8 Understanding the Process Integration for Collection Management

Understanding Synchronizing Collection Scenarios and Actions Integration Flow

The synchronizing collection scenarios and actions integration enables the transfer of collections data from BRM database views to Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM) tables. This integration uses ODI to transfer the data from BRM to Siebel CRM.

Figure 8-2 illustrates the synchronizing collection scenarios and actions integration flow.

Figure 8-2 Collections Data Synchronizing Activity Flow Diagram

When you initiate this process by creating a new collections action or updating an existing collections action, the following events occur:

1. A collections process is started in BRM and the actions data is populated into two database views:

   • UNIFIED_COLL_ACTION_IF_VIEW which contains all the collections action data (for example, to send dunning letter)

   • UNIFIED_COLL_SCENARIO_IF_VIEW which contains the status of billing profiles (for example, Entered Collections or Exited Collections).

2. When the collections process is finished, BRM creates a CollectionsInfoChange business event and publishes it to an Advanced Queue (AQ) database queue with the start and end timestamp for the collection event. The timestamp information is in Unix format. For example, 1319357706.

3. The SyncCollectionsInfoChangeBRMAQ service receives an AQ queue business event notification message and passes the timestamp details to SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl BPEL service.

4. The SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl BPEL service reads the required parameters from AIAConfigurationProperties.xml file and calls the ODI Web Service to start the SCEN_SYNCCOLLECTIONACTION scenario.

5. SCEN_SYNCCOLLECTIONACTION process starts ODI interfaces to perform the following:

   • Reads data from UNIFIED_COLL_ACTION_IF_VIEW and updates this data by performing a cross-reference and DVM lookup, and querying Siebel CRM base tables.

   • Reads data from the UNIFIED_COLL_SCENARIO_IF_VIEW view and updates this data by performing a cross-reference and DVM lookup, and querying Siebel CRM base tables.

   • Updates the AccountID and BillingProfileID columns using cross-reference data.

   • Updates the Currency Code, Action Name, Priority, and similar columns using DVMs.

6. The updated data is mapped to the EIM_ALERT_CUT table. For every row inserted into the EIM tables, the value of the IF_ROW_STAT column is set to FOR_IMPORT.

7. The Entered Collections and Exited Collections rows are extracted from the EIM_ALERT_CUT table and written to the EIM_ACCNT_PROF table. This data is responsible for changing the status of Billing Profile.

8. A success or failure notification mail is sent to the administrator. If a failure message is received the administrator must take the appropriate action. See "Handling Errors" for more information.

9. Siebel CRM runs a batch job and moves the data from the EIM table to the base table and creates credit alerts.

Time Zone Handling

Oracle AIA does not do a time-zone conversion when synchronizing credit alerts from BRM to Siebel CRM.

BRM publishes collection StartTime and EndTime timestamp details in BRM local server time in epoch format.

Configuring and Generating Data in BRM

You must configure BRM for integrated collections management as described in:

• Setting Up BRM

• The discussion of using integrating collections with your external CRM application in Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management Concepts

• The discussion of integrating Collections Manager with custom client applications in Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management Collections Manager

When you have configured BRM for integrated collections management, BRM generates collections data as follows:

1. A customer enters collections and one of the following collections activities occurs:

   • An account enters or exits collections.

   • A collections action object is created or updated.

   • A /schedule object is created.

2. A collections process is started in BRM and data is populated to the UNIFIED_COLL_ACTION_IF_VIEW and UNIFIED_COLL_SCENARIO_IF_VIEW views.

See Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management Collections Manager for more information about how BRM handles collections.

Receiving and Transforming the Data

The synchronizing collection scenarios and actions process integration uses ODI to receive, transform, and load the BRM data into the Siebel CRM EIM tables.

Figure 8-3 Synchronizing Collection Scenarios and Actions from BRM to Siebel CRM Sequence Diagram

These tasks are performed as a part of the data load process:

1. In BRM the pin_collections_process utility generates the /event/notification/collections/info_change BRM business event.

2. The Data Manager AQ queue receives the payload data and publishes a new CollectionsInfoChange business event to the AQ queue. This includes the start and end timestamps, and the Account POID from the BRM event.

3. An Oracle AIA BPEL service SyncCollectionsInfoChangeBRMAQ receives a message from the AQ queue that new data is available and starts the SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl BPEL service.

4. The SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl BPEL service receives the timestamp parameters and reads the required parameters from the AIAConfigurationProperties file. Using the parameters it calls the ODI web service to start the SCEN_SYNCCOLLECTIONACTION process.

5. SCEN_SYNCCOLLECTIONACTION process starts ODI to perform the following:

   • Reads data from the UNIFIED_COLL_ACTION_IF_VIEW view and updates this data by performing a cross-reference and DVM lookup, and querying Siebel CRM base tables.

   • Reads data from the UNIFIED_COLL_SCENARIO_IF_VIEW view and updates this data by performing a cross-reference and DVM lookup, and querying Siebel CRM base tables.

   • Updates the AccountID and BillingProfileID columns using cross-reference data.

   • Updates the Currency Code, Action Name, Priority, and similar columns using DVMs.

6. The updated data is mapped to the Siebel EIM_ALERT_CUT table.

7. The Entered Collections and Exited Collections rows are extracted from the EIM_ALERT_CUT table and written to the EIM_ACCNT_PROF table. This data is responsible for changing the status of Billing Profile.

