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Business processes

BSS Business Process Map

A generic, eTOM-aligned map of the business processes that run a telecom operator's BSS, from level 1 domains down to level 4 activities.

L1 domainsL2 process groupsL3 processesL4 activitiesRoles
13Process areas
4 levelsFrom domain to activity
eTOMAligned with TM Forum

Process levels

Processes are documented top-down, so everyone can zoom from the big picture to the exact activity.

L1DomainFor example: Customer, Product, Service, Resource, Partner, Enterprise.
L2Process groupFor example: Billing & revenue management.
L3ProcessFor example: Bill run, Collections, Rerating.
L4ActivityWho does what, in which system, with which checks.

Process areas

Click an area to see its level 3 processes, key activities, roles and KPIs.

Customer & Order ManagementFrom the first contact to a fulfilled order: customer care, quotation, order capture, validation, bulk and batch orders.Customer careOrder negotiationValidationProduct Catalog ManagementHow offers are designed, configured, tested and launched: the product model, pricing, eligibility, devices, financing and fees.Product modelPricingEligibilityProvisioning & ActivationTurning orders into working services in the network and platforms, with clear error handling and batch processing.WorkflowError handlingConfigurationResources & Number PortabilityManaging SIMs and numbers through their life cycle, and porting numbers in and out with the right checks and exception handling.SIM life cycleNumber blocksPort-inBilling OperationsRunning bill cycles safely: pre-bill checks, simulation runs, quality assurance, the regular bill run, reconciliation and bill confirmation.Pre-bill checksSimulationQAPayments & FinanceReceiving invoices into accounts, processing real-time and batch payments, payment orders, refunds and financial postings.Receive invoicesReal-time paymentsBatch paymentsCollections ManagementRecovering overdue money while keeping good customers: collection scenarios, follow-up, complaints, promises to pay and payment plans.ScenariosFollow-upPromises to payRerating OperationsRecalculating charges correctly when something went wrong: bulk rerates, complaint-driven rerates, duplicate usage and disaster relief.Bulk rerateComplaintsDuplicate usageTaxation ManagementApplying the right taxes to every service, location and customer, keeping tax rules up to date and handling roaming tax.Service tax categoriesAddress geocodingTax changesRoaming Partner ManagementRunning inbound and outbound roaming: data exchange with partners, error handling, settlement and launching new roaming agreements.Inbound (incollect)Outbound (outcollect)Error handlingReporting ManagementDefining, building and running the reports the business relies on, across finance, billing, care, orders, usage and roaming.Report requestReport areasData extractsIntegration & Back OfficeOperating the middleware and back-office interfaces that connect BSS with finance, partners and other enterprise systems.MiddlewareMessagingFile transferControls, Compliance & NotificationsKeeping the platform auditable and customers informed: financial controls, audits, and real-time, batch and system notifications.Financial controlsAuditsReal-time eventsOperations Playbook: Exceptions & Work InstructionsGeneric work instructions for the exceptions every BSS operations team handles: order fallout, provisioning errors, rejected batch files and port-in issues.Order falloutProvisioning errorsRejected batches

How each process is documented

A consistent template makes processes easy to read, review and audit.

  1. OwnershipWho owns the process and approves changes.
  2. ResponsibilitiesWhich teams and partners take part.
  3. WorkflowThe flow diagram, step by step.
  4. MethodHow each step is done, with rules and timings.
  5. Activities by roleA table of tasks for each role.
  6. ExceptionsWhat happens when something fails.
  7. SystemsWhich systems and interfaces are used.
  8. MetricsKPIs and SLAs for the process.

Standards & references

eTOMTM Forum Business Process Framework
ITILService management practices
TOGAFBusiness architecture

Generic, vendor-neutral process descriptions based on common industry practice. They do not describe any particular operator's processes.