1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

Revenueassurance
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Revenueassurance(RA)isanichebusinessactivitymostcommonlyundertakenwithinbusinessesthat
providetelecommunicationservices.Theactivityistheuseofdataqualityandprocessimprovementmethods
thatimproveprofits,revenuesandcashflowswithoutinfluencingdemand.ThiswasdefinedbyaTMForum
workinggroupbasedonresearchdocumentedinitsRevenueAssuranceTechnicalOverview[1](http://www.t
mforum.org/browse.aspx?catid=865&linkID=30508).Inmanytelecommunicationsserviceproviders,revenue
assuranceisledbyadedicatedrevenueassurancedepartment.

Contents
1 Overview
2 Thevalueofrevenueassurance
3 RevenueAssuranceinTelecom
3.1 Whatcausestheproblem
3.2 Whereistheproblem
4 Revenueassurancediscipline
5 MaturityofRevenueAssurance
6 RAProcessCategories
6.1 DetectiveProcesses
6.2 CorrectiveProcesses
6.3 PreventiveProcesses
7 ToolforRevenueAssurance
7.1 Extract,TransformandLoad
7.2 Reconciliations
7.3 AnalysisandKPIs
7.4 Dashboarding
7.5 CaseManagement
8 Externallinks
9 References

Overview
"Revenueassurance"isabroadumbrellaterm.Itisusedbothtodescribeanactivityperformedwithin
telecommunicationsserviceproviders,andisacommonnameforasmallbusinessunitassociatedwiththat
activity.Revenueassuranceisapracticalresponsetoperceivedoractualissueswithoperationalunder
performance,mostcommonlyrelatingtobillingandcollectionofrevenue.Someoftheproceduresassociated
withidentifying,remedyingorpreventingerrorsmaybeundertakenbyadedicatedRevenueAssurance
department,thoughresponsibilityforrevenueassuranceisoftendiffuseandvariesgreatlywiththe
organizationalstructureoftheprovider.Assumingaproviderwithatypicalorganizationalsplit,responsibilities
forrevenueassuranceprimarilysitbetweentheFinanceandTechnologydirectorates,however,revenue
assuranceinitiativesareoftenstartedinabusinessunitormarketinggroup.

TherelevancetoFinancerestswiththeresponsibilityforfinancialcontrol,auditandreporting,whilethe
subjectmatterwouldbenetworkandISsystemsasimplementedoroperatedbytheTechnologysideofthe
business.Marketinggroupsand/orbusinessunits(e.g.wholesaleorretailbusinesslines)willoftenembarkon
revenueassuranceprojectsinanefforttoimproveproductlinemargins.Furthermore,marketingandbusiness
unitsarepivotalinprovidinginputintothe"shouldbe"stateofcustomerbillsandproducts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 1/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

Thesphereofinfluencedescribedbyrevenueassurancevariesgreatlybetweentelecommunicationsservice
providers,butisusuallycloselyrelatedtobackofficefunctionswheresmallerrorsmayhavea
disproportionatelylargeimpactonrevenuesorcosts.Theprocessingoftransactiondatainmodern
telecommunicationsprovidersexhibitsmanyattributesakintoacomplexsystem.However,thereissignificant
disagreementabouttheultimateaimsandlegitimatescopeofrevenueassuranceteams.Thisisinpartcaused
by:

(1)thecrossfunctionalnatureoftheactivityandtheconsequentneedforavarietyofskillsfromIT,marketing,
finance,etal.

(2)thedifficultyofgeneralizingacrossbusinesseswithdifferentobjectivesandbusinessmodels

(3)politicalinfightingwithineachtelcoaboutresponsibilityforrevenueleakagesandassuranceand

(4)thedifficultyinreliablymeasuringthevalueaddedbyrevenueassuranceasseparablefromunderlying
performance.

Thereishighlevelagreementbetweenpractitionersaboutthegoalsandmethodsofrevenueassurance,though
reachingaconsensusondefiningtheboundariesofrevenueassurancehasprovedelusivesofar.Thegoals
relatetoimprovingthefinancialperformancebyeliminatingmistakesintheprocessingoftransactiondata.
Sometakeamoreencompassingviewofwhatcountsasamistake,whichmayextendasfarasquestioningthe
policysetbyexecutivesevenwhenthishasbeenexecutedcorrectly.Otherstakeamoreopenendedviewof
thedatathatisthesubjectmatter.Forexample,indecreasingorderoffrequency,revenueassurancemaycover:

(1)revenuesfromretailandcorporatesales

(2)revenuesandcostsfrominterconnectandwholesalecontractsand

(3)marginsandprofitabilityofinvestmentinnetworksandinformationsystems.

Othermarketshavedifferentormorerefinedpriorities.Forexample,intheU.S.A.managementofwholesale
contractshasoftenbeenthefirstobjectivebecauseofthecomplexityofthedomesticmarketresultingfromthe
FederalCommunicationsCommission'sregulatoryframework.Incontrast,telcosindevelopingcountriesmay
prioritizemanagementofinternationalinterconnectarrangementsbecauseoftherisksposedbyfraudand
arbitrage.Acablesupplierorinternetserviceproviderthatpredominantlyoffersretailcustomersflatmonthly
chargesandnolimitsonusagemaybemostinterestedinassuringtheprofitabilityofnetworkinvestments.

