1. 1 New Attendee Orientation OBF #89

2. 2 Orientation Co-Chair John Pautlitz –ATIS Director - Industry Forums, OBF

3. 3 Agenda Welcome and Introductions Overview OBF Committees Issue Process

4. 4 Introductions Name Company First OBF? Committee You Will Be Attending Have You Used ATIS/OBF Website?

5. 5 Alliance For Telecommunications Industry Solutions - ATIS Sponsor of industry forums / committees - the OBF is one of 22 ATIS committees Addresses exchange access interconnection standards and other technical issues in post-divestiture & competitive (TA96) telecommunications environment Conducts open meetings See the ATIS website for a list of other industry forums sponsored by ATIS: http://www.atis.org

6. 6 ATIS Mission Statement The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) is a U.S.-based organization that is committed to rapidly developing and promoting technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technologies industry worldwide using a pragmatic, flexible and open approach.

7. 7 OBF Background The Ordering and Billing Forum (OBF) was established in February 1985 Based on a need for carriers to discuss operational ordering, provisioning, billing and presubscription access service issues which had national impact Expanded to include Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC) issues in 1995

8. 8 OBF Mission Statement To provide a forum for representatives from the telecommunications industry to identify, discuss and resolve national issues which affect ordering, billing, provisioning, and exchange of information about access service, other connectivity and related matters. –Mission statement has been revised over the years to accommodate industry needs

9. 9 What is OBF About? OBF Participants define: –External exchange of information in a customer/ provider scenario –Data elements, data characteristics, paper formats, business rules, and in some cases, mechanized specifications OBF does not address: –Internal operations of a particular company, whether it be customer or provider –Products: pricing, costs and individual company implementation timelines

10. 10 OBF Participants Telecommunications Services Companies –Customers –Providers Consultants Vendors (e.g., software companies, service bureaus, consultants) Participants of other ATIS-sponsored forums Liaisons from other forums, committees Other individuals with a direct and material interest in the OBF process and activities

11. 11 OBF Meetings Quarterly meetings of entire OBF Interim Full Committee Meetings, as necessary Interim Task Force/Sub-Committee Meetings for a specific purpose Meeting Agendas posted on ATIS/OBF website: http://www.atis.org/obf/meetings.asp

12. 12 OBF Funding Companies To become an OBF Funding Company, you must be an ATIS Funding Company OBF Funding Companies are critical to the success of the OBF –Companies may observe one OBF before funding required –Funding companies share in OBF costs (administrative, management, legal counsel, website, etc.) –Funding scale tiered by company revenues

13. 13 OBF Primary Company Contacts (PCCs) Each Funding Company designates a Primary Company Contact (PCC) who is the single point of contact for your company –Coordinate your company reps across all OBF committees –Manage company availability to OBF documents and policies –Work with OBF Leadership in resolving and correcting participant identified concerns –If you are your company’s only rep, you are the PCC!

14. 14 OBF Leadership Team OBF Co-Chairs Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) Co-Chairs Committee Co-Chairs Task Force and Subcommittee Leaders ATIS Staff –OBF Director –OBF Project Manager –OBF LSOP SME –OBF Team Manager –Committee Administrators –Administrative Assistant

15. 15 Ten OBF Committees Billing Committee: Addresses access billing related issues and maintains the Multiple Exchange Carrier Access Billing (MECAB) document, Small Exchange Carrier Access Billing (SECAB) document and the CABS Auxiliary Report Specifications (CARS) document. EDI Service Order Committee (ESOC): Develops Business Models and ESOC Guidelines for the electronic ordering of telecommunications goods and services via EDI. EDI Telecommunications Billing (ETB) Committee: Develops telecommunications Business Models and Implementation Guidelines standardized for industry use of: 811-Consolidated Service Invoice/Statement; 820-Payment Order/Remittance Advice; and 864-Text Message. Interconnection Service Ordering and Provisioning (ISOP) Committee: Responsible for all business processes and documentation management associated with the Access Service Ordering Guidelines (ASOG).

16. 16 Ten OBF Committees Local Service Ordering and Provisioning (LSOP) Committee: Responsible for all business processes and documentation management associated with services associated with the Local Service Ordering Guidelines (LSOG). Message Processing Committee: Addresses non-access issues relative to message processing and maintains the Exchange Message Interface (EMI) document. Strategic Advisory Group (SAG): Provides a focal point for the development of operational standards for the exchange of ordering, provisioning and billing information between customers and providers. SMS/800 Number Administration Committee (SNAC): Identifies, develops and implements the resolution of issues focused on the support of the 800/Service Management System (SMS/800) and toll free number administration, including Customer to Responsible Organization (Resp ORG) Requirements, Technical and Operational Issues and SMS/800 Help Desk Resp ORG Support Processes. The SNAC maintains the Industry Guidelines for Toll Free Number Administration.

