Openbravo Production and Services provision
Contents |
Introduction
Openbravo is a software solution vendor that offers a global POS and retail management software with the aim of helping midsize and large business to successfully manage their retail operations.
Same way, Openbravo also offers a complete back office functionality.
Additionally, Openbravo also offers an implementation framework named "Openbravo ERP Implementation framework", proposed to provide a proven, understandable and scalable guide for Openbravo implementation projects whatever size they are.
Openbravo is a channel oriented software vendor, that means it also delivers its product through its partners. Openbravo partners need to be part of the Openbravo Partner Program under the corresponding "partnership agreement".
This agreement describes in detail the collaboration between the parties according to Openbravo quality standards and requirements.
In summary, the way Openbravo or Openbravo partners deliver its product, services or activities, is through the "Openbravo Implementation Methodology".
Characteristics of the products and services
Openbravo Commerce Suite
“Openbravo Commerce Suite” is the Openbravo’s commercial offering for the Retail Industry.
This suite offers a unique store solution or cash register system, composed by a set of modules that once installed on top of Openbravo, deliver the retail functionality provided by Openbravo and the technology to extend and create new retail functionality to adapt Openbravo as required.
The Openbravo Commerce Suite includes a state-of-the-art commerce solution that will help retailers to:
- Achieve real merchandise management agility
- Execute supply chain operations seamlessly
- Provide a seamless shopping experience across retail channels
- Gain accurate enterprise management control
- Get full visibility of the business performance
Openbravo Commerce Suite leverages standard Openbravo Platform capabilities to provide the required flexibility and agility that help retailers succeed in today’s highly demanding retail market.
Visit our Commerce Suite website section for additional details.
Every time that Openbravo releases a new version of its commerce suite, the corresponding Release Note is published, as the way to:
- properly identify the maturity status of the outputs provided, to ensure its conformity with Openbravo quality standards and requirements
- control of the unique identification of the outputs provided, to ensure traceability of code changes is detailed.
Additionaly, Openbravo clients can easily check the Openbravo commerce suite version they have installed by navigating in the back office to Help menu, About option as shown in the screen below:
From the Openbravo side, Openbravo butler tool keeps track of the version, functionality installed, number of users of each Openbravo client.
Finally, Openbravo maintains a register for each of the customers who have an Openbravo commerce suite installed in his own ERP system. This register includes information such as:
- Name of the Partner
- Name of the Customer
- Contract Nº
- Contract Attached
- Contract date
- Estimated project start date
- Project start date
- In production dated on
- License
- Contract Start Date
- Partnership Level
- Contract Status
- Project leader
- Channel business manager
- Total concurrent users
- POS users
- Country
- Premium support
- etc...
Openbravo Business Suite
Openbravo Commerce Suite is backed by a complete back office functionality that is the Openbravo Business Suite. The Openbravo business suite offers a comprehensive business management solution with built-in ERP capabilities.
Therefore, the Openbravo back office is an Openbravo instance for supporting backoffice processes, at any retailer organizational level, for example Stores, Warehouses or Distribution Centers or the Central Head Office.
Subscription for the Backoffice is based on users (concurrent, named or unlimited depending on the subscription type).
Visit our Business Suite website section for additional details.
Every time that Openbravo releases a new version of its business suite, the corresponding Release Note is published, as the way to:
- properly identify the maturity status of the outputs provided, to ensure its conformity with Openbravo quality standards and requirements
- control of the unique identification of the outputs provided, to ensure traceability of code changes is detailed.
Same way as described above for the Openbravo Commerce suite, Openbravo clientes can easily check the Openbravo business suite version they have installed and Openbravo keeps track of the business suite version installed in each customer, together with many other relevant information as the contract signed between the parties.
Openbravo implementation methodology
Every time that a new customer opportunity clearly reach a mature status, an implementation project starts based on the "Services" team work prevously done in regards to opportunity qualification and final proposal.
Since the start of each project, Openbravo implementation methodology is followed.
This methodology provides a combination of classical and agile or iterative methodology components, together with a specific methodology for project management, that adds the necessary elements and tools for the planning, coordination, follow-up and control, risks management and change management of the project.
Each of the given components includes support documents and tools and is complemented by a set of good practices.
Overview
Openbravo implementation methodology includes the phases described below:
- Preparation step is aimed to assign the required human and technical resources through detailed planing.
- During this phase the parties agree upon the right staffing and project planning, a kick-off meeting is scheduled so all parties involved are aligned and in case needed an initial training is provided to the customer.