Revenueassuranceisoftenregardedbypractitionersasalowcostmechanismtogeneratesignificantfinancial
returnsfortelecommunicationsserviceproviders.However,thereturnsareunpredictableaswellasbeinghard
tomeasure,whichencouragesmanyexecutivestotakeascepticalviewofitsworth.Comparablerevenue
assuranceactivitiesdooccurinotherindustries,suchaswithbillingofutilitiesorwiththelicensingof
software,andtherearemanyparallelswithfinancialandoperationalcontrolactivitiesundertakenbymostlarge
businesses.Therationaleforwhyrevenueassurancehascometobeconsideredparticularlyimportantin
telecommunications,unlikeotherindustries,isdisputed.Reasonableconjecturesarethat:

(1)thefastpaceofchangeandintensecommercialcompetitionincreasethelikelihoodofmistakes

(2)thereissignificantcomplexityindeterminingthecombinedeffectofinteractingsystemsandprocessesand

(3)thehighvolume,lowvaluenatureoftransactionsamplifiesthefinancialimplicationsof"small"errors.

Anotherconjectureisthatrevenueassuranceisaresponsetochangingmarketconditions.Thethinkingisthat
asmarketsreachsaturationandgrowthpotentialfallsoff,sothevalueofmaximizingreturnsfromexisting
salesincreases.Thisobservationhassomemeritbutdoesnotexplaintheincreasingpopularityofrevenue
assuranceintelcosservinggrowthmarkets.Italsoinpartcontradictstheassumptionofacompellingcosts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 2/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

versusbenefitsargumentforrevenueassurance,whichwouldbeenhancedinbusinessesundergoingrapid
change.Itisalsoimportanttorecognizethatthereisalonghistoryofrevenueassuranceactivitiesinsome
telcosthatpredatesthecoiningoftheterm"revenueassurance".

Therevenueassurancetechniquesappliedinpracticecoverabroadspectrum,fromanalysisand
implementationofbusinesscontrolstoautomateddatainterrogation.Atoneendofthespectrum,revenue
assurancecanappearverysimilartothekindsofreviewandprocessmappingtechniquesappliedforother
financialcontrollingobjectiveslikeaccountingintegrity,asexemplifiedbythosederivedfromclause404of
theSarbanesOxleyAct.Thisformofrevenueassuranceismostcommonlypromotedbyconsultancies.The
sizeofsuchconsultanciescoverstheentirerangetheBig4alloffersomeformofrevenueassurance
consulting,buttherearealsonichespecialistconsultancies.Attheotherendofthespectrum,revenueassurance
istreatedasaformofreactiveautomateddatainterrogation,seekingtofindanomaliesintransactiondatathat
mayindicateerrorsandpotentialrevenueloss.Thisformofrevenueassuranceismostcommonlypromotedby
softwarehousesthataimtoprovidedatabasesandconfigurabletoolstoextractandinterrogateatelco'ssource
data.Alesspopularformofreactiveautomatedassuranceinvolvesusingbothsoftwareandspecialised
hardwareasameansofextractingadditionaldataontransactions,forexamplebycreatingactualnetwork
eventsorinterfacingdirectlywithnetworkelementstoreplicatedummyevents.Aswithconsultancies,IT
orientedrevenueassurancesolutionsareofferedbybothlargevendorslikeprovidersofbillingandmediation
software,andbyspecializednicheproviders.

Thereissomedebateabouttherelativemeritsofthedifferenttechniquesthatcanbeemployedinrevenue
assurance.

Asyet,thereisnoprofessionalbody,noqualifications,andnoacademicresearchthatwouldhelptodrive
consensusaboutthepurposeormethodsofrevenueassurance.Inpartthisisaddressedbyindividualsworking
inthesectorthroughmembershipandqualificationinrelatedfieldssuchasaccountancyandinformation
systemsaudit.Somescientificresearchinotherfieldsisalsoapplicabletorevenueassurance,thoughmost
revenueassurance"facts"relyheavilyonanecdotesandoftrepeatedtruisms.Someofthemosthelpfuland
progressiveinitiativesinaddressingtheproblemofconsensusandscientificbasisarelistedbelow.

Thevalueofrevenueassurance
Revenueassuranceisusuallyunderstoodasameanstoidentifyandremedy,andperhapsalsotoprevent,
problemsthatresultinfinancialunderperformancewithoutseekingtogenerateadditionalsales.Themost
commonmetaphoristhatofleakingwaterfromapipe,wherewaterstandsinplaceofrevenuesorcashflows,
andtheleaksrepresentwaste.Thevalueofrevenueassuranceishencedeterminedbythesizeoftheleaks
"plugged",andpossiblyalsothoseleakspreventedbeforetheyoccur,althoughestimatingthevalueofthelatter
isveryproblematic.Thevalueaddedalsoincludestherecoveryof"lost"revenuesorcosts(throughissuing
additionalbills,chasinguncollectedpayments,renegotiatingwithsuppliersarefundofcostsetc.)afterthefact.
Thislastformofreactiverevenueassuranceistheeasiesttoputavalueto,butisinmanywaystheleast
efficientformofrevenueassuranceeffortisdirectedtowardsrepeatedlyaddressingtheconsequencesof
knownflaws,andnotonaddressingtheflawsthemselves.Thiscanleadtoaparasiticalrelationshipbetweena
RevenueAssurancedepartmentorvendorandthewiderbusiness,wherethedepartment/vendorfindsiteasiest
tojustifyitsongoingexistence/contractbyrepeatedlyfixingsymptomsandnottherootcauses.