8. For every row inserted in the EIM tables, the value of the IF_ROW_STAT column is set to FOR_IMPORT.

Configuring AIAConfigurationProperties file to work with ODI

This section discusses how to configure the AIAConfigurationProperties.xml file to work with ODI.

Based on your requirements, after you have installed the process integration for collection management, you need to change the default values of the collections parameters to suit your implementation.

To configure the AIAConfigurationProperties.xml file to change the default values, do the following:

1. Open Oracle_home/comms_home/source/soainfra/apps/AIAMetaData/config/AIAConfigurationProperties.xml file in a text editor.

   See the discussion of building Oracle AIA integration flows in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Core Extension for more information on how to reload updates to AIAConfigurationProperties.xml file.

2. Locate <ModuleConfiguration moduleName="CollectionsParameters"> and update the following default values:

   • FromMailAddress

   • ToMailAddress

   • MailServer

   • ODI.USERNAME

   • ODI.PASSWORD

   • ODI.WORKREPNAME

   • BatchSize

   • Default.SystemID

   • AIAHome

   • IF_ROW_BATCH_NUM_CreatedStart

   • IF_ROW_BATCH_NUM_CreatedEnd

   • IF_ROW_BATCH_NUM_UpdateStart

   • IF_ROW_BATCH_NUM_UpdateEnd

   • IF_ROW_BATCH_NUM_Error

   • AL_SOURCE_CD

   • AL_TYPE_CD

   See "Configuring the Process Integration for Collections Management" for more information about these properties.

Handling BPEL Service Errors

For BPEL service errors, do the following:

SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImp

This service uses the default error handling capability of Oracle AIA.

• Faults: On Error the collections Application Business Message (ABM) is transformed to a fault message and returned to the calling process. The fault message contains the collections run timestamp details. The Error BPEL process is started. An Exception is raised.

• Based on your Error Handling Notification configuration, an email is sent to the user.

  According to the message received the user must take the appropriate action.

UpdateCreditAlertSiebelCommsReqABCSImpl

This service uses the default error handling capability of Oracle AIA.

• Faults: On Error the Credit Alert ABM is transformed to a fault message and returned to the calling process. The fault message contains the Credit Alert details. The Error BPEL process is started. An Exception is raised.

• Based on your Error Handling Notification configuration, an email is sent to the user.

  According to the message received the user must take the appropriate action.

UpdateCreditAlertBRMCommsProvABCSImpl

This service uses the default error handling capability of Oracle AIA.

• Faults: On Error the Credit Alert ABM is transformed to a fault message and returned to the calling process. The fault message contains the Credit Alert details. The Error BPEL process is started. An Exception is raised.

• Based on your Error Handling Notification configuration, an email is sent to the user.

  According to the message received the user must take the appropriate action.

Handling ODI Error Messages

After each scenario run a notification email is sent to the user's email address.

On receiving a notification email, for failed jobs do the following:

1. Take the appropriate action based on the message received.

2. Re-start the scenario by doing one of the following:

   1. Manually restart the scenario. See "Restarting Your Job Manually" for more information.

   2. Re run the job by passing the timestamp details to the SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl service.

Restarting Your Job Manually

The notification mail contains the start and end timestamps, for example:

Coll_StartTime: 1299794311
Coll_EndTime: 1299794315

To restart your job manually:

1. On the Oracle AIA system, navigate to the following file path:

   ODI_HOME/oracledi/agent/bin
   

   where ODI_HOME is the path to ODI home

2. Run the following command, where Start_Time_Stamp and End_Time_Stamp are the timestamp values shown in the notification email:

   • In a Linux environment:

     ./startscen.sh SYNCCOLLECTIONACTION 001 GLOBAL
     "GLOBAL.Coll_StartTime=Start_Time_Stamp"
     "GLOBAL.Coll_EndTime=End_Time_Stamp"
       
     

   • In a Windows environment:

     startscen.bat SYNCCOLLECTIONACTION 001 GLOBAL
     "GLOBAL.Coll_StartTime=Start_Time_Stamp"
     "GLOBAL.Coll_EndTime=End_Time_Stamp"
       
     

   For this command, ODI_HOME is the path of ODI home.

UpdateCreditAlertSiebelCommsReqABCSImpl

UpdateCreditAlertSiebelCommsReqABCSImpl is a Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) process. It performs the following actions:

• Receives Siebel Credit Alert ABM containing billing profile ID, credit alert ID, integration ID, and status.

• Transforms the ABM to UpdateCreditAlertListEBM and starts the UpdateCreditAlertBRMCommsProvABCSImpl service.

UpdateCreditAlertBRMCommsProvABCSImpl

UpdateCreditAlertBRMCommsProvABCSImpl is a BPEL process. It performs the following actions:

• Receives UpdateCreditAlertBRMCommsProvABCSImpl from the requestor service.

• Transforms the UpdateCreditAlertListEBM to BRM opcode PCM_OP_COLLECTIONS_SET_ACTION_STATUS flist.

• Starts BRM PCM_OP_COLLECTIONS_SET_ACTION_STATUS and updates the status of the credit alert or action to Closed.

SyncCollectionsInfoChangeBRMAQ

SyncCollectionsInfoChangeBRMAQ is a mediator based service. It performs the following actions:

• Reads the message from AQ event message published by BRM.

• Starts SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl

SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl

SyncCollectionHeaderInfoBRMCommsReqImpl a BPEL process. It performs the following actions:

• Receives the timestamp values.

• Reads the properties from the AIAConfigurationProperties.xml file

• Transforms the input message to an ODI web service message type.

• Starts the operation of the ODI web service.