SUPPORT

GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Support Guide
Support SLA, Policies and Procedures
Version 1.6.2

SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES



Thank you for using Bonitasoft products and support.
Technical support is an important part of the total Bonitasoft customer experience. We are
dedicated to ensure that every issue is resolved to your satisfaction. To enable you to maximize the
return on your investment, we offer a suite of support offerings designed to meet your business
needs.
This guide provides information about our support programs SLAs, policies and procedures

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Support Service Level Agreements ............................................................................................................................... 4

1.1. Support Level .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
1.1.1. Bonitasoft Gold Support ............................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.2. Bonitasoft Platinum Support ..................................................................................................................... 4
1.2. Severity .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2.1. Severity 1: Critical service impact in production environment .................................................. 5
1.2.2. Severity 2: Significant service impact in production or development environment ........ 5
1.2.3. Severity 3: Moderate or no service impact in production or development environment
5
1.3. Service Level Agreements ...................................................................................................................................... 6
1.4. Response time ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
1.5. Time zones and support availability ................................................................................................................. 6
1.5.1. Time zones ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
1.5.2. Support availability ........................................................................................................................................ 7
1.5.3. Support hours ................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.5.4. Supported Time zones List ......................................................................................................................... 8
2. Support Policies .................................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1. Support Coverage Scope ......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1.1. Out of scope topics ......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1.2. Process Templates ......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1.3. Community ..................................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1.4. Issue Management ....................................................................................................................................... 10
2.2. Supported Environments .................................................................................................................................... 10
2.2.1. Glossary ............................................................................................................................................................ 10
2.2.2. FAQ ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11
2.2.3. Supported Environment Matrix for version 5.X ............................................................................. 12
2.2.4. Supported Environment Matrix for version 6.X ............................................................................. 13
2.3. Hardware Prerequisites ...................................................................................................................................... 15
2.4. End of life policies .................................................................................................................................................. 16
2.5. Patch (Hot-Fix) Policies ....................................................................................................................................... 16
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

2.6. Bonitasoft Support Team .................................................................................................................................... 17
2.6.1. Bonitasoft Support Engineers ................................................................................................................ 17
2.6.2. Bonitasoft Developers ............................................................................................................................... 17
2.6.3. Sales Representative .................................................................................................................................. 17
3. Support Procedures ......................................................................................................................................................... 17
3.1. Request procedure ................................................................................................................................................. 17
3.1.1. Contact Bonitasoft Support ..................................................................................................................... 17
3.1.2. Contact authentication .............................................................................................................................. 18
3.1.3. Useful details ................................................................................................................................................. 18
3.2. Request life cycle .................................................................................................................................................... 18
3.2.1. Case state diagram ...................................................................................................................................... 18
3.3. Request Process ...................................................................................................................................................... 19
3.3.1. Bonitasoft Case process ............................................................................................................................ 19
3.3.2. Case state transition and action ............................................................................................................ 20
3.3.3. Issue Management ....................................................................................................................................... 21
3.4. Best Practices ........................................................................................................................................................... 21
3.4.1. Educate your administrators .................................................................................................................. 21
3.4.2. Plan ahead ....................................................................................................................................................... 21
3.4.3. Assign appropriate resources ................................................................................................................ 22
3.4.4. Use Bonitasoft resources .......................................................................................................................... 22

SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

1. Support Service Level Agreements

1.1. Support Level

With multiple levels of support to choose from, Bonitasoft Support meets a wide variety of needs.
Tell us about your project so we can help you find the right match.
Bonitasoft Support provides the necessary level of expertise to identify and solve technical issues.
Experienced Bonitasoft Support Engineers will work with you to understand your issues.

