Self-Service

The Self-Service business pattern, also known as the User-to-Business or U2B pattern, captures the essence of direct interactions between interested parties and a business. Interested parties include customers, business partners, stakeholders, employees, and all other individuals with whom the business intends to interact. For simplicity, these interested parties are referred to as users. In this definition business represents various types of organizations including large enterprises, small and medium businesses, government agencies, and so on.

• Insurance Industry
  • Locate a nearby office
  • Locate brokers or agents
  • Financial planner and insurance needs analysis tool
  • Portfolio summary
  • Policy summary and details
  • Claims submission and tracking
  • Online billing
• Discount Brokerage
  • Portfolio summary
  • Detailed holdings
  • Buy and sell stocks
  • Transaction history
  • Quotes and news
• Convenience Banking
  • View account balances
  • View recent transactions
  • Pay bills/ transfer funds
  • Stop payments
  • Manage bank card
• Telecommunications and Wireless Industry
  • Review account statements
  • Paying bills online
  • Change personal profile
  • Add/change/ remove services (e.g. call waiting or caller ID)
  • Submitting service requests
• Government
  • Submit tax returns
  • Renew automobile licenses
  • Download forms/ applications
  • Submit forms/ applications
• Manufacturing
  • Review required parts/ services
  • Locate service centers
  • Register for training classes
  • Submit/ track orders

If you're not yet sure that your business problem can be solved by the functionality enabled through a Self-Service solution design, the Self-Service general guidelines page provides additional information on choosing this Business pattern. Business and IT drivers, the e-business context appropriate for this solution type, and additional solution details are discussed here.

If you've determined that the Self-Service business pattern can provide an appropriate solution design for your business need, the next step is to select an Application pattern. The Self-Service business pattern can be implemented using any one of seven different Application patterns, providing solution flexibility so that the determined Business pattern can address the specific needs of the business process being automated.

• Patterns for e-business naming conventions

• Self-Service pattern

  Updated: 06-12-2006
  Added new product mappings to the Directly Integrated Single Channel, Router and Decomposition application patterns based on three SOA scenario redbooks.

• Self-Service pattern

  Updated: 12-16-2005
  Added SOA profiles to the Directly Integrated Single Channel, Router and Decomposition application patterns using WAS V6.

• Self-Service: :Decomposition and Agent application patterns

  Updated: 09-30-2004
  The Self-Service: :Decomposition and Agent application patterns have been updated using Process Choreography.

• Feasibility:
  This material will help you determine the high-level shape of a Self-Service system, and ensure your approach looks similar to other successful sites. Re-use of prior approaches can be an effective way to begin most major projects. Obviously, modifications will be needed for any unique requirements of a given site. This pattern provides a drill-down from high-level architecture to lower-level designs and guidance.

• Risk:
  Basing new projects on prior designs and ideas helps to lower the risk of failure. Creating or inventing designs for each project tends to result in a lower success rate. Frequently, projects begun "from scratch" simply do not work and have major exposures in such areas as security, performance, availability, undefined requirements, and cost over-run.

• Cost-benefit:
  By starting with reasonably complete architectures you save considerable development time and obtain assurance that the end solution will have a much higher chance of success. Actual savings will vary, but project teams have realized a 10% to 50% reduction of work effort in their design and architecture phases alone.