North American Portability Management, LLCLNPA Transition Contingency Rollback

Small Provider Industry Working Session and Resubmission Preparation ReviewNovember 29th, 2017

An audio recording is not available for this call. Please use the link below to submit any questions you may have to the Transition Oversight Manager.

https://www.napmllc.org/pages/npacrfp/npacRFP_Comments.aspx

Agenda

• LTI-user RollbackLTI-user process overview, small provider participation, and governance

• Rollback PreparationService provider preparation, recommended testing, and pre-transition readiness actions

• Resubmission AidContents, executive summary, and expectations

• Conclusion and Next Steps

• Q & A

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About this meeting

Objectives

Our goal today is to review the rollback planning with a focus on small service provider procedures

This is the fourth in a series of meetings to prepare for potential rollback following transition

Facilitators

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Welcome to today’s presentation!

Greg ChiassonPrincipalChicago, IL

William ReillyDirectorFlorham Park, NJ

Jonathan TurnerManagerWashington, DC

Subject Matter Experts

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Teresa PattonNAPM Co-Chair & Transition TeamAT&T Inc.

Deborah TuckerNAPM Transition TeamVerizon Inc.

John MalyarLNPA Transition Teamiconectiv LLC

Paul MazouatLNPA Transition Teamiconectiv LLC

Dave GortonLNPA Transition Teamiconectiv LLC

Suzanne AddingtonNAPM Transition TeamSprint Inc.

A number of subject matter experts are present today and will support the discussion

Pat WhiteLNPA Transition Teamiconectiv LLC

LTI User Rollback

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Monitor Assess Decide Act

High Level Process

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NAPM TOM maintains open conference bridges and WebEx for communicationsTransition Pre-Rollback Point of Failure Rollback

Transitioncompleted

Begin logging NPAC requests

Begin monitoring performance

Maintain Neustar NPAC system in quiescent, state

Critical failure reported to TGT, withdetails and status available at the timeiconectiv engineering works to resolve

Announce rollback on theopen conference bridge

Transaction Report provided to participants

Begin rollback resubmission• Evaluate internal and iconectiv-provided

transaction reports• Re-establish SOA and LSMS connections.• Revert to Neustar LTI interface• Begin normal porting.• Submit re-work transactions through the

usual interfaces (SOA, LTI, etc.).

Begin allowing connections to the NPAC,with data as-of the close of transition

Industry

NAPM

iconectiv

Neustar

Transition Governance Team

Assess failure status

The overall event flow for rollback applies equally to all participating Service Providers

Progress Reporting• All participants are invited to join a Transition Conference Bridge and

WebEx during the maintenance window. The TOM and/or iconectiv will regularly report the transition status on this channel

• If there is a critical failure and/or the need for a rollback, it will be reported on the Transition Bridge

• If a rollback is necessary, the Transition Bridge will become a rollback bridge, which Service Providers may use for coordination

Decision Points• Decision points will be managed by the TGT (Transition Governance Team)

and announced on the Transition Bridge• Go/NoGo checks will include:

– NPAC has passed testing specified in the Acceptance Test Plans– Pre-transition readiness (checked before start of maintenance window)– Regional data is loaded and verified by iconectiv– Mechanized connections complete, and LTI is live– As-needed rollback checks– Regional Acceptance

GovernanceProgress Reporting and Decision Points

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• Identify the people who will be handling your transition and, if needed, rollback. This should include:o LTI credentials and network connection – if you use a Service

Bureau, contact them first; you may not need to make any changeso Number porting record collection and analysiso An escalation path for fallout management

• Become familiar with the transaction report specification and the resubmission aid

• Confirm availability of internal number porting records• Identify and test your internal processes for transition and rollback.

Processes will need to cover:o User training to switch LTI interface and credentials when notifiedo Analyzing records and submitting re-worko How you interact with your service bureau

Readiness Planning

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A successful industry-led rollback will require service provider’s active preparation and participation; LTI Service Providers should consider the following:

Transaction Records and

SOA State(SP-compiled)

• Continue to monitor the transition conference bridge and WebEx (now used for rollback)

• Stop using, and log out of, the iconectiv LTI interfaceIf you use a Service Bureau interface (instead of the NPAC LTI) you may not need to switch interfaces

• Collect internal transaction recordso Regular NPAC portingo MUMP, Pooling, and pending activity