1.1.1. Bonitasoft Gold Support

Bonitasoft Gold Support includes:
Web Support through a dedicated Customer Portal
Business hours for first response and ongoing related responses
Guaranteed response times
Unlimited cases, to be opened as needed
Production and development support
2 contacts with direct access to Bonitasoft Customer portal
Unlimited access to the entire Support Knowledge Base
Access to the Bonitasoft Tracker

1.1.2. Bonitasoft Platinum Support

Bonitasoft Platinum Support is a comprehensive package designed to meet the needs of large
enterprise customers especially those with mission-critical applications based on Bonitasoft
solutions. The Platinum program includes all features provided in Gold Support, plus the additions
in bold :
Web Support through Customer Portal
Phone Support (Phone support should be limited to Production requests)
Business hours and 24x7 for first response and ongoing related responses
Guaranteed response times
Unlimited Cases, to be opened as needed
Production and development support
5 contacts with direct access to Bonitasoft Customer portal
Unlimited access to the entire Support Knowledge Base
Access to the Bonitasoft Tracker

1.2. Severity
The severity level is a measure of the relative impact of the technical issue on your systems or
business. Accurately defining the severity ensures a timely response and helps Bonitasoft to
understand the nature of your issue. Severity is set by the customer at Case creation.
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Bonitasoft reserves the right to change Severity in accordance with the subsequent definitions
after a detailed qualification of the Case.

1.2.1. Severity 1: Critical service impact in production environment

This issue critically affects the primary business service, major application, or mission critical system
in production:
You risk (or have had) a substantial loss of service.
Your business operations risk being (or have been) severely disrupted.
Production system data are corrupted or you experience a significant risk of data loss.
A significant number of users risk being or are affected.

1.2.2. Severity 2: Significant service impact in production or development

environment
Some functionality is severely impaired in production or development environment:
Some important features are affected causing minor business impact.
Use of software is seriously hampered but operations can continue in a restricted manner.
Some users are affected.

1.2.3. Severity 3: Moderate or no service impact in production or

development environment
Partial, non-critical loss of functionalities in production or development environment:
A non-critical software component is malfunctioning, causing minimal business impact.
Impaired operations of some components, but allows the users to continue using the
software.
A small number of users are affected.

SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

1.3. Service Level Agreements

Gold Platinum
Hours of coverage Business hours Business hours and 24x7 for first
response and ongoing production
related responses
Support channel Web Web and Phone
Number of cases Unlimited Unlimited
Support contacts 2 5
Online resources Unlimited access to entire Unlimited access to entire
knowledge base knowledge base
Response times* Initial response Ongoing Initial response Ongoing
response response
Severity 1 3 business 6 business 2 hours 4 hours
hours hours
Severity 2 6 business 1 business 4 hours 5 business
hours day hours
Severity 3 1 business 3 business 5 business 2 business
day days hours days
SLAs are associated with a time zone (see time zone section)

1.4. Response time

The response time is calculated in terms of when Bonitasoft Support answers the last Customer
comment, whatever the Case state (except Closed, see Support Procedure for more info).
An answer from Bonitasoft Support can be provided through the Web or via a phone call. If the
phone is used, a comment summarizing the call is added to the Case by Bonitasoft.

1.5. Time zones and support availability

1.5.1. Time zones

A subscription for Bonitasoft Support specifies a time zone. The SLA applied to your Cases then
follows that time zone.
This time zone is defined during contract signoff. To change a time zone after contract signature,
please contact your Sales Account Manager.
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Current time zones supported by Bonitasoft range from Pacific Standard/Daylight Savings Time
(UTC-7 during DST) to Central European Standard/Daylight Savings Time (UTC+2 during DST). Any
time zone within this range can be chosen.
A complete map is available at the end of this document.

