Self-Service general guidelines

To help you determine if the Self-Service business pattern is appropriate for the design of your Web-based application, the following information details the business and IT scenario into which a Self-Service solution fits.

Businesses developing a solution needing the following characteristics should consider using the Self-Service business pattern:

• The end-users and customers need to directly interact with business processes.
• The business process needs to be integrated with existing business systems and information.
• The business process must be reachable in a common, consistent, and simplified manner through multiple delivery channels.

The Self-Service business pattern is commonly observed in e-business solutions that provide users the ability to access their information and change it by interacting directly with core business systems and databases. This pattern captures the essence of direct interactions between users and the enterprise. Such interactions can range from simple static information lookup to complex updates involving enterprise data. Examples of applications that use the Self-Service business pattern include the following:

• Customer-facing applications such as an Online Broker application that allows investors to manage their portfolios and make equity trades across the Web
• Business partner-facing applications such as a dealer extranet that allows dealers of a manufacturing company to link their sales distribution operations to the shop floor processes by exchanging forecast, demand and production information
• Employee-facing human resource applications such as time reporting, benefits processing and expense submission

The Self-Service pattern might consist of all or some of the following elements:

• Users, who:
  • May be within the enterprise, in partner organizations or in any other location across the globe
  • Will typically access the solution using a web browser or a browser-based Internet appliance. The enterprise has very little or no control over how this device is set-up or configured. Access from non-browser based devices can be supported by adding pervasive device support patterns to the base Self-Service patterns.
  • Can access the solution from any location across the Internet
• A network, which:
  • Is based on TCP/IP and other Internet technologies
  • Can be a dedicated LAN connection, a broadband connection or a dial-up connection
• Enterprise systems, which can be:
  • Custom developed systems (old and new)
  • ERP systems and other packaged applications such as SAP, BAAN and PeopleSoft
  • Databases
• A set of interactions that represent business functions that are provided to users

This pattern can be observed in solutions such as:

• Electronic brokerage sites that allow individual investors (users) to access and manage their portfolios (a set of interactions), by connecting into the stock quote, portfolio management and securities trading systems (core business systems and databases) across the Internet (the network).
• Web based retailers that allow customers to shop for and buy apparel, cosmetics and other retail goods by accessing a catalog of items and order entry functions from their browsers across the Internet.

It is important to remember that the examples mentioned above are typically composed of more than one primary business pattern. However, it is safe to say that the Self-Service business pattern is at the core of these solutions.

If you have determined that the Self-Service business pattern can provide an appropriate solution design for the application you are developing, next select an Application pattern.

If the Self-Service business pattern is not appropriate for your development efforts, review the Business patterns to determine which pattern best addresses your e-business needs.