• Retrieve Transaction Reports from the iconectiv SFTP site

• Review and organize work items from reports• Prioritize and sequence work items• Identify key porting partners and coordination• Notify your customer care personnel to be prepared

to handle possible customer calls

Preparing for Re-submission

Resubmission Aid

(recommended actions)

Transaction Report

(iconectiv-provided)

• Switch back to the Neustar LTI interface if needed (make sure that your personnel still have their login credentials handy)If you use a Service Bureau this may not be necessary

• Continue monitoring the transition conference bridge and correspondence; these will be used to support rollback coordination

• Begin re-work (including pooling) and regular porting activity, coordinating with porting partners as necessary

• Engage your care groups to resolve fallout if needed• If you work with a Service Bureau, coordinate your activity with

their help desk so that they may assist you with identifying and resolving exceptions.Please note that service providers are responsible for submitting required transactions – your Service Bureau, Neustar, and iconectiv may assist but YOU are the driver

• Re-schedule future mass transactions (SPID migrations, etc.) with the incumbent LNPA where needed

Re-submitting Work

Operations Processes(SP-internal, prepared in advance of transition)

Reviewing your transaction lists before starting re-work will be crucial to minimizing fallout

Most transactions will likely be straightforward, but the exception situations should be identified early so they can be handled properly

Use the resubmission aid guidance and your own expertise to identify these more complex items and possible remediation steps

Managing exception situations may require coordination with your customer care group and your service bureau (if you use one)

Exceptions and Fallout Handling

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Transaction Records

(SP-compiled)

Transaction Report

(iconectiv-provided)

Resubmission Aid

(iconectiv-provided)

• The rollback process for LTI users is essentially the same as for mechanized usersThere are only a few areas to highlight

• Progress reporting and governanceLTI users will be invited to access the same channels for status reporting and governance as mechanized providers

• Connection switchingRollback would require returning to use of the Neustar LTI porting interface instead of the iconectiv LTI porting interface

• Interaction with a Service BureauSome service providers may submit work and handling exceptions (fallout) with the assistance of a service bureau rather than directly with the NPAC

Summary

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Provider Preparation

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If an Industry-Led rollback becomes necessary, Service Providers would need to duplicate their prior work using current manual processes

Although manual work is done today, rollback conditions can make these normal processes more challenging:

• Switching NPAC connections is not done often and requires precise configuration

• Rollback conditions would likely create more time pressure than normal. When manual work is done, everyone will want to finish as quickly as possible

• Rollback volume could be higher than what service provider manual processes would normally expect

• While the actual porting is a normal process for the NPAC, the time pressure may result in a larger percentage of exceptions (fallout) which SP and NPAC helpdesks would need to resolve

Provider Preparation Overview

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Because a rollback would occur under stressful conditions, we recommend that service providers validate their manual processes in advance of transition

Rollback is Industry-Led, do not assume the incumbent LNPA will do the work for you!

Recommended Testing

Component Test Plan / Recommendation1. Connection switching

Testing plannedScheduling for Feb and Mar ‘18

2. iconectiv transaction report process

Testing plannediconectiv will test the report creation process and provide SPs with example reports, Jan ‘18

3. SP transaction report gathering and analysis process

SP testing recommendedService Providers are encouraged to evaluate their record keeping processes and familiarity with the resubmission aid recommendations

4. Inter-provider coordination process

Use existing processes

5. SP porting resubmission process

SP testing recommendedService Providers are encouraged to take advantage of the iconectiv and Neustar test beds to test their manual porting processes

6. Incumbent NPAC port processing

Use existing processes

7. SP exception handling process

SP testing recommendedService Providers are encouraged to review the resubmission aid recommendations and their internal exception handling processes

8. SP PAS resubmission process

SP testing recommendedService Providers are encouraged to review their process for requesting pooling work directly through the NPAC helpdesk (for rollback only)

Validates mechanized provider ability to switch production data connections (mandatory)

Validates iconectiv ability to create and distribute reports, and SP ability to retrieve them via SFTP

Validates Service Provider ability to create a transaction record from internal data and prioritize re-work

Validates Service Provider readiness to use current manual submission processes for rollback re-work

Validates Service Provider familiarity with the resubmission aid, exception handling, and ability to minimize escalation to the helpdesks

Validates Service provider ability to request pooling re-work on the NPAC for block changes already recorded by the Pooling Administrator

