Defining the Horizontal Customer

Interface of the DX 200 Platform

Author: Mikko Kariola

Supervisor: Prof. Timo O. Korhonen
Instructor: M.Sc. (Tech.) Heikki Bayr
8.12.2005 Mikko.Kariola@Nokia.com
Contents
 Background
 DX 200 platform & product lines
 Transition to horizontal business model
 Research problem
 Methodology
 Results
 Requirements
 Product and documentation
 Development process
 Interface organization
 Conclusions
Background
 The thesis is done for the DX 200 Platform organization of
Nokia Networks

 The DX 200 Platform serves a number of Nokia’s Product

Lines
 DX 200 Platform consists of HW and SW elements
 The Product Lines produce various fixed, 2G & 3G network
elements: MSC, BSC, …

 One of the Product Lines is sold to an external company

 Transition to Horizontal Business Model
GSM network
MSC network element and
computer units
Vertical business model

Internal Product Lines

PL 1 PL 2 PL 3 PL 4

Same
Vertical Customer Company
Interface

DX 200 Platform organization

Transition to horizontal business
model
External
Internal Product Lines
Product Line

PL 1 PL 2 PL 3 PL 4

Different
Vertical Customer Horizontal Customer
Companies
Interface Interface

Interface Organization

DX 200 Platform organization

Collaboration terms
 Collaboration roles
 Subcontractor
 Prime contractor Customer
 Customer

 DX 200 Platform: Prime contractor -> Prime contractor

Subcontractor
Subcontractor
Research problem
 What are the requirements of the new business model for
the development of the DX 200 platform?

 What kinds of modifications are needed?

 What is needed to change in the DX 200 platform product to

meet the new business requirements?

 How is the development process of the DX 200 platform
changed to meet the new business requirements?
 What kind of organizational interface is built between the
external customer and the DX 200 platform?
Horizontal Customer Interface
elements
 The new horizontal customer
interface contains definitions for:
 the application programming interface Product
(API) of the platform product and the
platform documentation
 the product development process and
the communication over the
organizational interface
 SW deliveries, maintenance,

training, … Process Organization

 the interface organization
Methodology
 Literature study
 Platform & Product lines
 Product/Software development
 Vertical & Horizontal business models
 DX 200 System description

 Interviews
 Development process of DX 200 Platform

 Analysis of the requirements and building of the Horizontal

Customer Interface based on the literature and the interviews
Results – Requirements

 Benefits of using the platform shall be maintained

 Confidentiality shall be preserved

Results – Requirements
 Maintaining the benefits of using the platform contains the
requirements of both of the parties in the horizontal
business model:
 the framework that the external product line needs for developing its
application, and
 the feedback that the platform organization needs from the product
line for the development of the platform.
 The confidentiality requirements reflect to:
 the product and its documentation,
 the ways of communication, and
 the structure of the organization
Results – Product and
documentation
 DX 200 System is modular of nature
 Basically suitable for horizontal business

 IPR (Intelligent Property Rights) belong to the supplier – DX

200 Platform

 Product development environment has to be provided for the

customer
 Tools: SCM, code editors, debuggers, compilers, test automation, …
 Licenses for tools may have to be acquired
Results – Product and
documentation
 Platform documentation Visibility
 Before: Scattered to many
places, confidential material Platform Application
material material
not separated, visible to all
 Goal: All material classified

 Common material to a

”Common disk”

 Platform deliveries Base

Platform Internal
 Before: Source code material visibility
External
accessible to customer customer
visibility
 Goal: Binary deliveries
“Common Application
disk” material
 Changes in SCM process
Results – Development process
 Ordering of new features for the platform
 More emphasis required on preliminary work: better analyzed requirements
 Product decisions
 External customer does not have access to product decision making
 Implementation & testing
 No feedback from the customer on detailed (confidential) design
 System (& functional) level testing done in customer organization
 Fault management
 Fault reporting tool & visibility to reports
 Training
 Both internal & customer training required
Results – Development process
 Services
 Fixed services (fixed pricing)
 New platform releases

 Fault management

 SW engineering environment

 One-off services (occasional projects)

 On-site technical support

 Training

 New SW feature orders

 New HW components
Results - Communication
 Communication practices need to be controlled
 All communication between the external customer and DX 200
Platform is directed through an interface organization
 NDA
 Communication boards

 Changes at an individual level

 Mindset of a customer servant
 Learn what is confidential & not to be revealed to external customer
 All work to be agreed before starting e.g. a design task
 Requirements and schedule & effort estimation play an important

role
Communication boards
Customer Platform
Organization Organization
External Customer Management
Management
Management Board

External Platform Product

Customer R&D Follow-up Management

Roadmaps SW engineers

Fault
Maintenance
Follow-up
Results – Interface Organization
 All DX 200 Platform development functions have to
managed in the interface
 Interface roles
 Product manager: Collecting of requirements, product decisions
 Integration project manager: Integration of new release to
external customer use
 Maintenance manager: Fault follow-up
 Agreement manager: Interpretation of general agreements,
support in contractual issues
 Competence transfer manager: Providing adequate competence
to external customer for the use of platform services
Results – organizational culture
 Organizational culture changes
 Different mindsets for internal & external customers

 Priority setting
 Optimization of resource allocation between internal & external
customers

 A rise in cost-awareness
 The costs become more visible to the platform organization
 Potential for better efficiency
Conclusions
 The case is much simpler than a horizontal customer
without previous experience of the DX 200 Platform

 The transition period enables smooth separation of the

organizations
 Changes in processes are possible, but require approval from both
sides