17. 17 Ten OBF Committees Subscription Committee: Provides a forum for customers and providers to develop common definitions and recommendations for resolution of national subscription issues and maintains the Equal Access Subscription, Customer Account Record Exchange (CARE) document. Unified Modeling Approach (UMA) Committee: The purpose of the UMA committee is to coordinate UOM/UMA efforts across project domains via the establishment of frameworks, cross-committee processes and issue resolution. Wireless Committee: is an ATIS sponsored Committee, which provides an open forum for the identification, presentation, discussion, and resolution of issues impacting wireless service providers. These issues include, but are not limited to, the functional wireless areas of provisioning, message processing, exchange of roamer usage, and billing. In addition, the Wireless Committee maintains the Wireless Inter-Carrier Communications Interface Specification for Local Number Portability.

18. 18 How Do I Identify An Industry Problem Or Need To The OBF?

19. 19 OBF Is Driven by Issues Identified by Industry Participants

20. 20 OBF Issue Process Issue Champion –Identification of Issue –Development of Issue Issue Identification Form Committee –Issue Acceptance –Work Issue –Develop Resolution –Closure Process Initial Closure Initial Pending, as required Final Closure

21. 21 Issue Champion Person who identifies, develops and submits the issue to the OBF committee for consideration

22. 22 Issue Champion Responsibilities Socialize the proposed issue and resolution with other committee participants Fills in the Issue Identification Form from the ATIS Operating Procedures –Provide to Committee Administrator at least 14 days prior to meeting Be prepared to –Present the issue to the committee –Respond to the questions and concerns of committee –Lead the discussion of the Issue in all committee meetings until resolved Ensure accuracy of ongoing documentation

23. 23 Committee Participants Responsibilities Download and review all agenda files Socialize all issues (including proposed new issues) with internal company Subject Matter Experts Contact issue champion for clarification on issues PRIOR to OBF committee meeting Be prepared to state your company’s needs and position Bring meeting agenda files with you to the meeting Be prepared to discuss all issues

24. 24 Issue Identification Form Issue Title Committee/Forum Subcommittee Assigned Targeted Resolution Date Issue Statement/Business Need Suggested Solution: Related work required for the solution to this issue to be implementable by the industry Issue Champion

25. 25 Issue Identification Form Issue Title –Provide a succinct descriptive title for the proposed issue Committee/Forum –Enter OBF followed by the Committee name using the following abbreviations: Billing - OBF/BLG EDI Service Order Committee - OBF/ESOC EDI Telecommunications Billing - OBF/ETB Interconnection Services Ordering and Provisioning - OBF/ISOP Local Services Ordering and Provisioning - OBF/LSOP Message Processing - OBF/MPC SMS/800 Number Administration Committee - OBF/SNAC Subscription - OBF/SUB Wireless - OBF/WIR UMA – OBF/UMA

26. 26 Issue Identification Form Subcommittee Assigned –Enter any applicable subcommittee Targeted Resolution Date –The suggested date for agreement to be reached on the issue resolution Issue Statement/Business Need –Define the Issue (problem or need) as it relates specifically to the customer/provider relationship. Include background, if appropriate. Provide clarification on the "WHAT" that makes this a problem and the "HOW" this impacts the industry. Attach straw proposals and, when applicable, forms, and indicate the consequences if the Issue is not resolved.

27. 27 Issue Identification Form Suggested Solution –Provide any suggestion or proposal that might help resolve the Issue, for example, generic methods or guidelines. Multiple solutions are acceptable. The Suggested Solution is required for issue acceptance but is only a suggestion and may not be consistent with the issue resolution. Issue Champion –Provide the name, company, and e-mail address of the individual(s) submitting the Issue. The Champion should be prepared to present the Issue formally to the committee.

28. 28 Issue Identification Form Related work required for the solution to this issue to be implementable by the industry –Specify any ordering, provisioning, and/or billing process(es) that are impacted. Indicate any similar issues that have been addressed by the OBF (USE Issue number when possible) or other industry forum, such as the Network Interconnection Interoperability Forum (NIIF). This may include industry groups outside the ATIS umbrella.

29. 29 Issue Process Note Some committees may have additional information requirements that would normally be submitted with any proposed new issue - check with the Committee Co-Chairs!

30. 30 Issue Acceptance Criteria Once an Issue is submitted, the appropriate Forum or Committee must determine whether to accept the issue based on the following criteria: –The Issue is clearly defined via the ATIS Issue Identification Form (Appendix F of ATIS Operating Procedures); –The Issue is within the scope of the Forum or Committee; and –There is no existing solution or the existing solution can be enhanced to gain efficiencies, i.e., operational, functionality, etc.

