1. Session Name/Lecture Name
November 2003
Session Name/Lecture Name
Production Readiness Reviews of Information Systems in Bezeq Noga Yinon
Information Technology Division, BEZEQ
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November
IEEE Software International Conference

2. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Bezeq – an Overview
Major provider of telecommunications
Offers a wide range of advanced communication services
Turnover in billion NIS
for Bezeq, 8.2 for entire Bezeq group
8500 employees
Customers
- Business, Residential, Licensed Operators
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

3. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Quality in Bezeq
The Bezeq’s Service Level Agreement
ISO 9002 Accreditation
- Or Customer Service Centers 144, 166, 199…
- Or In-House Services
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

4. IT Division (Hatal, חט"ל )
Headed by the Bezeq’s CIO
Provides IT-based solutions
Enabling company to fulfill its targets by:
Supporting products’ lyfecycle
Optimizing resource management
Improving customer service
Producing decision support information
In-house customers and Bezeq’s customers
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

5. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Hatal - Figures
400 employees - SW experts
6500 end-users
320 sites
35 million CDR’s per day
2.75 million online transactions per day
10,000 batch processes per day
2 million bills/letters per month
Budget…
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

6. Telecom Suppliers Mgmt
IT Projects
BILLING/Ensemble
ERP/SAP
144
Data Warehouse
Data Mining
NSM/Tivoli
CRM/Vantive
GIS/Mirsham
Telecom Suppliers Mgmt
BezeqBill
CTI
Office Mgmt
Bezeq’s Website
Infranet
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

7. Software Quality Management
Methodologies & QA managed by a corporate body in chief architect’s office
Expert quality engineers + consultants
Commitment is signed-off by CIO and published in a few media
Quality management reviews by CIO
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

8. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
QM Infrastructure
A set of procedures & tools
A Virtual PM Book
Testing management
ISO 9000 for operational service units
Measures for quality management
Knowledge management by QA Forums, Newsletters & Portal
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

9. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
QM for an IT project
Quality Manager for each major project
Pre-contract comprehensive support
Project Initialization Phase
Development & Quality Plan
Risk Management
Suppliers’ Control
Reviews & Approvals
Testing & Readiness
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

10. PRR Standard The Procedure The Checklist The Participants
Lessons Learned
PRR = Production Readiness Review
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

11. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
PRR Committee Roles
Review the production readiness of new information systems and major releases
Discuss status, issues & responsibility with all project stakeholders
Track action items to closure
Risk mitigation for roll-out phase
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

12. PRR Committee Initiation
PM is updating status according to a checklist, with a support of QM
PM sets up a review meeting with all participants
Timing – on AT phase
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

13. PRR Committee Agenda & Output
PM/QM reviews with participants all items of Checklist
Each participant is reporting status for his responsibility
For any open issue - define action item, owner & schedule
Record decisions on checklist
Set deadline for roll-out
Distribute checklist & decisions of committee
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

14. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
PRR Committee Members
PM’s – IT and Customer
IT Department Manager
Technology Department Rep.
DBA
Information Security Manager
Operations Rep.
Helpdesk Manager
Quality Managers – IT, Department & Project
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

15. PR Checklist Sections (the Stakeholders)
Vendors
Customers
Technology & Infrastructure
Information Security
Operations
Help-Desk
Project Team
Quality Assurance
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

16. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Checklist subsets (1)
Vendor
Closing defects
Deliver user documentation
Knowledge transfer to Bezeq’s staff
Customer
Identify end-users, equipment, & permission levels
Finalize users’ AT
User training
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

17. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Checklist subsets (2)
Technologies & Infrastructure
Databases
Connectivity
Distribution of application
Job scheduling
Audit & control
Backup & recovery
Testing of the above…
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

18. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Checklist subsets (3)
Information Security
Connect to security system of Unix, Oracle & MF
Connect to SSO
Approval of Bezeq’s data security unit
Operations
Skeleton & Control-M definitions
Operations book for Unix, MF, CTRL-M, Operations
Train operations staff
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

19. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Checklist subsets (4)
Help-Desk
HD Availability definitions
Flowchart of problem handling
User sites
Servers’ procedures
Contact list
Train of supporting staff
SW installation method
SW Install for end-users in prod.
Configuration test in user’s environment
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

20. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Checklist subsets (5)
Project Team – to finalize
Roll-out & maintenance book
Maintenance arrangements w/purchasing unit
Data definition, reference tables
Data conversion, initialization
Interfacing systems procedures
Acceptance testing
Train of IT staff
Accept deliveries by contracts
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

21. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Checklist subsets (6)
Quality Assurance
Risk management for rollout phase
Testing plans for prod. environment
CM procedures
Defects status review
Approve contractual deliverables
Guide & monitor the PRR process & readiness activities by standard
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

22. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Measuring PRR Results
Eliminate failures & crisis – subjective, performed
Help-desk service measures – performed
Defects rate in prod – planned
Customer satisfaction of rollout phase – planned
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

23. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Lessons Learned
PRR is an essential process !
Commitment & participation of department managers is required
Updated checklist should be ed to participants before and after meeting
Recurring meetings should be held if readiness status is unstable
Quality manager’s support for PM is required
Smooth rollout is enhanced by PRR !!!
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November

24. Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
Thank You
Production Readiness Reviews of IT Systems in Bezeq
2003 November