Patterns: Information Aggregation and Data Integration with DB2 Information Integrator

116 Patterns: Information Aggregation and Data Integration with DB2 Information Integrator

4.1 Solution definition process

The following steps are involved in arriving at the final solution to the business

requirements:

򐂰 Develop a high-level business description.

򐂰 Develop a Solution Overview Diagram (SOD).

򐂰 Select the Business patterns.

򐂰 Select the Integration patterns.

򐂰 Select the Composite pattern.

򐂰 Select the Application patterns.

򐂰 Select the Runtime patterns.

򐂰 Select the Product Mappings.

򐂰 Review Guidelines.

These steps are covered in the following sections for the Druid Financial

Corporation (DFC) Customer Insight solution.

This chapter references some Application patterns unrelated to Information

Aggregation and Data Integration. For further details on such patterns, please

refer to the Patterns Web site (http://www.ibm.com/developerWorks/patterns/).

4.2 Develop a high-level business description

In the first step of the solution definition process, the business owner should

develop a high-level business description that illustrates the core business

functions of the proposed solution. It should describe the actors who participate

in the solution, and the high-level interactions between these actors that explain

the core business functions.

Attention: Our objective in this chapter is to expose the reader to the process

involved in reusing assets per the Patterns for e-business approach, rather

than conduct a rigorous discussion of the pros and cons of the various pattern

alternatives available at each step that led to the final solution for DFC’s

Customer Insight business requirements.

In a real-world environment, a more detailed description of the business

requirements, and business and IT drivers needs to be defined before a

proper evaluation of the available alternatives can be performed to arrive at

the solution that most closely addresses the business needs of the

organization.

Chapter 4. The Druid Financial Corporation (DFC) Customer Insight solution 117

Actors represent entities that exist outside the scope of the solution, but are

critical for its completeness. For example, actors can be people, devices,

external institutions, legacy applications that will

not be modified, and packaged

applications with which this solution will interact.

The Druid Financial Corporation is a financial services company offering

products ranging from checkings and savings, loans, brokerages, and credit

cards. These products to date have been provided to their customers through

stovepipe systems that are isolated from each other, and therefore did not

provide DFC with a holistic view of customers receiving multiple product services

from the individual stovepipe systems.

DFC recognized the need to develop a Customer Insight

1

business solution that

provided a holistic view of their customers across each product category in order

to identify:

򐂰 Most profitable customers in order that they may be provided superior

customer service, and offered incentives and rewards for their continued

patronage.

򐂰 High potential customers that could be targeted to receive additional products

with suitable marketing campaigns

򐂰 Low or unprofitable customers that should either be targeted for attrition or an

aggressive campaign to make them more profitable

Such a solution was essential to gain a competitive edge, increase operational

efficiency through lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO), and increase

profitability by identifying and exploiting emerging business opportunities in a

timely manner.

Note: In the following high-level business description of the Druid Financial

Corporation (DFC) (a fictional company), underlined

items identify actors in

the solution, while items in bold represent the high-level business functions

that need to be provided by the solution.

1

Customer Insight helps develop strategies to promote customer loyalty, which in the generic sense

describes the tendency of a customer to choose services from a particular vendor or a particular

brand of product(s) when the need arises. In our context, it involves building an infrastructure and

implementing business processes that enable an organization to support activities such as superior

customer service and targeted marketing campaigns to promote customer loyalty within their

clientele. One necessary ingredient of a Customer Insight scenario is the need for a holistic view of all

customer interactions with the organization, sometimes also called customer360. From a customer’s

perspective, loyalty may be engendered with consistent and superior service over all channels such

as the Web, telephone, and face-to-face, as well as personalized information and attention.

Customer Insight programs apply to many different industries such as banking, financial services,

retail, telco, and insurance.