Service Providers should consider the following transition-preparation items:• Large discretionary porting processes, such as network rearrangements (which may use MUMP

processing) and pool block assignments should be minimized during the weekend of a transition• Service Providers should avoid discretionary last-minute work the night prior to transition to

reduce or eliminate the risk of in-flight work (work or transactions that SOAs have initiated but have not received a response prior to going into the maintenance window for the transition)

• Service Providers that regularly use deferred disconnects should, where possible, try to set the Effective Release Date for a few days after transition, rather than the night of the transition, to reduce risk

• Mechanized Users should ensure that they retain the configurations and credentials used to connect to the Neustar NPAC so that, should a contingency rollback be declared, these can quickly be restored

• Similarly, LTI users should save their credentials for accessing the Neustar NPAC LTI in case of a rollback

• Note also that SPID migration blackout periods are planned for the weekends before, during, and after each regional transition. These will impact only the transitioning region(s)

The above actions will help smooth the transition and reduce the amount of porting transactions to be replayed should a contingency rollback be declared

Pre-Transition Actions

Resubmission Aid

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A resubmission aid has been published to all registered service providers as a guide to preparation for rollback

Resubmission Aid

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This is meant to be a supplement, not a replacement, for service

provider knowledge and experience

Contingency Rollback Resubmission Aid1. Introduction1.1 Service Provider Readiness1.2 Definitions2. Resubmission Guidelines2.1 Executive Summary2.2 Gather Data2.3 Identify Completed Ports2.4 Prioritize Work2.4.1 Network Data Requests2.4.2 Port-Out Requests2.4.3 Customer Service-Affecting Work2.4.4 Soon To Be Customer Service Affecting Work2.4.5 Other Port-in Requests2.4.6 Self-Dependent Work2.5 Schedule and Execute Resubmission of Work3. Exception Situations3.1 Ignore Certain Transactions3.2 Combine Transactions3.3 Other Transaction Resubmittal Exceptions3.4 SOA Resubmittal Exceptions3.5 NPAC Broadcast Exceptions3.6 Bulk Data Download Exceptions4. Contingency Rollback Preparation4.1 Rollback Testing Considerations4.2 Pre-Transition Considerations

The resubmission aid provides recommendations on key topics including resubmission preparation, prioritizing re-work, and handling exceptions

Section 2.1, the Executive Summary, provides a useful overview of resubmission priorities, supported by further detail and guidance on exception cases.

• Gather data – from internal sources and the iconectiv Transaction Reports• Identify ports that were completed and/or activated on the iconectiv NPAC

Note: restrict use of the audit process (auditing may put customers out of service)• Prioritize the work - recommended priority is as follows:

1. Network Data Requests2. Port Out Work3. Customer Service-Affecting Work – port-in ports or intra-service provider ports where the current

state of the port (e.g., partial failures) is affecting customer service4. Soon to be Customer Service Affecting Work – similar to above, port-in or intra-SP ports that

have a due date that is fast approaching should be addressed next5. Other Port-in Requests6. Self-Dependent Work – this type of work does not involve other service providers and could be

done in parallel with the other work described above, e.g.: Modify Active Requests, Disconnect Requests, or Pool Block related work

• Schedule and resubmit work once it is prioritized, using current processes to address inadvertent ports, fallout, and system overridesThere are blackouts of SPID Migrations on the weekend before, weekend of, and weekend after the transition, but if future SPID Migrations have been requested to iconectiv, resubmit those requests to the Neustar Helpdesk

Resubmission GuidelinesExecutive Summary

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All service providers should review the resubmission aid in depth and evaluate the recommendations provided against their current processes

Update your internal processes to incorporate the recommendations where appropriate

Expectations and Feedback

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If, when you evaluate your procedures, you identify particular scenarios of concern, especially areas where the guide can be improved, please provide that input so that we may better address your interest areas in the future

This is a first release; it will be updated with your feedback and comments where appropriate

Conclusions and Next Steps

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Today we looked at the LTI-user workflow, recommendations for service provider preparation and testing, and took an initial look at the resubmission aid

Next steps include• Collecting and evaluating your feedback on the resubmission aid

content• Providing further detail on recommended SP resubmission testing

using the test beds• Updating the Resubmission Aid document where appropriate• Completing the schedule and preparations for user activation and

connectivity testing• Preparing a regional cutover playbook

Conclusions and next steps

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Discussion

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Thank you for your participation