1.5.2. Support availability

Bonitasoft Support is provided by two Support Centers, one located in North America and the other
in Western Europe. Depending on the location, the Support Center may be closed on specific
official holidays. During these holidays, SLA response time is not guaranteed for business hours and
business days.
Bonitasoft Support is not available the following dates due to closure of all Support Centers (24/7
SLAs are not ensured on these days):
New Years Day : 1 January
Christmas Day : 25 December

Moreover, during the following days the response time may be slightly disrupted due to closure of
some Support Centers (these Holidays do not impact 24/7 SLAs):
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: 3rd Monday in January
Presidents Day : 2nd Monday in February
Easter Monday (date depends on year)
Labour Day : 1st of May
VE Day 1945: 8th of May
Ascension: (date depends on year)
Whit Monday (date depends on year)
Memorial Day (last Monday of May)
Independence Day : 4th of July
Bastille Day: 14th of July
Assumption Day: 15th of August
Labor Day: 1st Monday in September
Columbus Day: 2nd Monday in October
All Saints Day : 1st of November
Armistice 1918 / Veterans Day: 11th of November
Thanksgiving : 4th Thursday of November

1.5.3. Support hours

Bonitasoft ensures two kinds of support hours: Business hours and 24/7 hours (see SLA table).
Business hours are determined according to the support time zone associated with the
subscription. It covers hours from 9 am to 5 pm (09:00-17:00) from Monday to Friday.
24/7 hours are independent of time zone.
SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

For example, a request of Severity 1 within a Gold Subscription opened at 4pm Pacific Daylight Time
(PDT) on a Thursday will be answered before 11am the following Friday morning. This calculation
simply determines the response deadline; Bonitasoft Support will of course do its best to answer
promptly.

1.5.4. Supported Time zones List

Here is the list of supported Time Zones with reference to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); the
city of reference is used to compute the response time of SLAs.
Customers operating in other time zones may choose one of the supported time zone below as a
reference.
Time zone Time zone Main cities currently covered
Reference city Name
UTC+2 Paris Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris,
Europe/Paris Brussels, Berlin, Rome,
Stockholm, Amsterdam, Bern,
UTC+1 London Dublin, Lisbon, London,
Europe/London
UTC Reykjavik Reykjavik
Reykjavik
UTC-1 Praia Praia (Cape Verde)
Atlantic/Cape Verde
UTC-2 South Georgia King Edwards Point, Sandwich
Atlantic/South Georgia Islands

UTC-3 Buenos Aires Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Cayenne,

America/Buenos Aires

UTC-4 New York New York, Montreal, Detroit,

America/New York Santiago,

UTC-5 Mexico Mexico, Houston, Chicago,

America/Mexico City
UTC-6 Denver Denver, Calgary,
America/Denver
UTC-7 San Francisco San Francisco,Seattle, Vancouver,
America/LosAngeles Los Angeles,

 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

2. Support Policies

2.1. Support Coverage Scope

Bonitasoft Support is provided to answer product-related questions through Incident Requests.
An Incident Request is a reproducible Bonitasoft Product or Tooling issue (Customer Portal,
Documentation1). (An Incident Request is also known as an It doesnt work! request.) It can be of
any Severity level.
When your Incident Request is logged, Bonitasoft Support attempts to reproduce the reported
incident. Wherever possible, we propose a workaround.
Bonitasoft Support may also consult with our engineers to determine if a reported Incident Request
results from unintended use of product functionality, then determine the appropriate solution and
provide it to you.
Bonitasoft Support scope does not include Service Requests. (A Service Request is also known as a
how do I do it? request).

2.1.1. Out of scope topics

Some topics have been specifically excluded from the Bonitasoft Support scope:
Performance improvement;
Architecture;
Clustering before Bonita BPM 6.1
SSO before Bonita BPM 6.3
To offer help with requests that we dont support, You can find some elements of answer on the
Knowledge Base where you will find hints and ideas to solve the issues you are facing on these
topics.
Should that not be enough, we recommend you contact your Bonitasoft Sales Account Manager to
arrange for specific Expertise from our Services team.
Bonitasoft reserves the right to change the list of Out-of-Scope topics at any time.

2.1.2. Process Templates

Bonitasoft provides Process Templates through the Customer Portal. Process Templates are not
supported by Bonitasoft Support. The templates are provided "as is". If a Process Template
customization or usage (connection to a database, adaptation of connectors, etc) is required,
contact your Sales Account Manager to put a Service project in place.