TheTMForumconductedabenchmarksurveyin2008thatconcludedaverageleakage,notincludinglosses
duetofraud,was1%ofthegrossrevenuesforthosetelcosthattookpart.[1]Thenumberofparticipatingtelcos
wasrelativelysmallcomparedtosomeothersurveys,butthesurveytechniquewasmoredemandingthanany
comparablesurveytodate.Thesurveyusedthemostdetailedandprescriptivedefinitionofhowtocalculate
leakageofanysurveyofitstype.ThedefinitionwastakenfromtheTMForum'sownstandardonhowto
calculaterevenueassurancemetrics[2](http://www.tmforum.org/DocumentsRevenue/GB941ARevenueAssura
nce/33545/article.html).Toincreaseconfidencethatparticipantscalculatedtheirleakagescorrectly,theTM
Forum'sbenchmarkprogramindependentlyreviewedtheresultsandcorroboratedthemwithrepresentativesof
theparticipatingcompanies.Thesurvey'saverageof1%leakageofgrossrevenue,whilststillsignificant,is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 3/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

notablylowerthanmanyotherquotedestimatesandreportedsurveyfindingsaboutaverageleakage.Thismay
bebecausethesurveyusedaverystrictdefinitionofleakage.Thesurveymeasuredonlyactualunderbilled
andunbilledamountsdiscoveredbytheparticipantsitexcludedothertypesofleakagessuchascostleakages
andlossofopportunityleakages,anditexcludedprojectedleakageestimationsthatarecommonlyused(i.e.,
whatwouldhavebeentheamountofleakage,iftheleakagewouldnotbeendiscoveredbyrevenueassurance
activities).Itmayalsoreflectareductioninbiasorexaggerationinreportedleakages,oratleasttheexclusion
ofguesswork.Respondentsweregivenauthoritativeinstructionsonhowtoquantifyleakagebasedonactual
dataandwereinstructedtoavoidmakingsuppositionsintheabsenceofsuchdata.

Thebestknownestimatesof"typical"revenueleakagecomefromaseriesofannualsurveysconductedbythe
Analysysconsultancyandresearchbusiness.Inthesesurveys,leakagewascommonlyestimatedasbeingworth
between5%and15%ofthetotalrevenueofthebusiness.Similarresearchbyotherbusinesseshasgenerated
resultsinthesamerange,withnoneconcludingleakageoflessthan1%ofgrossrevenue,andsomesuggesting
leakageof20%ormorewasnotuncommon.Reasonstodoubttheseestimatesareasfollows:

(1)Alltheestimatesofleakagewerederivedfromthesubjectiveopinionsofstaffworkinginserviceproviders

(2)Alltheresearchwasconductedbybusinesseswishingtopromotetheirrevenueassuranceproducts

(3)Increasedannualspendonrevenueassurancehasnotresultedinacleardownwardtrendinestimates

(4)Theestimateswerebroadlysimilarevenwhenthecriteriaforwhatlossestoincludevariedgreatlyand

(5)Genuinelossesofthisscaleshouldbeaseverecorporategovernanceissueinanypubliclylistedbusiness.

Whatcanbesaidwithsomeconfidenceisthatrevenueassurancepractitionersareabletoprovideavast
numberofconsistentanecdotesrelatingtothecausesofleakageandmeanstoresolvethem.Thoughthereis
littleobjectiveevidencerelatingtoactualleakagesapproachingthisscaleinthepublicdomainasthis
informationperseishighlyconfidential,therearesomeindirectmeasuresofdataintegritythathelpgivea
senseofpotentialleakage.Forexample,inreconcilinginterconnectcostsandrevenuesbetweentelcos,a5%
varianceisthecommonpracticetoacceptbeforeadisputedinvoicecanleadonepartytowithholdpayment,
anda0.5%variancewouldbeconsideredindustryleadingpracticeaccordingtobestpracticeadviceissuedby
theUKRevenueAssuranceGroup(http://www.revenueassurancegroup.net/).

RevenueAssuranceinTelecom
AlthoughRevenueAssurancehasalwaysbeenpresentinthetelecomparlanceithasrecentlybeenbroughtat
theforefrontofthetopmanagement.Thisisduetoseveralfactorsincluding

Profit:Increasingcostpressuresanddecreasingmargins.Thehighprofitdaysformosttelcosareover.
Theyallneedtofindalternativemeanstosqueezehighermarginsbyeffectivelytrackingtheirrevenue.
Regulatory:Newregulatorystructureandcompliancerequirementswhichforcethetelecomoperatorsto
reporttheirrevenueaccurately.
TechnologyInnovation:Ensuringnewtechnologiesandproductsareperformingasperperceivedplans.
Keepingupwithreleaseofnewtechnologiesalongwithcoexistingoflegacysystems.
MergersandAcquisitions:Withincreaseinthenumberoftelcomergersandacquisitions,organizations
arefindingitverydifficulthandlemultipleBSSsystemsincludingBilling,MediationandRating
togetheretc.

RevenueAssurancehasbeenaproblemforthetelecomcompaniessincetheveryearlystages.Trackingof
pulses,minutes,counts,bytesetc.hasneverbeenmoredifficult.Onewouldthinkthesewouldbeeasyforthe
techsavvytelcocompanies.However,thetruthhasbeenjusttheopposite.Inahurrytoreleasenew
technologiesinthemarket,theRevenueAssurancesystemsarealwayslaggingbehind.RevenueAssuranceina
telcoenvironmentcoversawiderangeoftechnicalandbusinessaspects.AnRAoperatorneedstobeawareof
bothOSS&BSSprocessesandinternaldependenciestoaccuratelydeciphertherevenuecode.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 4/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

Whatcausestheproblem

Atelecomorganization'srevenuechainisusuallyaverycomplexsetofinterrelatedtechnologiesand
processesprovidingaseamlesssetofservicestotheendconsumer.Asthesetoftechnologiesandbusiness
processesgrowsbiggerandmorecomplex,thechanceoffailureincreasesineachofitsconnections.Arevenue
leakageistypicallyattributedtowhenatelcoorganizationisunabletobillcorrectlyforagivenserviceorto
receivethecorrectpayment.Astheorganizationgrowstheprobabilityofrevenueleakageonlyincreases.

