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Reference Process Flows for Telecommunication Companies

An Extension of the eTOM Model

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Abstract

The telecommunication market is experiencing substantial changes. New business models, innovative services, and technologies require reengineering, transformation, and process standardization. Enterprise Architecture Frameworks support the transformation by specifying methods, procedures, and reference models. With the Enhanced Telecom Operation Map (eTOM), the TM Forum offers an international de facto reference process framework, based on specific features and requirements of the telecommunication industry. However, this reference framework only offers a hierarchical collection of processes on different levels of abstraction; a control view in terms of a sequential ordering of tasks and hence a real process flow as well as an end-to-end view on the customer are missing. In this paper, we extend the eTOM reference model by reference process flows, in which we abstract and generalize the knowledge about processes in telecommunication companies. With reference process flows, we aim to assist companies in achieving a structured and transparent re-structuring and re-design of their processes. We demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of our reference process flows in two case studies, and evaluate them by means of criteria for reference model evaluation. Our reference process flows have been accepted as a standard by the TM Forum and published as part of eTOM version 9. We further elaborate on those components of our approach which can be applied outside the telecommunication industry.

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Notes

  1. In the past, the TM Forum has used different terms for their EA framework (least recent one first): NGOSS, Solution Framework, TM Forum Frameworx. They can be seen as equivalent. We use the most recent one, TM Forum Frameworx.

  2. The RPFs for the Customer domain are currently under development, using the proposed methodology.

  3. See http://www.tmforum.org for further information. The document (72 pages total) is stored under “GB921 Addendum E”.

  4. For more details on swim lane flowcharts please refer, e.g., to the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN).

  5. In August 2010, the working group had 1680 members from telecommunication companies, consultancies and research institutions.

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Acknowledgements

The process flow development is a cooperative work of the eTOM team. Special thanks to Mike Kelly, Christian Dietze, and Georg Vitt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Detecon International GmbH, Sternengasse 14–16, 50676, Cologne, Germany

    Christian Czarnecki

  2. Julius-Maximilians-University Wuerzburg, Stephanstrasse 1, 97070, Wuerzburg, Germany

    Axel Winkelmann

  3. Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitaetsplatz 2, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany

    Myra Spiliopoulou

Authors
  1. Christian Czarnecki
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  2. Axel Winkelmann
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  3. Myra Spiliopoulou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Czarnecki.

Additional information

Christian Czarnecki is also a PhD student at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg.

Accepted after three revisions by Prof. Dr. Buhl.

This article is also available in German in print and via http://www.wirtschaftsinformatik.de: Czarnecki C, Winkelmann A, Spiliopoulou M (2013) Referenzprozessabläufe für Telekommunikationsunternehmen. Eine Erweiterung des eTOM-Modells. WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK. doi: 10.1007/s11576-013-0351-9.

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Czarnecki, C., Winkelmann, A. & Spiliopoulou, M. Reference Process Flows for Telecommunication Companies. Bus Inf Syst Eng 5, 83–96 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-013-0250-z

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