1
Documentation issue of Severity Level 3 only
SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

2.1.3. Community
Bonitasoft does not support Community contributions, Community translations or Community
tutorials. Bonitasoft does not support comments, advice, or technical discussions posted on the
Community Forum (included the posts written by Bonitasoft employees).

2.1.4. Issue Management

When a case is logged, Bonitasoft Support will attempt to reproduce the reported issue and
investigate possible workarounds for reported issue or product limitations.
Any incident qualified by the support as an official issue will be logged as an issue on the internal
Bonitasoft Tracker. You can use the logged Case as the official point of contact to find the latest
information about the issue.
Issues reported via the Bonitasoft Support channel will be addressed based on specific
prioritization. The Bonitasoft Support team will do everything possible to fix an issue as quickly as
possible.

2.2. Supported Environments

2.2.1. Glossary

Release Versioning
A Bonitasoft official release is versioned using 3 digits: X.Y.Z.
The first digit (X.y.z) defines a Major release that contains new features, fixes, support for new
platforms (some older platforms may be discontinued).
The second digit (X.Y.z) defines a Minor release that contains a limited number of new features,
fixes, support for new platforms (some older platforms may be discontinued).
The third digit (X.Y.Z) defines a Maintenance release that contains essentially fixes, support for new
platforms (some older platforms may be discontinued) and on rare occasions minor feature
changes.

Component
A component is software which a Bonitasoft product needs. Necessary components are:
Operating System;
Java Virtual Machine;
Application Server;
Database;
Web browser.
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Stack
A stack is a combination of components chosen from the Supported Components Matrix.

Supported Components Matrix

The Supported Components Matrix lists all components Bonitasoft works with. All components in
this matrix have been through the complete Bonitasoft Quality Assurance activities (although not
all possible combinations have been tested). For some components, the relevant scope can be
updated via comments at the end of the line.

Recommended stack
A recommended stack is a stack our Quality Assurance team has completed integrated testing on.

Server environment
The server environment is a combination of components aiming to make both Bonitasoft Web (User
XP, generated applications) and Engine running. An Operating System, a Java Virtual Machine, an
Application Server, a Database and a Browser mostly compose it.

Bonita Studio environment

The Bonita Studio environment is a combination of components on which Bonitasoft Studio (with its
embedded Application Server and Database) will run:
Operating System;
Java Virtual Machine; and
Web browser.

2.2.2. FAQ

How do I know if my environment is supported?

An environment is supported if it is composed of a combination of supported components.

I am using a component not in the Supported Components Matrix, or a version of a component

that is different from the one in the Supported Components Matrix. I have tested it and it
works. Am I supported?
Yes, if the reported issue can be reproduced on a supported stack. Bonitasoft Support cannot give
advice or help on components that are not in the Supported Components Matrix (installation,
deployment, usage, configuration, etc). In that case, regular Service Level Agreements are used.
Alternatively, Bonitasoft Support will recommend that you migrate to a supported component.

Are the Supported Environments the same for both Server and Bonita Studio environments?
No, those environments are obviously different. A separate matrix is provided for each of them.
SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

2.2.3. Supported Environment Matrix for version 5.X

Supported Environment Matrix for Server for version 5.X

BOS version
5.6.x 5.7.x 5.8.0 5.9.x 5.10.x
Operating System
Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bits
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1 64bits
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64 bits
Java Virtual Machine
Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 6 u30
OpenJDK 6-b24
Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 7 u3
Application Server
Tomcat 6.0.35
JBoss 4.2.2 GA
JBoss 5.1.0 GA
Sun Glassfish 3.1.2.2
Oracle Weblogic server 11gR1 (10.3.6)
Database*
MySQL 5.1.52 **
PostGreSQL 9.0.4
MS SQL Server 2008 R2
Oracle 10g (10.2.0.x)
Oracle 11g (11.1.0.x)
Browser
Internet Explorer 7.x and newer
Firefox 3.6.x and newer
Chrome 16.x and newer