Whereistheproblem

Themostdebatedpartofrevenueassuranceiswheretostartchecking,i.e.atthenetworkside,theratingside,
thebillingside,theinterconnectside,theCRMside,etc.However,mostsurveysandreportsstatethatthe
maximumleakagehappensduringtheflowofCallDetailRecords(CDRs)orEventDetailRecords(EDRs)
fromtheSwitchtotherespectiverating/billingengines.Someofthecommonproblemareasare:

Network

*Signalingproblems
*CDRsinSwitchnotsenttoMediation
*CDRsinMediationnotsenddownstream
*CDRsrejectedbyrating/billingsystem
*WrongdurationontheCDRs
*WrongTONvaluepopulatedintheCDRs
*IncorrectBusinessrules
*Subscriberprovisioning
*IncorrectRouting

Rating&Billing

*IncorrectRejectionLogic
*DuplicateCDRsresultingindoublecharging
*Incorrecttariffplans
*Rating&Billingaccuracyerrors
*Laterating/billing
*Incorrectconfigurationsratingminutesinsteadofseconds
*IncorrectDisconnection

Revenueassurancediscipline
Amongthedisciplinesinrevenueassuranceare:

1.TheCOREfunctionsofarevenueassurancegroup:Monitoring,Baselining,Auditing,Synchronizing,
InvestigatingandCompliance.
2.Decomposinganorganization'srevenueassurancescope(TheRevenueManagementChain).
3.Assessingandminimizingrevenuelossrisk.

MaturityofRevenueAssurance
ThereisnoformalmaturitymodelforRevenueAssurancewhichisuniversallyaccepted.Howeverthe
RevenueAssuranceprocessescanbepeggedagainstagenericfivestagematuritymodel.Thefivestagesare
listedbelowandaredescribedintermsofaRevenueAssuranceStrategy,People,Processandtechnological
advances.

Initial:Atthislevelthattheyare(typically)undocumentedandinastateofdynamicchange,tendingto
bedriveninanadhoc,uncontrolledandreactivemannerbyusersorevents.Thisprovidesachaoticor
unstableenvironmentfortheRevenueAssuranceprocesses.AtthisstagethereisnoformalizedRevenue
Assurancestrategyinplace.Teamsrunadhocqueriesonvarioussystems.Itdependsentirelyonpersonal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 5/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

ideas&initiatives.Itencompassessubstantialmanualeffort.
Thereareundocumentedrepeatprocesses.
Repeatable:Atthislevelthatsomeprocessesarerepeatable,
possiblywithconsistentresults.Processdisciplineisunlikelyto
beprecise.ThisiswheretheRevenueAssurancefunctionsstarts
totakesomeshapeindefinedproceduresandoutputs.However
theystilldontcovertheentirerevenuespectrumofthe
telecommunicationscompanynordotheycoverallaspectsofa
specificrevenuestream.Peoplearestilllearningtheskillsetof RevenueAssuranceMaturityStages
revenueassurance.Therearespecificmeasurementandanalysis
outcomesreceivedatthisstage.
Defined:AtthislevelthattherearesetsofdefinedanddocumentedstandardRevenueAssurance
processesestablishedandsubjecttosomedegreeofimprovementovertime.Thesestandardprocesses
areinplace(i.e.,theyaretheASISprocesses)andusedtoestablishconsistencyofprocessperformance
acrosstheorganization.TherearespecifictoolsforRevenueAssuranceidentifiedandimplemented.
Thereisclearsenseofwhatrevenuechaincoveragedoes,whattheRevenueAssurancedepartmentcover
androadmapsareinplaceforthefuture.Allmajorrevenuestreamsarecoveredbynow.Thereisa
formalizedandapprovedRevenueAssurancecharterandstrategyinplace.Thereisaspecificyearon
yearbudgetforthedepartment.
Managed:Atthislevelwiththeuseofprocessmetrics,managementcaneffectivelycontroltheRevenue
AssuranceASISprocess(e.g.,forIssueDetection,RootCauseAnalysis,Closure).Thereisaformalized
strategyandlongtermroadmapforpeople,processandtechnologyfortherevenueassurance
department.Inparticular,managementcanidentifywaystoadjustandadapttheprocesstoparticular
RevenueStreamswithoutmeasurablelossesofqualityordeviationsfromspecifications.Process
Capabilityisestablishedfromthislevel.Thepeoplehavetherightskillsettoexecutedailyoperations
andhavesubjectmatterexpertise.
Optimizing:Atthislevelthatthefocusisoncontinuallyimprovingprocessperformancethroughboth
incrementalandinnovativetechnologicalchanges/improvements.Ariskbasedstrategyisinplaceto
evaluatethecoverageofRevenueAssuranceatspecificintervalsoftime.Controlsreachamaturity
whereRevenueAssuranceonlyactsasanimprovementagencyforotherprocessareasincludingproduct
development,productdeployment,customerretention,billing,collections,dunningetc.Atthisstagethe
RAprocessesareconcernedwithaddressingstatisticalcommoncausesofprocessvariationandchanging
theprocesstoimproveprocessperformance.

RAProcessCategories
TheRevenueAssuranceprocessesinmanywayscanberegardedasanauditingprocess.Theobjectiveisto
ensurethatpoliciesoftheorganizationarewellimplementedandthatnoorminimalrevenueleakageis
occurring.TheRAprocesseshavethecapabilitytocoveralldepartmentsandservicelinesina
telecommunicationsorganization.TherearemanywaysinwhichRAprocessescanbeclassified,howeverin
viewofanauditfunctiontheRAprocessescanbecategorizedintoDetective,CorrectiveandPreventive
activities,controlsorprocesses.Let'sunderstandthedifferencewiththehelpofanexample.Supposingthe
objectiveistoensuretrunkgroupscorrectlyenteredintheMSCs.Thedetectivecontrolwouldbetomonitor
TrunkGroupsappearinginCDRsareharmonizedwiththemasterlistandanydeviationsarereported.The
correctivecontrolwouldbetoinitiativeaprocessandconfirmwiththeNetwork/Wholesaleteamofall
deviationsfound.ThepreventivecontrolwouldbetosetupaprocesswiththeNetwork/Wholesaleteam
whereallnewtrunkgroupsarefirstinformedtotheRA,Mediation,Wholesaleandotheressentialdepartments
andthenmadeliveontheNetwork.

