Challenge

Our client sold its off-the-shelf software billing program to a CLEC for auditing the CABS billing that it received from other providers. As part of that sale, the client committed to building an interface that would allow regular feeds of ASR and LSR order data placed with other carriers to be extracted and loaded into the software program. The CLEC used MetaSolv TBS as its order management software and, although the client had a strong development staff, it lacked the MetaSolv TBS expertise to identify where and how to extract the required data. The client turned to TMNG Global to develop the detailed specifications for building the required interfaces.

TMNG Global Solution

The TMNG Global team analyzed the billing software’s input record layouts and the provisioning events that generated data that had to be captured by the software. The team then assessed three alternatives for capturing that data from MetaSolv TBS: (1) through its ASR and LSR Gateways; (2) through its BusinessObjects reporting universes; or (3) directly from its Oracle database.

TMNG Global concluded that the data must be extracted from the database itself. The team then performed the required data mapping and wrote queries to test the data mapping. The testing uncovered a number of significant deficits in the CLEC’s data, which the software required to perform the CABS auditing.  This needed data was not being populated in the CLEC’s MetaSolv TBS system.

TMNG Global delivered to the client a detailed set of data mapping requirements, SQL queries that produced the required data feed, a process flow that detailed how the extraction process must be written, and a description of the issues that needed to be resolved in populating MetaSolv TBS before the interface could produce the desired results.

Benefits to the Client

TMNG Global was able to use its knowledge and expertise with MetaSolv TBS and its strong analytical capabilities to produce for the client a detailed set of specifications. The programming staff could then use these specifications to develop the required interface. Furthermore, by writing queries to test the data extraction, TMNG Global provided the client with an overview of critical issues that could be resolved with the customer prior to expending the client’s programmers’ efforts in developing the interfaces.