5.6.x, 5.7.x, 5.8.x, 5.9.x, 5.10.x Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64 bits,
Recommended stack : Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 6 u30,
Tomcat 6.0.35, PostGreSQL 9.0.4,
Firefox 3.6.x and newer

* Supported database drivers:
MySQL 5.1.52 : mysql-connector-java-5.1.13-bin.jar
PostGreSQL 9.0.4 : postgresql-9.0-802.jdbc3.jar
MS SQL Server 2008 R2 : net.sourceforge.jtds.jdbc.Driver jtds-1.2.5.jar
Oracle 10g (10.2.0.x) : oracle.jdbc.OracleDriver ojdbc14.jar
Oracle 11g (11.1.0.x) : oracle.jdbc.OracleDriver ojdbc6.jar
** MySQL must be configured with innoDB storage engine.

 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Supported Environment Matrix for Bonita Studio version 5.X

BOS version
5.6.x 5.7.x 5.8.0 5.9.x 5.10.x

Operating System

Windows 7


Windows Vista


Mac OS 10.6.8
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Java Virtual Machine

Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 6 u30
OpenJDK 6-b24


Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 7 u3
Browser

Same as server matrix

2.2.4. Supported Environment Matrix for version 6.X

Supported Environment Matrix for Server for version 6.X

BonitaBPM version
6.0.0-2 6.0.3-4 6.1-3.x 6.4.x
Operating System
Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bits
Windows Server 2012 R2 64 bits
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3 64 bits
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 64 bits
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS 64 bits
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64 bits
Java Virtual Machine
Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 6 u30
OpenJDK 6-b24

Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 7 u3
Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment 7 u67
OpenJDK 7u40-b40
OpenJDK 7u65
Application Server
Tomcat 6.0.35

Tomcat 6.0.37
SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Tomcat 7.0.42
Tomcat 7.0.55
JBoss 5.1.0 GA
JBoss AS 7.1.1
Sun Glassfish 3.1.2.2
IBM Websphere server 8.0
Oracle Weblogic server 11gR1 (10.3.6)
Oracle Weblogic server 12c (12.1.*)
Database*
MySQL 5.1.5 See important notes (1) & (2)
MySQL 5.5.27 See important notes (1) & (2)
PostgreSQL 9.0.4
PostgreSQL 9.1
PostgreSQL 9.3
SQL Server 2008 R2 - See important note (3)
SQL Server 2012 R2 - See important note (3)
Oracle 10g (10.2.0.x)
Oracle 11g (11.1.0.x)
Oracle 11gR2 (11.2.0.x)
Browser
Internet Explorer 8.x and newer
Internet Explorer 9.x and newer
Firefox (2 last versions)
Chrome (2 last versions)

Recommended stack Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64 bits
Oracle Java SE RE 7 u67
Tomcat 7.0.55
PostgreSQL 9.3
Firefox


* Supported database drivers:
- Oracle all versions : ojdbc6.jar
- MySQL all versions : mysql-connector-java-5.1.26-bin.jar
- PostgreSQL all versions : postgresql-9.3-1102.jdbc41.jar
- SQL Server all versions : sqljdbc4.jar

* Important Notes:
o (1) MySQL must be configured with innoDB storage engine.
o (2) Warning: there are known issues with the management of XA transactions by
MySQL engine and driver: see MySQL bugs 17343 and 12161 for more details. Thus,
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

using MySQL database in a production environment does not work and is not
supported. You must use another database like PostgreSQL in production environment.
o (3) Warning: there is a known issue between Bitronix (the transaction Manager
shipped by Bonitasoft for the Tomcat bundle & inside Deploy.zip for Tomcat) and
Microsoft SQL Server driver: MSDN note, Bitronix note. Thus, using Bitronix as a
Transaction Manager with SQL Server DB does not work and is not supported. Using
SQL Server as Database engine requires using the JBoss bundle provided by Bonitasoft.