DetectiveProcesses

RevenueAssuranceDetectionistheprocessofspottingachangeinvalueofadimensionrelativetoits
movementfromSystemAtoSystemBorwithinagivensystemsitself.Thechangeinthevalueisrelativetoa
dimensionisquestion.DetectioninRAcanbeachievedbybothmanualandautomatedmeans.Typical
detectionactivitiesincludemonitoring,summarization,investigationandauditing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 6/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

Monitoring:TypicallymonitoringactivitiesinRevenueAssurancereferstoobservingdata,systemora
processforanychangeswhichmayoccuroveraperiodoftime.Withtheuseofautomatedtoolsonecan
typicallyachieveconstantmonitoringwhichcannotifytheuseroradministrator(viaemail,SMSorother
alarms)incaseofanychanges.ThevariousprocesseswhichtypicallyaremonitoredbyaRevenue
Assurancedepartmentincludedailynetworkusage,profileandconfigurationchanges,mediation,rating,
billing,settlement,roaming,collectionsanddunningrelatedprocesses.
Summarization:Whendealingwithlargevolumesofinformationlikenetworkusage,itmaynotbe
practicaltogothroughCDRbyCDRandcomparethesamebetween2systems.Insuchcases
summarizationwillhelpinquicklyexaminingandfindingoutthepreliminaryproblemsareas.For
example,onecouldfirstsummarizeinformationonthebasisoffewdimensionslikeevents(voice,sms,
data),customertype(postpaid,prepaid,inroamer,outroamer),operator(self,local,national,
international)etc.andcomparethemeasureslikecountanddurationofthesedimensionsbetween2
systems.Suchrapidassessmentshelpinidentifyingtheproblemareasordimensionsquicklyanda
furtherdetailedinvestigationcanbecarriedoutforthosedimensionsidentified.Summarizationgreatly
reducesthemanualeffortinidentifyingproblemareaswithinalargedatastream.
Auditing:Arevenueassuranceauditisasetofactivitiescarriedouttoensurethattheorganizationis
takingnecessarystepstoremaincomplianttotheevolvingchangesoforganizationalpolicies,regulations
andmarketconditions.EveryRevenueAssuranceaudithasalistofspecificobjectiveswhichmaycome
frommanagement,regulationsorindustrystandards.Theactualtasksoftheauditcandifferbasedonthe
information,systemordepartmentalprocessesbeingaudited.SomesampleRAauditobjectivescouldbe
likeensuringbillingaccuracyupto0.01%,noconfigurationvariancesontheNetwork,rating&
invoicingprocessassuranceetc.EachRAauditcanspanintodifferentdepartments,eachwithitsown
specializedtechnicalrequirements.
Investigation:Investigationistheactofdetectingsomethingnew,orsomething"old"thathadbeen
unknown.Investigationleadstodiscoverywhichistheobservationofnewactions,orneweventsand
providingnewreasoningtoexplaintheknowledgegathered.AnRAinvestigationisaseriesofprocesses
orprocedurescarriedouttoidentifytheRootCauseofananomaly.ThisisalsoknownasRootCauses
Analysis(RCA)proceduresoractivities.RootCauseAnalysis(RCA)isamethodofproblemsolving
thattriestoidentifytherootcausesoffaultsorproblemsthatcauseoperatingevents.Aninvestigation
wouldtrytoidentifyandcorrecttherootcausesofevents,asopposedtosimplyaddressingtheir
symptoms.Byfocusingoncorrectionofrootcauses,revenueassuranceproblemrecurrencecanbe
prevented.

CorrectiveProcesses

Correctionisthesetofactivitiesandprocessesrelatedaroundgettingtheprocessstructurescorrectinorderto
minimizethechangesidentifiedasperthedetectiontechniques.Correctionitselfistheactormethodof
correctingadiscrepancy.Typicallysomeinformation,configuration,amountorquantityneedstobeadded,
editedorremovedfromasystem,processorprocedureinordertocorrecttheanomaly.InRevenueAssurance
activities,theprocessofcorrectionofarootcausecouldinvolvecorrectionofinformation,processes,
technologyorpeople.

InformationCorrection:Thisreferstotheprocessofcorrectingorupdatingavalueforaconfiguration
elementorareferencetable.Thisistypicallytheresultofamissingdatasetinaparticulargiventableor
systemfile.Forexample,aparticularnumberseriesmaybemissingintheSwitchandhencenotgetting
connectedorupdatingamissingtariffplaninratingengineleadingtounratedCDRsetc.
ProcessCorrection:Processcorrectionreferstothemodificationofanactivitybyadding,modifyingor
removinganactivitystepwhichwillpreventamissconfigurationorrevenueleakageintheprocess.
Typicallyprocesscorrectionisrequiredtohaveaproactiverevenueassurancesteptoprovidebetter
governanceacrosstheoperations.Forexample,theprebillverificationprocessmayberequiredtobe
modifiedwhenanewservicelineorproductisintroducedintothemarket.Thenewservicelinemaybe
requiredtobeincludedwithintheprebillprocess.
PeopleCorrection:Peoplecorrectionisrequiredwhenskillsoftheresourcesareinquestion.Revenue
AssuranceisanichebusinessprocesswithlimitedpeoplepresentwiththerightamountofTelecom
Network,Mediation,Billing,ITandBusinessrelatedexperience.ThisleadstomanyRevenueAssurance
teamswithinexperiencedpeopleonoperationaldepartments.Owingtothis,mostRevenueAssurance
operationsendupbeingonlyreactiveratherthanmovingintoaproactivefoundation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 7/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

TechnologyCorrection:Theverynatureofthetelecombusinesschangesfrequently.Thereare2aspects
toTechnologycorrectioni)ThetechnologyontheNetworksideii)TechnologiesinusebytheRA
departmentthemselves.

