Network Performance Management

• US 20070195695A1
• Filed: 11/06/2006
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Schornstein, Stefan, Healy, Desmond, Hausammann, Rolf
• Granted Patent: US 7,639,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters

Abstract

The performance of a network can be managed by receiving a set of key quality parameters, wherein a key quality parameter represents a characteristic associated with at least one network component; identifying a service quality mapping module based on one or more network components associated with providing an end customer service, wherein the service quality mapping module corresponds to at least one service instance and defines a correlation between the set of key quality parameters and a set of customer quality parameters; applying the service quality mapping module to the set of key quality parameters to generate the set of customer quality parameters; and outputting a signal representing at least one customer quality parameter included in the set of customer quality parameters. Further, the service quality mapping module can define a linear dependency between a customer quality parameter and at least one key quality parameter.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a set of key quality parameters, wherein a key quality parameter represents a characteristic associated with at least one network component;

identifying a service quality mapping module based on one or more network components associated with providing an end customer service, wherein the service quality mapping module corresponds to at least one service instance and defines a correlation between the set of key quality parameters and a set of customer quality parameters;

applying the service quality mapping module to the set of key quality parameters to generate the set of customer quality parameters; and

outputting a signal representing at least one customer quality parameter included in the set of customer quality parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the service quality mapping module defines a linear dependency between a customer quality parameter and at least one key quality parameter.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the linear dependency between the customer quality parameter and the at least one key quality parameter includes one or more weighting factors.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the service quality mapping module further comprises:

a set of service quality parameters, wherein at least one service quality parameter is included for each network component involved in providing the end customer service;

a first correlation function defining a correlation between the set of key quality parameters and the set of service quality parameters; and

a second correlation function defining a correlation between the set of service quality parameters and the set of customer quality parameters.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of the first correlation function and the second correlation function includes one or more weighting factors.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

defining a correlation set corresponding to a customer quality parameter included in the set of customer quality parameters, wherein the correlation set comprises the customer quality parameter and each key quality parameter and service quality parameter correlated with the customer quality parameter;

identifying one or more responsibility pools associated with at least one service quality parameter, key quality parameter, or customer quality parameter included in the correlation set; and

outputting a signal representing the customer quality parameter corresponding to the correlation set to one or more departments associated with the one or more identified responsibility pools.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

retrieving service level agreement data from an end customer database, wherein the service level agreement data includes any combination of one or more predetermined key quality parameters, one or more predetermined service quality parameters, and one or more predetermined customer quality parameters;

determining a deviation between the retrieved service level agreement data and one or more corresponding parameters included in any of the set of key quality parameters, the set of service quality parameters, and the set of customer quality parameters; and

outputting a signal indicating the determined deviation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising outputting the signal to a department responsible for at least one key quality parameter, service quality parameter, or customer quality parameter that deviates from the retrieved service level agreement data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of customer quality parameters indicates at least one aspect of a service quality perceived by an end customer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the service quality mapping module comprises a plurality of instance quality mapping modules, each instance quality mapping module corresponding to a service instance.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein applying the service quality mapping module further comprises:

applying at least one of the plurality of instance quality mapping modules to one or more key quality parameters included in the set of key quality parameters to generate one or more customer quality parameters associated with the corresponding service instance.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the set of key quality parameters further comprises:

receiving one or more trigger signals, wherein a trigger signal represents a characteristic associated with at least one network component; and

generating the set of key quality parameters from the one or more received trigger signals.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the set of key quality parameters is generated in accordance with a normalized grading scheme.