Supported Environment Matrix for Bonita Studio version 6.X

BonitaBPM version
6.0.0-2 6.0-3.x 6.4.x

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 8 & 8.1
Microsoft Windows 7

Microsoft Windows Vista

Apple MacOS 10.10.1 (Yosemite)
Apple MacOS 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard)

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Java Virtual Machine

Same as Server matrix

Browser

Same as Server matrix

2.3. Hardware Prerequisites

This section describes the minimum and recommended system requirements to operate Bonita
BPM. Any configuration that exceeds these minimum requirements will result in better
performance.

Bonitasoft BPM Hardware Prerequisites

BOS environment BonitaBPM environment
5.Y.Z Studio 5.Y.Z Server 6.Y.Z Studio 6.Y.Z Server

Processors
* *
Minimum 2 Cores+ 4 Cores 2 Cores+ 4 Cores
* *
Recommended 2 Cores 4 Cores+ 2 Cores 4 Cores+
Memory
* *
Minimum 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB
* *
Recommended 6 GB 6 GB+ 6 GB 6 GB+
Hard Drive
* *
Minimum 10 GB 10 GB 10 GB 10 GB
* *
Recommended 10 GB 30 GB+ 10 GB 30 GB+

SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

* The hardware recommended for Server is strongly dependent on the specificity of your
environment and of your processes (process complexity, number of instances, data volumes ).

2.4. End of life policies

The Bonitasoft Support lifecycle policy specifies the length of time support will be available for
Bonitasoft software from when the product is available for purchase to the time the product is no
longer supported.
A release version that has reached its End of Life means we no longer provide Support Request
answers, maintenance, or patches regardless of the issue, and regardless of the Support and
Maintenance Services offering purchased.
The end of life policy is dependent on the Bonita BPM version.

2.4.1. End of Life policies until version 6.2

A minor release version (X.Y.z) officially reaches it End of Life 18 months after the delivery date of
the first minor version (X.Y.0) (See Release Version section for more information on versioning).
For instance, Release 5.9.0 was released 20 November 2012. This means that all releases 5.9.x
(whatever the x) will reach their end of life on 19 May 2014.

2.4.2. End of Life policies from version 6.3

A minor release version (X.Y.z) officially reaches it End of Life 24 months after the delivery date of
the first minor version (X.Y.0). (See Release Version section for more information on versioning).
For instance, Release 6.3.0 was released 14 May 2014. This means that all releases 6.3.x (whatever
the x) will reach their end of life on 13 May 2016.

If you have any questions on the lifecycle policy, please contact your Sales Account Manager.

2.5. Patch (Hot-Fix) Policies

Bonitasoft delivers defect resolutions through official product version releases. If necessary, based
on issue severity and priority, Bonitasoft might provide a patch (hot-fix) to a customer.
If an issue is identified in a product, Bonitasoft Support will log the issue on the Bonitasoft Tracker
and work with the engineering team to resolve it in an upcoming release. Scheduling of the issue
resolution will be based on severity and priority. A patch may be created at the discretion of
Bonitasoft to address customer-escalated issues if a workaround is not available.
Patches will address issues in the most current product release or at Bonitasoft discretion. Patches
will not be delivered for versions in End of Life status.
A patch is supported until the delivery of the next official release, including the issue fix.
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Once a patch is delivered, the customer is committed to migrate to the next official release that
includes the issue fix. After the release that includes the fix, Bonitasoft reserves the right to
suspend support of the patched release.

2.6. Bonitasoft Support Team

Bonitasoft understands that you are the experts on your environment and solution, and that when
you contact us, you need to be connected to one of our experts. To support you appropriately,
every Bonitasoft Support Engineer is certified in Bonita BPM and its supporting technologies. They
will work with you to understand the issue and the impact it is having on your business. Here is a
Who's Who of the Bonitasoft team.

2.6.1. Bonitasoft Support Engineers

The Bonitasoft Support Engineers will receive your requests and log them. They will investigate
them by reproducing your issue and will manage them to resolution. Support Engineers are
dedicated to customer satisfaction and do their best to help you resolve issues.