TelecomNetworktechnologiesevolveatarapidpace.Sometimestechnologiesneedtobebalancedinthe
Network.Forexample,havingmultiplevendorsontheNetworksidecouldleadtoarequirementofhaving
timesynchronizerequipmentinstalledjusttohaveCDRsshowingconsistenttimeanddaterelatedinformation.
AnycurrentimplementationofRevenueAssurancebecomesobsoleterapidly.Astechnologiesevolverevenue
assurancetoolsandcoverageofthetoolsalsoneedtoevolve.Thisessentiallymeanstechnologycorrections
needtobeperformedeitheronthehardwaresideoronthetool/applicationside.Technologycorrectionsare
rareandneedtobeperformedwithduediligenceastechnologycorrectionscanbeveryexpensivetoan
organization.

PreventiveProcesses

Preventionistheprocessofperforminganactivityinordertoavoidahighrisksituation.Itisessentiallyan
actioncarriedouttoderiskathreat.Forexample,ifthereisriskthatatariffplanisnotcorrectlyimplemented,
thenthepreventiveactioncouldbetosimulatecallsontestSIMsonthenewtariffplanspriortolaunchand
confirmthetariffscominginthetestCDRsagainstthemarketingoradvertisingdepartmentrates.Preventive
activitiesleadtoeffectiveriskmanagementaroundRevenueAssurance.

SynchronizationAsetofactivitieswhichensurethat2datasetsaresynchronizedoveraperiodoftime.
Forexample,asetofRevenueAssuranceactivitieswouldensurethatallprepaidcustomersontheCRM
systemsarerepresentedintheINSDP(IntelligentNetwork)andviceversa.Similarlyalltrunkgroups
betweenthewholesaledepartmentsareinsyncwiththetrunkgroupsmentionedintheMSCs.Another
examplecouldbetoensureallBnumbertablesbetweentheMSCsaresame.
IntegrityChecksTheseareindividualactivitiescarriedouttoensuretheintegrityofthesystemor
process.Thisisaneffectivecheckingaininginsightintoanindividualprocessandtoassesswhetherit
hasanythingintheirimmediatebackgroundthatmaybeacauseforconcern.Forexample,performinga
samplebasedcreditcheckforpostpaidcustomerspriortogenerationofabill.Anotherexamplecouldbe
subscribercheckswithsanctionlistswatchlistsforinvolvementin/associationwithfraud,money
laundering&relatedillegalactivities.
PreProcessChecksAnychecksperformedontheinputparametersofaprocesstoensurethattheright
dataisfedintotheprocess.PreProcesschecksarenecessaryforcomplexprocesseslikeratingand
billingwhichinvolvemultiplesubprocessesandconsumealotoftimeforeachrun.Somesample
preprocesscheckscouldincludevalidationofCDRsequencenumberbeforerating,filecount
confirmationbeforerating,subscriberprecheckbeforebilling,duplicateCDRcheck,reportallpostpaid
customersthatdonothavethecorrectbillcycleetc.
PostProcessChecksPostprocesschecksarerequiredtoverifythereliabilityontheoutputsofagiven
process.SomeprocessesofRevenueAssurancecanproducemultiplecorelatedoutputswhichneedtobe
verifiedbeforebeingreleasedtotheconsumereitherinternallyorexternally.Someexamplesofpost
processchecksareformatscheckingonthetargetoutputslikeTAP3files,crossreferencesubscriberson
thebillcyclewithprebilllist,numbersterminateddirectlyonOSSsystemsandnotviaCRM/BSS
systemsetc.

ToolforRevenueAssurance
SinceRevenueAssuranceisaverynicheareainthetelecommunicationsenvironment,therearesomespecific
productsandsolutionssupportingthissubject.Therearevariousvendorsinthemarketwhichaddresseitherthe
completesuiteofRevenueAssurancerequirementsorspecializeinthespecificdomains.Thissectiondescribes
thebasicfeaturesofagenericRevenueAssurancetool.

OnemustkeepinmindthatsoftwareRAsolutionscanonlyhelpinpointingtowardtheerrorlocationsor
problemareas.WhenoneaddressesthequestionofdevelopinganRAsolutiontheyneedtoconsiderthe
magnitude,scopeandcapacityofthesystemsavailablealongwiththeintellect,skills,andthenumberof
peopleaccessible.Finallyitisthepeople,theirskillsandknowledgethatmakeacompleteRAsolution.An
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 8/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

organizationshouldbecarefulwhenautomatingrevenueassuranceasitmayendupwithanexpensiveand
inflexiblesolutionwhichnoonecanmanageeffectively.ThereareavarietyofspecializedRAproductswhich
havedifferentcharacteristicsincludingprobing,RAaddonmodulesonrespectiveOSS/BSSelements.
HoweverthemostcommontooladoptedbymostTelecommunicationcompaniesisonewhichcansimulatethe
naturalprocessoftheCDRflowfromNetworkgenerationtoInvoicing.Givenbelowaresomeofthe
requirements(notexhaustive)ofsuchaRevenueAssuranceproduct.

