Why should my company invest in certifying its commercial product or solution?

Frameworx Conformance Certification ensures that a supplier’s product and solution process coverage and information data models are consistent with the TM Forum’s globally recognized standards and best practices. The benefits of a conformance certification include

• Expands the market opportunity for your product or solution
• Provides proof-points to respond to Service Provider RFx demands for conformance to TM Forum Frameworx
• Makes it easier for Service Providers to acquire products and solutions
• Differentiates your product or solutions from nonstandard products and solutions provided by other providers
• Reduces the cost of responding to RFx requests
• Makes it easier to understand and map to customer requirements
• Simplifies integration complexity and risk.

TM Forum Frameworx Product and Solution Conformance Assessments are designed to create an open and vibrant market that enables the vendor to differentiate their products and solutions by showing clear alignment with industry best practices and standards that are widely by service providers.

The Frameworx adoption survey from September 2011 shows the proliferation of the industry-recognized suite of standards. According to the survey, four out of five service provider member respondents’ use and gain measurable benefits from TM Forum’s Frameworx to simplify their IT infrastructure. 63% of companies surveyed reported they are mandating Frameworx conformance in relevant RFx specifications, and 41% reported using TM Forum’s Procurement Templates.

How long does it take to conduct a Frameworx conformance certification assessment?

The time it takes to complete the assessment depends on the scope of the assessment and the amount of resource that can be dedicated to gathering and providing the evidence to TM Forum assessors.

Once the scope is agreed and a contract is in place the execution phase of an assessment typically takes 8-10 weeks for an average sized assessment of approximately 30 Level 3 Business Process Framework (eTOM) processes and 20 Information Framework (SID) Aggregate Business Entities (ABE.)

Depending on the amount of resource available to provide the document from the organization seeking certification (e.g. more than one person) this can be completed in a shorter timeframe. Larger scope assessments may take longer but by doubling a scope from the average size will not double the overall timeframe, i.e. economies of scale will come into play by submitting a larger scoped assessment.

What role does TM Forum play during the assessment?

TM Forum subject matter experts from the conformance assessment team are very active throughout the assessment process. They are involved from the very beginning in order to help shape the scope of the assessment and understand the c components of Frameworx to be assessed. They also develop and manage the overall project plan and fully prepare and educate the requesting organization’s team.

The conformance team will also support of pilot phase (1 or 2 eTOM Level 3 processes or 1-2 ABEs) to allow the client submit a trial submission prior to the more formal submission to ensure they use the correct approach and provide the appropriate level of detail.

TM Forum Subject Matter Experts perform the actual reviews which are discussed with the client as required. Once the main reviews are completed (called Primary reviews) there is another internal (Secondary) TM Forum review with other TM Forum subject matter experts that acts a quality check and ensures consistency across all assessments.

TM Forum is responsible for the generation of the Frameworx Conformance Certification Report – with some inputs required from the requesting organization (Product/Solution Description & Footprint diagrams to visualize the scope of Frameworx assessed and also the scope of the Product/Solution Assessed).

Note that the company being evaluated provides staff to support the technical & coordination aspects of the assessment (this could be the same person).

What is the scoring methodology?

The scoring for Frameworx 12.0 Assessments is currently undergoing some slight modification and is in final approval stage. Please re-visit this FAQ on 17th September for updated information or e-mail conformance@tmforum.org if you need the information sooner.

Will TM Forum issue a press release announcing we are conformant?

TM Forum will not issue its own press release announcing your conformance, however, we will support your PR efforts by providing quotes, supporting data or information or even a template release that can be customized by your team.

Several announcements will be made via regular communication channels to the TM Forum community about your completed certification.

How can I use the Frameworx Conformance Certification Mark?

Organizations that complete the conformance certification assessment process and publish their final results are awarded a TM Forum Conformance Mark. The Conformance Mark can be used by Marketing to publicize conformance to Frameworx and its widely supported industry standards. The mark may be used on your website, in printed collateral, event signage and sales materials.

Are only suppliers or vendors eligible to earn the Frameworx conformance mark?

No, service providers or enterprise operations or IT teams may also seek the conformance mark. The assessment is an excellent benchmark of how successfully and widely the Business Process Framework and Information Framework have been deployed and the resulting gap analysis is useful in terms of both understanding system requirements and making recommendations in terms of additional work to be done in business process design or information architecture.

Furthermore, the resulting detailed report can be used to clearly articulate system requirements during procurement, development or integration exercises reducing the cost and risk of those efforts.

Where can I find the RFx templates that facilitate the procurement of Frameworx conformant products and solutions?

Frameworx RFx Templates standardize how service providers procure Frameworx-based solutions. By aligning the RFx templates with Frameworx Conformance Certification, service providers remove risk from the procurement process and suppliers significantly reduce the cost of responding to RFx requirements.

The templates are a collection of procurement best practice guides and recommendations that service providers can use to specify required business processes and information models. TM Forum members can download the templates here.

Is training available on how to use those templates?

A companion course, Frameworx-based Procurement Support, provides technical and procurement staff with advice on how to use Frameworx and the RFx templates to control the procurement process. Visit the training area of our website to learn more.

What is the difference between a Product and Solution assessment?

Both the product and solution assessments are focused on verifying conformance of the processes and interfaces a supplier has built into their commercial offering.

Products must be packaged, off-the-shelf and orderable.

A supplier’s offering is considered to be a solution if it meets the following criteria:

• Provides a pre-integrated solution to a specific business opportunity/challenge.
• Developed by a single supplier and covers processes that span more than one domain, e.g. CRM, Billing, Order Management, Provisioning, Activation, Inventory, etc.
• Consists of a full set of supporting products and/or parts of products, which when combined together provide the solution.
• An off-the-shelf orderable item, which appears in a supplier's price catalogue and consists of a defined and packaged set of products. Bespoke implementations for specific customers do not qualify as solutions.
• The Solution Conformance assessment is carried out against both the Business Process Framework and Information Framework.