- Definition step is aimed to define the specific system functionality required and its integration with other systems, if applicable.
- During this phase a detailed definition of customer requirements is created together with the corresponding "Functional Designs" and data-migration strategy, if required. Same way required interfaces are defined and designed, if any.
- Iterative prototyping step is aimed to implement customer business requirements through the iterative configuration and construction of a system prototype.
- During this phase some activities takes place, those are:
- Installation of the development enviroment with accurate sizing
- Activation of Openbravo Professional Edition development instance
- Initial configuration and customizations if required by the customer
- Technical Designs creation
- Sizing of production enviroment infranstructure
- Development of interfaces, data load programs and non-standard functionalities if required.
- Definition and execution of unit testing
- During this phase some activities takes place, those are:
- Final preparation step is aimed to carry out those tasks previous to the go live such as training, migration and certification.
- During this phase an integrated testing is executed together with final data load if any and end-user training.
- Go live and Support step is aimed to set the support service after system go live and begining of the guarantee.
- Once previous step is completed, Openbravo considers the customer can start working in production mode. During this phase the implementation team supports the go-live and guarantee customer support and maintance according to the corresponding "Service Level Agreeemnt" signed betweeen the parties.
Image below shows detailed information of the activities that need to be executed either by the implementation team or by the customer, during preparation, definition and iterative prototype stages.
It is important to remark that for those countries where a specific regulation might require the provision of specific documentation required for the proper operation of the cash register system or business suite, those documents provision will be part of the service.
Additionaly, customer acceptance criteria is also defined for each of the phase, in the sense that the customer will have to validate every milestone and deliverable, as well as give a "final" validation to Go-Live.
- "Preparation" step requires the customer to validate the Work Plan or "Project Charter".
- "Definition" step requires the customer to validate "Functional Designs".
- "Iterative Prototyping" step requires the customer to validate delivered prototypes.
Image below shows detailed information of the activities that need to be executed either by the implementation team or by the customer during final preparation and go live & support stages.
Additionaly, customer acceptance criteria is also defined for each of these final phases, as already described. In this case for instance "Final" step requires the customer to certify the system, once integrated and performance testing have been succesffuly executed, same way as final data migration.
Finally, it is important to remark that every customer validation required will be signed off by the customer in the corresponding document provided by Openbravo.
Roles
Implementation team sizing depends on the complexity and scope of the project.
Overall, the roles that take part on the provision of Openbravo products, services or activities are:
- a "Project Director" in charge of:
- escalations to the steering comittes, if required
- a Project Manager in charge of:
- the definition of the initial steps of the projects
- project process monitoring and team coordination
- project planning and control, as well as project validation and completion
- change management
- Identification, monitoring, evaluation and mitigation of risks
- Scope modification management
- and troubleshooting
- a Technical Lead and Engineers in charge of all technical tasks such as Technical Design creation, Unit testing, development of interfaces and so on.
- a Senior Consultant and Consultans team members in charge of all task related to functional specifications creation, integrated testing, training and so on.
In the case of projects being implemented by an Openbravo partner under this methodology, competent persons will be allocated as per Openbravo request on certified partner staffing. For additional information, visit Partner Program requirements.
Activities and documentation
Openbravo has a clear and detailed definition of the task included and the controls and results expected on each of the implementation project stage, as shown in the image below:
Openbravo preserves project documentation of whatever type and during any step of production and service provision, in the corresponding project folder where those documents are properly identified and handled by the implementation team and the project manager.
Project manager is the one to grant access of whatever type, to the appropiate persons to protect that kind of documentation. All of this is done to ensure and protect customer conformity to requirements.
Control of nonconforming outputs
Openbravo implementation methodology ensures that the outputs that do not conform to their requirements are identified and controlled to prevent their unintended use or delivery by registering those in a document
named "Issue & Action Log". See image below:
Openbravo will take the appropiate action based on the nature of the nonconformity and its effect on the conformity of products and services, during whatever step of the project, thefore a "Change Request" form will have to be filled by the project manager and the customer to correct nonconforming outputs.
This document describes who requested the change, a description of the change required and the impacts of it on different areas together with an Acceptance Agreement. See image below:
Conformity to the requirements whatever type they are, will be verified when nonconforming outputs are corrected.
For instance if a nonconformity is found in the definition phase, therefore the corresponding functional design can not be sign-off by the customer, a change request document will be filled it to set basis on what to correct.
Once corrected, functional specification will be once again ready to be reviewed by the customer for its approval.