Extract,TransformandLoad

Telecommunicationsisanenvironmentwheretherearemanyheterogeneoussystemscreatingamultitudeof
data.TypicallyasingledaysinformationrunsintomanyGigaBytesorinsomecasesTeraBytesalso.This
createsaneedtohaveveryproficientandrigorousextraction,transformationandloadingtoolforaRevenue
Assuranceapplication.Someofthecommonfeaturesofthistoolare:

Itshouldbeabletoimportdatainallcommonformatsofdata(ASCII,ASN,BCD,Binaryetc.)
Itshouldbeableimportdatadirectlyfromcommondatabases
ItshouldhavetheabilitytoreceivedatafeedsfromvariousdatasourcesoftheNetwork,Operationaland
Businesssupportsystems
Itshouldhaveanextensiveauditlogtotrackfilesandrecordsstatusreceived,processing,duplicate,
loading,erroretc.
Thesolutionmustprovideanintegratedenvironmenttoperformdataintegritychecks
ItshouldbeconfigurableusingauserfriendlyGUI.
Itshouldprovidetheabilitytonormalize,enrichandtransformbusinessrulesasapplicableintoadata
model
Itshouldbeabletolookuplargetablesorfilesforreferenceinformation
Itshouldenablethecreationofnewdatafieldsbymanipulatingandcalculatingvaluesbasedonother
fields
ItshouldprovidethecapabilitytomonitortheprogressandsuccessofthewholeETLprocessfromstart
toend
Itshouldhandleunexpectederrorsandcontinueprocessingandmaintaintheappropriateauditlogs
ItshouldsupportfullautomationoftheETLprocedurefromfilepickuptorecordentryintheDBorfile
system.
Itshouldhavetheabilitytostorehistoricalsummaryanddetailinformationforaperiodoftime
configurablebytheuser
Itshouldbeabletosummarizeinformationontheflybasedonconfigurabledimensions
ItshouldhavetheabilitytoconfigureETLlevelalarmsandthresholdsondataandnotifyrelevantusers
ofanyexceptions
Thesolutionmustbehighlyscalablesothatthedataprocessingplatformcanbesizedtoaccommodate
currentandprojected,withbusinessgrowth,trafficvolumes&auditpoints.

Reconciliations

OneoftheprimaryfocusareasofaRevenueAssurancetoolistocompareCDRsorXDRsfrom2different
sourcesandcheckingifalltherecordsfromthefirstsystemhavetransferredproperlytothesecondsystem
keepingtheappropriatebusinessrulesinconsideration.Thisisachievedviacomparativeanalysisofthe
recordsbetweenthe2systemseitheratthedetailsrecordlevelorsummarylevelbyevaluatingthecommon
dimensionsbetweenthe2datasets.Givenbelowaresomeoftherequirements(notexhaustive)whicha
RevenueAssuranceReconciliationsideoftheproductshouldprovide.

ItshouldhaveagraphicaluserinterfacetoenabletheRAanalyststocreate/updatereconciliationand
businessrules
Itshouldsupportvariousreconciliationandcontrolsrulestypese.g.missingrecords,unmatchedrecords,
problemsinsourcefile(duplicates,invalidvalues)
Itshouldbeabletofilterthedatapriortotheruleexecutingtoensureefficientsystemoperation
Itshouldbeabletoseteffectivestartandenddatefromwhichanewerbusinessrulewillbeappliedand
validfor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 9/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

ItshouldbetodefinerulesusinganaturalizeduserfriendlylanguageoradraganddropGUI.
Itshouldbeabletoassociatemonetaryvalueswithdiscrepanciesidentifiedbasedonpredefinedbusiness
rules
Itshouldsupportthecreationofahierarchyofrules,whentheresultsofarulecanbecomeasourcefor
furtherrulesdefinition.

AnalysisandKPIs

OncealltheinformationhasbeenreceivedintotheRevenueAssurancesystemsittimetocrunchnumbersand
generatereports.Thecriticalpartistheanalyticalcapabilitiesofthetool.Thetoolneedstohavetheabilityto
makesenseoftheproblemsinthevastsetofdatathatithasgathered.Thiscanonlybedonebyahigh
performanceanalyticalenginewhichshouldbecapableofthefollowingactivities(nonexhaustive):

Itshouldhavethecapabilitytocreatemeasuresbasedontheoutputofselectedreconciliationandcontrol
rulesand/orotheruserdefinablecriteriae.g.CustomerAccountNumber,ProductCode
Thistoolshouldbeabletocreatealertsbasedontheapplicationofthresholdstomeasuresand
dynamicallychangethethresholdsbasedonbusinesslogic
ItshouldbeabletocreateKPIsbasedonvariousmeasures(suchascount,sum,average,etc..)and
multipledimensions.
ItshouldbeabletoshowcasetrendsbasedonKPIvaluesovertheperiodoftimeandraisealarmswhen
thresholdsarecrossed(forexamplealarmscouldberaisedona)ZerodurationCDRsb)Shortduration
callsc)Longdurationcallsd)Durationdiscrepanciese)Invalidstructurecode/calltypesetc.)
Itshouldbeabletoforecastinformationbasedonpastrecordsandraisealarmsorreports
UsersshouldbeabletosetthresholdsofKPIsonthetotalvalueaswellasonthevalueperspecified
dimension,e.g.thesystemshouldbeabletoalertonthesituationswhenthethresholdperaspecific
attributeisviolated.
Itshouldbeabletocategorizealertsandalarmsbasedonpriorities(e.g.critical,major,minor)
Itshouldenableuserstocreatenew,andupdateanddeleteexisting,KPIsandmeasuresatanytime
throughasimplegraphicaluserinterface.ThisshouldincludefullKPIsdefinitioncalculation,
dimensions,thresholds,calculationfrequency.
Thesolutionmusthavetheabilitytosupportdetection,investigation,validationandcorrectionof
discrepanciesresultingfromauditcomparisons
Itshouldbeabletocorelategapsinthereconciliationswithmissingprofileinformationormissing
referenceinformationorothersystemerrorsandprepareaconsolidatedreport.