31. 31 Working the Issue: After acceptance, issue is prioritized by committee and added to agenda Co-Chairs facilitate issue process Issue champion leads discussion/ participants actively contribute to discussion Participants may provide contributions to help move issue towards resolution Issue resolutions are developed by consensus

32. 32 What is Consensus? The method used by the OBF committees to reach resolution of issues Established when substantial agreement has been reached among interest groups participating in the issue at hand Interest groups are those groups materially affected by the outcome of the result

33. 33 What is Consensus? Substantial agreement means more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimous agreement Remember: A PARTICIPANT’S SILENCE WILL BE PERCEIVED AS CONSENSUS!

34. 34 Issue Closure A time-sensitive acceptance process for issue resolutions that ensures “due process” Initial Closure/Final Closure Time Frames –Issues automatically move to Final Closure 21 days after Initial Closure notification –An Issue in Initial Closure may be moved into the Initial Pending category during the 21 days after Initial Closure, if one of the following occurs: New and substantive information that directly impacts the resolution is submitted Anticipation of the output of another industry group, regulatory body or similar organization.

35. 35 Walk-In Issues Should be the RARE exception –Not preferred method of issue introduction –Meets issue preparation and introduction criteria with the following exceptions: Not submitted to Committee Administrator 14 days prior to start of meeting Does not appear on the Committee agenda Issue champion brings paper copies as required by the committee (and an electronic version for Committee Administrator) Might not be worked in the meeting in which they are accepted

36. 36 Process Concerns You Have The Right To Be Heard Know How To Escalate to: –Committee Co-Chairs –Your PCC –OBF Co-Chairs

37. 37 Meeting Etiquette As Participants: Prepare for the meeting Be on time and ready to fully participate Exhibit professionalism and respect for other participants Contribute constructive ideas to the discussion Listen openly to the ideas of others Consider the issues objectively Contribute to the orderly conduct of the meeting –Provide feedback to the Co-Chairs –Carry out agreed upon actions –Actively engage in issue discussion, even when you are in agreement with the issue –Ask questions

38. 38 Process/Resolution Inhibitors New participant insecurity Attendees who dominate the meeting Attendees who do not actively participate Lack of openness to new ideas Lack of preparation

39. 39 Want To Know More? Ask about Committee Mentors Ask questions Check out the ATIS web-site Network during breaks Visit OBF Support Office Talk with OBF Leadership

40. 40 OBF Website http://www.atis.org/obf contains information available to the public: –General information regarding the OBF –OBF calendar and agendas –OBF membership information OBF Website http://www.atis.org/obf password protected for ATIS members: –OBF Leadership and Administrator contact information –Correspondence sent by/to the OBF ATIS/OBF Website – 3 Tiers

41. 41 OBF Website http://www.atis.org/obf password protected information for ATIS and OBF participants: –Meeting attendee lists –OBF Documents (working and final) –Meeting notes and attachments –OBF Issues and attachments –Presentations given by OBF Leadership ATIS/OBF Website – 3 Tiers

42. 42 OBF Side Menu

43. 43 Upcoming Meetings General Session Meetings

44. 44 Meeting Calendar/Agendas Interim Activities

45. 45 Issue Index

46. 46 Meeting Notes/Attachments Download by OBF #

47. 47 Meeting Notes/Attachments Or Download by Committee

48. 48 OBF Documents

49. 49 OBF Documents Document Description Document Download

50. 50 OBF Exploder Lists Notification of OBF activities are sent via e-mail through the use of “Exploder” distribution lists Information on “subscribing” & “unsubscribing” at –http://www.atis.org/obf/_mem/lists.asp OBF exploders are limited to ATIS members and OBF participants

51. 51 Contact Information OBF Co-Chair Dean Grady, MCI (703) 886-1220 dean.grady@mci.com OBF Co-Chair Dave Thurman, Sprint (913) 315-6743 David.Thurman@mail.sprint.com ATIS OBF Director John Pautlitz (630) 784-8233 jpautlitz@atis.org ATIS Staff Attorney Tom Goode (202) 434-8830 tgoode@atis.org ATIS OBF Team Manager Yvonne Reigle (215) 340-1087 yreigle@atis.org ATIS OBF Project Manager Alissa Medley (202) 434-8822 amedley@atis.org ATIS Meetings/Events Manager Madelyn Foxworthy (202) 434-8835 mfox@atis.org ATIS OBF Registration Chrissy Wilde (202) 434-8829 cwilde@atis.org

52. 52 Why You Are Here You are the industry experts You are the best representative to address your individual company’s business requirements OBF process works best with broader industry representation

53. 53 Questions Open Discussion