03:20
    Hi,
     
    Are there any artifacts available (for members) which could help Service Operator to create an BSS or OSS RFP?
    Guidelines, templates, requirement lists?
     
    Thanks a lot in advance.
     
    Alen Ruvic

    #OpenDigitalArchitecture
    #General

    ------------------------------
    Alen Ruvic
    SES Astra S.A.
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: BSS/OSS/ODA RFP template/guidline for Service Operators

    TM Forum Member
    Posted May 29, 2023 10:20

    We do have some relevant assets:

    • The Open API certifications awarded table can be filtered to show which vendors have certified which Open APIs.  The APIs are mapped to ODA Domains (Engaged Party, Customer, Product, Service, Resource…) which typically map to a likely procurement scope for a buyer.
    • The ODA Component Directory highlights vendor product mappings to the ODA Components, including which vendors have certified the mandatory Open APIs exposed by each component.  (There is a lot of active work in the ODA Components & Canvas project defining the next phases of ODA Component conformance, with beta planned for September.)
    • CSPs may be interested to know which suppliers have expert knowledge of ODA, eTOM, SID and Open APIs. There is a leaderboard of companies who have obtained relevant TM Forum professional certifications for their staff.
    • Some historic collaboration projects have produced assets designed to help and guide OSS/BSS procurement - most of this is quite old now, but some of it should still be relevant:
      • GB946 provides an introduction to vendor selection and procurement 
      • TMF062 provides procurement processes and RFX templates  
      • GB941C (last updated in 2012) provides RFX guidelines for Revenue Assurance
      • The ZOOM project created NFV procurement / on-boarding guides IG1141 Procurement and Onboarding Suite and Agile Ops Procurement suite
      • Any volunteers to help update these?


    ------------------------------
    Andy Tiller
    TM Forum
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: BSS/OSS/ODA RFP template/guidline for Service Operators

    TM Forum Member
    Posted May 31, 2023 02:55

    Hi Andy,

    Thanks a lot.
    The first two points I was aware of, but the other older documents I did not know they exist.
    I will carefully read them.

    Thanks once more.

    Br,
    Alen Ruvic



    ------------------------------
    Alen Ruvic
    SES Astra S.A.
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: BSS/OSS/ODA RFP template/guidline for Service Operators

    TM Forum Member
    Posted May 31, 2023 07:47
    Edited by Dave Riches May 31, 2023 10:06

    Hi Alen, 
    In addition to Andy's suggestion, here are a couple of others for you. The first one might be teaching you to "suck eggs" as the saying goes but might be useful for others and the second is a list of requirements related to TM Forum that you could put into your RFP:

    1) Defining the Scope of the RFP

    From a systems perspective, we would use the following steps to scope our activities and ensure that everyone reading the RFP will understand what's required (it's also the case for any project you run with or without vendor partners):<o:p></o:p>

    1. Identify the Business Capability that the "customers"/users of the system will want to see<o:p></o:p>
    2. Use the Business Process Framework (eTOM) to identify the scope of activity that the system will support<o:p></o:p>
    3. The Functional Framework provides a reference of the features/functions of a system that will support these processes<o:p></o:p>
    4. This then allows us to look at the Information Framework to pick up the corresponding data that the system will need to work on and/or store<o:p></o:p>
    5. The system will need to interwork with other systems in your system architecture and it will do this via the TM Forum Open APIs, therefore you would select the required APIs that support the transfer of the data that you've identified above.<o:p></o:p>

    <o:p> </o:p>You will find the major assets to each of these steps by following this link and looking into the Business/Information Systems/Implementation sections:<o:p></o:p>

    <o:p> </o:p>The information gathered through these activities then is used to detail the scope of your RFQ (or software specification if you're building it yourself). 

    2) TM Forum RFP Requirements section
    Within your RFQ, you would have a section that asks the vendor/SI about their engagement with the TM Forum and how they follow the best practices and standards. Here is a set of questions that we recommend our members ask:<o:p></o:p>

    • TM Forum Compliance and Engagement RFP Questions<o:p></o:p>
      • Is your company a member of the TM Forum?<o:p></o:p>
      • Provide 2 or more case studies that demonstrate how you have used TM Forum and its assets to help deliver a project similar to ours<o:p></o:p>
      • Please provide details of which of your products have achieved TM Forum Conformance Certification<o:p></o:p>
        • Which of these products are part of your delivery to us?<o:p></o:p>
      • Have you signed up to the Open API Manifesto?<o:p></o:p>
        • How is this influencing your current and future product development?<o:p></o:p>
      • Which of your APIs have achieved TM Forum Open API Conformance Certification?<o:p></o:p>
        • Which of these will be used in our project?<o:p></o:p>
      • Have you signed up to the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) Manifesto?<o:p></o:p>
        • How is this influencing your current and future product development?<o:p></o:p>
      • Have you contributed to the ODA Component Directory?<o:p></o:p>
      • What ODA Components have you developed?<o:p></o:p>
      • Describe how your engagement with the TM Forum has influenced your product management strategy?<o:p></o:p>
      • Which Catalyst projects have you been involved in?<o:p></o:p>
        • How have these influenced your product development?<o:p></o:p>
      • How many of your employees have taken TM Forum, and achieved Knowledge Certification, and in which subjects?<o:p></o:p>
        • Which of these people will be working on our delivery project?<o:p></o:p>
      • How do you contribute to the TM Forum activities and in which assets have you been involved?<o:p></o:p>
      • Please use the Frameworx framework maps to show the coverage of your solution to us<o:p></o:p>
        • E.g. eTOM, SID, ODA Components Directory, TAM, API, Metrics – and any other asset maps you feel are relevant
      • Describe any other engagement you have with the TM Forum that you feel is relevant to our delivery project.


        Hope that all helps?

        Dave


    <o:p></o:p>



    ------------------------------
    Dave Riches
    TM Forum
    Director, Member Solutions
    +44 774 811 8071
    driches@tmforum.org
    ------------------------------