Siebel Implementation Methodology
...Siebel data model as early as possible is key to jump-starting all development efforts in a FastSiebel implementation. Without a finalized data model, dependencies on the underlying data schema will ultimately impede the development of modules most critical to building the FastSiebel foundation. During this phase, Tactica practices our stringent gap analysis methodology to ensure that the data model is designed correctly and that all key information will have its place in Siebel. The Business Object Model must be defined concurrently as requirements emerge in the data migration mapping because the Business Object Model is based directly on the Siebel data model. Similarly, it is highly probable that the EAI analysis will reveal legacy data that must be present in Siebel where there is currently no destination. By focusing intensive efforts on these areas at the project's outset, the first key deliverable of the project data dictionary launches the first phase of development. FastSiebel: Development Phase I At this point, Tactica's FastSiebel development splits into several different mission-critical efforts, instead of the traditional, linear project plan. The Business Object Model configuration proceeds with the defined data dictionary and transforms it from a conceptual framework into a physical model that allows Siebel application configuration. Using Siebel Tools, custom tables and fields are created to house legacy data and relationships between Business Components and Business Objects are defined to reflect the data being imported into the Siebel database. This phase concludes when the business object model is complete with all major relationships and object definitions (e.g. Business Objects, BusIness Components, links, custom tables and relationships, etc.). Only minor extensibilities should be added to the Siebel repository as development proceeds. The completed business object model should be loaded to the Siebel server(s) and distributed to all developers at this point to synchronize all local Siebel repositories. When the data dictionary is complete, the EIM Data Migration proceeds with an assessment of the scope and migration requirements to develop a production load strategy using Siebel's Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM) tool. Tactica's FastSiebel strategy encompasses defining a migration sequence, mapping the legacy data to EIM destination tables and columns, cleansing the data, and testing the data loads. Tactica's knowledgebase and the technical skills of our consultants provide the custom-code experience needed to speed the data cleansing, testing and migration process. Preparing the Siebel load files, documenting the correct load sequences, identifying and creating the complex relationships between entities and conducting test loads is not a lengthy trial and error process, but an area where we leverage our past experience to build the data model quickly and correctly. When this strategy is complete, the second phase of the Data Migration immediately begins with preparation of the data for export and import. From our past eCRM experience and technical know-how working with Siebel, Tactica's methodology framework serves as a solid starting point for the data migration. The second phase of the EIM Data Migration is split into two fronts. While redundancies are removed, errors are eliminated, data is transformed into a uniform format, and legacy data is mapped from source to EIM destinations. As the data is first refined and then loaded into the EIM staging tables, the mapping design is completed with the creation of Siebel .ifb load sequence files. This finalizes the design and build of the EIM Data Migration. Testing begins by loading data into the development database. The process of cleansing the data, loading the data to EIM staging tables, and conducting test loads is an iterative process that ultimately results in a documented methodology to load legacy data into the production database. The scope of the Data Migration phases depends on the number of unique data points in a company. For a Siebel mid-market implementation, Tactica's timeframe accommodates anywhere from 2000 to 7000 data points. If the FastSiebel implementation includes Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), this portion of the project continues on with its own workplan after contributing to the Siebel data model. ...