14. A system for managing network performance, the system comprising:

a trigger interface for receiving a set of key quality parameter, wherein a key quality parameter represents a characteristic associated with at least one network component;

a mapping model repository for storing a service quality mapping module, wherein the service quality mapping module corresponds to at least one instance of an end customer service and defines a correlation between the set of key quality parameters and a set of customer quality parameters;

a mapping engine for applying the service quality mapping module to the set of key quality parameters to generate the set of customer quality parameters; and

an interface for outputting a signal representing at least one customer quality parameter.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the service quality mapping module defines a linear dependency between a customer quality parameter and at least one key quality parameter.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the service quality mapping module further comprises:

a set of service quality parameters, wherein at least one service quality parameter is included for each network component involved in providing the at least one instance of an end customer service;

a first correlation function defining a correlation between the set of key quality parameters and the set of service quality parameters; and

a second correlation function defining a correlation between the set of service quality parameters and the set of customer quality parameters.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising processor electronics configured to perform operations comprising:

defining a correlation set corresponding to a customer quality parameter included in the set of customer quality parameters, wherein the correlation set comprises the customer quality parameter and each key quality parameter and service quality parameter correlated with the customer quality parameter;

identifying one or more responsibility pools associated with at least one service quality parameter, key quality parameter, or customer quality parameter included in the correlation set; and

outputting a signal representing the customer quality parameter corresponding to the correlation set to one or more departments associated with the one or more identified responsibility pools.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising processor electronics configured to perform operations comprising:

retrieving service level agreement data from an end customer database, wherein the service level agreement data includes any combination of one or more predetermined key quality parameters, one or more predetermined service quality parameters, and one or more predetermined customer quality parameters;

determining a deviation between the retrieved service level agreement data and one or more corresponding parameters included in any of the set of key quality parameters, the set of service quality parameters, and the set of customer quality parameters; and

outputting a signal indicating the determined deviation.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor electronics are further configured to output the signal to a department responsible for at least one key quality parameter, service quality parameter, or customer quality parameter that deviates from the retrieved service level agreement data.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the trigger interface is further configured to generate the set of key quality parameters in accordance with one or more received trigger signals.

21. A computer program product, encoded on a computer-readable medium, operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a set of key quality parameters, wherein a key quality parameter represents a characteristic associated with at least one network component;

identifying a service quality mapping module based on one or more network components associated with providing an end customer service, wherein the service quality mapping module corresponds to at least one service instance and defines a correlation between the set of key quality parameters and a set of customer quality parameters;

applying the service quality mapping module to the set of key quality parameters to generate the set of customer quality parameters; and

outputting a signal representing at least one customer quality parameter included in the set of customer quality parameters.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the service quality mapping module defines a linear dependency between a customer quality parameter and at least one key quality parameter.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the service quality mapping module further comprises:

a set of service quality parameters, wherein at least one service quality parameter is included for each network component involved in providing the end customer service;

a first correlation function defining a correlation between the set of key quality parameters and the set of service quality parameters; and

a second correlation function defining a correlation between the set of service quality parameters and the set of customer quality parameters.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, further operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

defining a correlation set corresponding to a customer quality parameter included in the set of customer quality parameters, wherein the correlation set comprises the customer quality parameter and each key quality parameter and service quality parameter correlated with the customer quality parameter;

identifying one or more responsibility pools associated with at least one service quality parameter, key quality parameter, or customer quality parameter included in the correlation set; and

outputting a signal representing the customer quality parameter corresponding to the correlation set to one or more departments associated with the one or more identified responsibility pools.

25. The computer program product of claim 23, further operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

retrieving service level agreement data from an end customer database, wherein the service level agreement data includes any combination of one or more predetermined key quality parameters, one or more predetermined service quality parameters, and one or more predetermined customer quality parameters;

determining a deviation between the retrieved service level agreement data and one or more corresponding parameters included in any of the set of key quality parameters, the set of service quality parameters, and the set of customer quality parameters; and

outputting a signal indicating the determined deviation.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, further operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising outputting the signal to a department responsible for at least one key quality parameter, service quality parameter, or customer quality parameter that deviates from the retrieved service level agreement data.

27. The computer program product of claim 21, further operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving one or more trigger signals, wherein a trigger signal represents a characteristic associated with at least one network component; and

generating the set of key quality parameters from the one or more received trigger signals.

28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the set of key quality parameters is generated in accordance with a normalized grading scheme.