2.6.2. Bonitasoft Developers

The Bonitasoft Developers work with the Bonitasoft Support Engineers directly on the most
complex issues. They are responsible for fixing issues identified through Support Requests.

2.6.3. Sales Representative

Your Sales Account Manager is always available to answer questions about your support status and
to ensure you have the correct level of support.

3. Support Procedures

3.1. Request procedure

If you have a need for support on a Bonitasoft Product, here is how to contact Bonitasoft Support.
(Note that a Support Request is called a Case.)

3.1.1. Contact Bonitasoft Support

When you signed the Bonitasoft Subscription, we asked you for the names and contact information
for two technical contacts who will log all your Bonitasoft support Cases. (Note that a Platinum
level subscription can provide 5 technical contacts.)
Depending on your Support level, you can
SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

- Contact Bonitasoft Support through the Web using the Bonitasoft Customer Portal. It will
automatically log a Case into our Support system.
- Contact Support by phone (Platinum subscriptions only) 24/7 or within standard business
hours depending on the severity of your request. Well log the Case in our system with you.

3.1.2. Contact authentication

While connecting through the Web portal you are automatically authenticated (your login
information is provided at Subscription signature.)
When contacting us by phone, please provide the following information to be authenticated and
authorized to initiate discussion with a Support Engineer:
- Your Account Name
- Your Subscription core number and edition
- Your name
- Your phone number
- Your email
- Your Mailing Address

3.1.3. Useful details

Please help us to help you by including the following details whenever you log a Case or phone us:
Version of Bonita BPM , operating system, web application server, database, and browser
version (see Support Policies for supported versions and stacks)
What the issue is with as much detail as possible about the circumstances in which it
happens
When it started
Any changes made around this time
Impact the issue is having; please refer to Severity definitions
Troubleshooting carried out to date
Any supporting evidence, such as log files or on-screen messages
The availability of diagnostic information, such as system log files, traces, and data dumps, will
often help our support engineers pinpoint the cause of an error. Please provide as much of this
information as possible.

3.2. Request life cycle

3.2.1. Case state diagram
A Case moves through various states as it is handled.
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Logged: The Case is created (by the customer or a support engineer) and is waiting to be
qualified by BonitasSoft Support. The SLA first answer response time starts at this point.
Qualified: The Case is qualified and is waiting for an investigation. No answer is being
worked on yet. Severity may have been changed during the qualification.
In Progress: The Case is under investigation by a Support Engineer and Bonitasoft Support
will add comments at this stage.
Suspended: The issue has investigated and Support asks more information from the
customer. This Case will be closed if the customer doesnt respond within two weeks.
Workaround provided: A workaround has been provided to the customer, who has the
choice to close the Case (ie, accept the workaround) or invalidate the workaround.
Resolved: The Case is set as resolved by the Support and is waiting to be closed or
invalidated by the customer. The Case will be closed if the customer doesnt respond within
one week.
Closed: The case is closed. No values can be changed. A closed Case cannot be reopened.
A Case is defined as active when it is Logged, Qualified, or In Progress.

3.3. Request Process

3.3.1. Bonitasoft Case process

Bonitasoft manages a formal ticket process to ensure the prompt resolution of Cases. We
transparently share our Support Process with you to ensure efficient Case management for active
Cases.
SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

3.3.2. Case state transition and action

Bonitasoft Support or Customer action will modify the state of the Case.