Dashboarding

ARevenueAssurancedashboardisaneasytoread,oftensinglepage,realtimeuserinterface,showinga
graphicalpresentationofthecurrentstatus(snapshot)andhistoricaltrendsofanorganizationsKey
PerformanceIndicators(KPIs)toenableinstantaneousandinformeddecisionstobemadeataglance.For
example,aprepaiddashboardmayshowKPIsrelatedtoprepaidCDRsreconciliation,prepaiduserprofile
reconciliation,balancereconciliationsandvoucherreconciliationscarriedoutinrealtimeornearrealtime.

Itshouldbeabletoprovideafullypersonalizeddashboardscreentopresentconcisesummaryand/or
detailedinformation
Itshouldbecomposedofbuildingblocksorsections,eachcontainingvaluableinformationforthe
usere.g.summaryofallcurrentlydefineddimensions&measures
Itshouldallowdifferentbuildingblockstodisplaytheinformationofdifferenttypes(e.g.gridtables,
trendgraphs,bargraphs,linegraphs,piecharts,gauges,URLs,Mapsetc..).
Itshouldenableeachblockorsectiontobelinkedonafunctionallevele.g.onceauserselecteda
specificgauge,forexample,inonebuildingblock,aspecificrelevantpredefinedtableorgraphinother
buildingblock(s),isbeingrefreshedaccordingly,toreflecttheselectionoftheuser
Itshouldprovideinformationoneachsourceonthedashboardwithdrilldowncapabilitiestoinvestigate
detailedinformationrelatedtothebuildingblockwhetherpresentedwithtextualofgraphicalmeans
Itshouldprovideadesignermodulewithfullflexibilityindefiningdatasourcesbasedonany
informationtypestoredintheRAdatabaseaswellastheabilitytouseexternalinformationsources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 10/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

Itshouldenableuserstosearchonapredefinedsetoffieldswithinthesourcedataforrecordsusinga
complexcombinationoflogicaloperatorse.g.=,<,>,includingwildcards
Itshouldprovidedrilldowncapabilitiesfromthelistofrecordsresultantfromasearchintospecific
recorddetails.

CaseManagement

AcasemanagementcapabilityinRevenueAssuranceshouldbeabletoprovidea360degreeviewofagiven
case.Thetoolshouldbeabletotrackandresolvetheidentifieddiscrepancies.Thetoolshouldhandleeach
caseinthesystemfromthepointwherethesystemdetectedit,andmanagefollowupthroughthecorrection
andreclamationprocesses,untilthecaseisresolved.Basedonadiscrepancyinonegivenarea,Itshouldbe
ableconnectrelevantinformationfromvarioussources.Forexample,ifaCDRsreconciliationhasaproblem,
thecasetoolshouldbeabletocorelatewithrespectiveuserprofiles,nonusageinformation,creditsrisks,
networkconfigurationsetc.Thecasemanagementcomponentmayhavesomeofthefollowingnonexhaustive
capabilities:

Abilitytocreateauniquecaseidentificationreferenceforeachdiscrepancy(orgroupofdiscrepancies)
whereuserdefinedcriteriaaremet
Itshouldenableuserstomanageandtrackcasesbyupdatingdifferentcasesattributessuchas:Status,
Value,Priority,Assignee,Description,etc.
Theusershouldhaveafullcasehistorymechanismassociatedwithcasesandthecasedetails.The
historyshouldbekeptthroughoutthecaselifecycleincludingwhenthecaseisreopenedbythesystem
ItshouldbecompletelyuserdefinablewithcontentbasedonanydatafieldavailableintheRAdatabase
byasimpledraganddropmechanism
Itshouldenableuserstoincludeincasedetailsallcaserelatedinformationandalsoanyadditional
information(notnecessarilycaserelated)thatcanhelpincaseanalysis
Itshouldenableuserstocreatenewfieldsinthecasethatwillincludeeithertheautomaticallycalculated
valueorwillbeopenedfortheuserupdate.Thesefieldsshouldretaintheirvaluethroughoutthecaselife
cycle
Itshouldsupportcasereportoutputmanipulationincludingsorting,multilevelgroupingandfiltering
basedonanyoneofthedisplayedattributes
Itshouldhavetheabilitytomultiassigncases(suchaschangingtheassigneeorclosingalarge
numberofcases)tooneanother
ItshouldenableuserstoprintthedisplayeddiscrepanciesandexportthemtoExcel,Word,CsvandPDF
etc.fileswithrestrictuseraccesssothattheycanonlyseeandupdateonlythecasesthatareassignedto
them

Externallinks
[3](http://www.tmforum.org/RevenueAssurance/2140/home.html)TMForum'sRevenueAssurance
programallowsmemberstousetheForum'spublicationsandothercommunications,resultingina
mixtureofconstructiveandthoughtfulcollaboration,andunresolvedinconsistencyandcontradictionin
oneplace.
[4](http://www.cartesian.co.uk/resources/revenueassurancejargonbuster/)Ausefulandunbiased
attempttoprovidecommonterminologyforuseinrevenueassurance.

References
1.http://www.tmforum.org/TMForumPressReleases/RevenueAssuranceStudy/36002/article.html

Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Revenue_assurance&oldid=735671783"

Categories: Revenueassurance Processmanagement Telecommunicationseconomics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 11/12
1/24/2017 RevenueassuranceWikipedia

Thispagewaslastmodifiedon22August2016,at09:28.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisaregistered
trademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_assurance 12/12