Bonitasoft Support actions

Bonitasoft Support can add a comment to the Case and/or change the Case state following the case
lifecycle.
Bonitasoft Support manages Cases by priority order. Priority is defined by the deadline for the SLA
response time. Active cases are managed following the process in the figure above:
- Logged: Bonitasoft Support will qualify the Case. This means understanding the context,
setting the Request Type (Service or Incident), and validating or changing the Severity.
When the case is qualified it can be manage by a Support Engineer.
- Qualified: A Support Engineer takes the case (the Case is automatically moved to In
Progress) and investigates it. If a quick answer is found in our internal knowledge base, the
answer is given immediately. If necessary, a more detailed investigation follows.
- In Progress : Bonitasoft Support investigates the Case to find a resolution. At this stage,
Bonitasoft Support can:
o Identify an issue and log it to the Tracker. A workaround is proposed when
available (and the Case moves to Workaround Proposed). If there is no
workaround, the Case stays In Progress.
o Propose a resolution. Case is moved to Resolved.
o Ask for more information to help the investigation. Case is moved to Suspended.
o Close the Case. This is only used in the rare instance when a Case cannot be solved.
At any time Bonitasoft Support can qualify the Case with new relevant information. This
qualification may change the severity and request type.
 SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Customer actions
There are two possible actions on a Case at any time in the lifecycle: Add a Comment or Close the
Case.
Add a comment on state Logged, Qualified, In Progress does not have any impact on the Case
state. It will stay in its current state and Bonitasoft Support will manage it as usual, taking the new
comment into consideration.
Bonitasoft Support is waiting for you to answer when the Case is in:
- Suspended: Bonitasoft Support is waiting for you to give more information to help on Case
investigation. Adding a comment here will change the state to In Progress.
- Workaround Proposed: Bonitasoft Support has provided a workaround to your Case. You
can either :
o Close the Case : this means you accept the workaround
o Add a Comment to the Case to ask for more details or to reject the workaround.
- Resolved : Bonitasoft Support gives an answer to your Case with enough information to
consider it as resolved. You can either :
o Close the Case : this means you accept the resolution
o Add a Comment to the Case to ask for more details or reject the resolution.
You can close the Case at any time if you consider it no longer relevant to you.

3.3.3. Issue Management

See Support Policies.

3.4. Best Practices

3.4.1. Educate your administrators

We have found that customers who invest in Bonitasoft training for their process designers are
much more effective in defining the symptoms of technical problems and working with us to
resolve the underlying issues. The return on this investment is almost immediate when you
consider the cost of the training versus the cost of downtime.
Training sessions are delivered at your site or at Bonitasoft facilities. Open training sessions are also
available in different locations worldwide. See the Services section on www.bonitasoft.com

3.4.2. Plan ahead

Before deploying our products, it is beneficial to review Bonitasoft related technical documentation
for your environment, focusing on the installation, configuration and running of guest operating
systems. We also recommend that you carefully define your project plans and include adequate
SUPPORT GUIDE : SUPPORT SLA, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

test time and an escalation plan to ensure your administrators know how to contact all vendors
involved included Bonitasoft.
Start your BPM implementation right with a dedicated Bonitasoft Mentor who will guide you
through the different phases of your project, from scope definition to deployment. Our Mentors
are also available to step in at any junction of your Bonita BPM implementation and assist with any
services needed.

3.4.3. Assign appropriate resources

Persons assigned to deploy Bonitasoft products should be experienced in the installation,
operation, and maintenance of the hardware, desktop, server, network operating systems, storage,
and applications in your environment before installing Bonitasoft software.
Many installation issues are actually issues with third party components and software. If you
require assistance, Bonitasoft Services are available to identify the best solution for your
environment, develop the solution and implement it right the first time. (See the service Section on
www. bonitasoft.com)

3.4.4. Use Bonitasoft resources

Bonitasoft provides a variety of self-service tools to help you with common questions:
Bonitasoft Community Forum (http://www.bonitasoft.org/forum/)
Online Documentation (http://www.bonitasoft.com/resources/documentation/index.php)
Tracker (http://www.bonitasoft.org/tracker)
Contributions (http://www.bonitasoft.org/exchange)




HEADQUARTERS
GRENOBLE, FRANCE
32, rue Gustave Eiffel
38000 Grenoble

EMEA, ASIA & LATIN AMERICA

PARIS, FRANCE
73-77, rue de Svres
92100 Boulogne-Billancourt

NORTH AMERICA
SAN FRANCISCO, USA
51 Federal St. Suite 305
San Francisco, CA 94107