Tell me about yourself- software subscription (what kind of models have I worked on and what I
know)
I have been working as a Business Analyst for the past 6 years, and most
recently I have been working at HP where I was part of the team where we
implemented software subscription support. I was part of this whole process
where someone not only purchases the software but then different
subscriptions they have and how the purchase and renewal option works.
How licensing options would work, how they could manage user activity
through the partner account. Also managing the quotes and product
catalogs, being able to apply any discounts in the shopping card. Also, how
reporting would be handled through partner portal for active and future
entitlements, order history, software downloads history, and active software
renewal quotes. This also included Entitlements, identifying the entitlement
inventory along with proof of entitlement certificate also updating the
deployment. As part of this process, I also worked on a proper account
management options for the partners where they could manage access,
documents, payment methods etc. Apart from this, I also worked on
creating a ‘Quick Entry’ short cut menu for the partners (clients) on the
partner portal through which they could also download patches and fixes,
add new users, change or delete user access, and place new license order.
This was basically a SAAS delivery model where client/partners could
manage their software subscription and access through the partner portal
UI. So I worked on not only the business process but also on how to provide
demo to the partners/clients to help them understand the portal
functionality.
I worked on subscription models that would be usable across multiple
industries as couple of clients I worked for were telecom and healthcare
clients. Also, it wasn’t just software we had to work on mix of model
including software, hardware, and service models. Another example is how
we have the HP Smart app through which user can sign up for Instant Ink
for the printer, we had few different models to cater to individual users vs
small enterprises vs large enterprises. For this user can use something
called Instant Ink Connect and specific usage reports are generated based
on which users could see what model would work better for them and how
much ink and toner would they need to order and how frequently.
HP Instant Ink – Ink and Toner Monthly Subscription | HP Official Site (hpconnected.com)
HP Subscription Services | HP® Official Site
As for the regular BA tasks I actively participated in the discovery phase to
identify business process based on previous metrics and user feedback. I
wrote use cases to refine the intake requirements and conducted demos for
the partners/clients to help them understand the partner portal
functionalities.
What are various software models you have worked on or are familiar with?
I have worked on Software as a Service or Subscription in my latest project
and in previous projects I have worked on Streaming and content-based
subscription models. I am aware of Publication and Subscription box
models.
Explain about entitlement Management you spoke about at HP?
As a part of the software entitlement & license management, I facilitated
the process from initial subscription/renewal up to invoicing. I was involved
in outlining the processes and requirements for accounts, renewals, user
management, renewal type options. Also, how the billing would work for
new subscriptions and also for renewals. How the notifications would be
generated and at what point during the process various notification should
be generated to keep the clients/partners informed about upcoming
renewals and offers.
Role with a specific Use Case (facilitating the workshops etc.)
Specific use case would be an example of me working with the client to
create specific process where someone with admin/super user rights would
eb able to login and see the overall activity, run reports for entitlements,
activity, active subscriptions, renewal dates, and manage user licenses and
accounts. Also, how they could view various pricing models to see what was
the best model for them. I created specific use case documents and user
stories to capture specific requirements for these processes, required
pieces of information for each step in the subscription process. For
example, only users with admin access would be able to login to the portal
and see various Admin reports related to entitlements and usage activity
and renewal dates. How an admin view would enable someone to get a sort
of visualization of various software subscriptions along with renewal
information. This was very specific where client felt a lot of value with the
way individualized/customized portal was working.
It also included actions such as how to change entitlements, how to view
analytics and based on those analytics how to provide best
recommendations by informing the customer what would be the best
options.
Was it cloud based or on premise?
Software was cloud based and that made is a seamless usage for the client.
Was there a front-end customer facing app?
The processes and examples I have provided earlier were basically not just
for back end but also on how to use all of this through the front-end
application, which is called SLMS (Software Licensing Management
Solution). It is a customer facing application where customer can login and
check their active subscriptions, renew existing ones, or purchase and
download new subscriptions. Customers could also manage their
entitlements through this, check user activity, check auto renewals, and
other features, which were all through the application. Customer could also
check license expiration for certain users for specific software.
Were you part of running workshops (JAD sessions or Demos)?
Yes, I was actively responsible for creating user guides and also doing
demos with the customers to show them various features for inventory,
tracking of software downloads and renewals, and user assignment. I
conducted JAD sessions for requirement gathering, refinement, and
approval. While I did demos to the business users/customers to help the
customer understand the features.
Requirements were refined and approved. Once the features were built, I
then did the demo at the end.
Questions to ask at the end?
You mentioned you were in discovery phase, has this already kicked off
where some meetings have happened or requirement analysis will start
once this resource is on boarded?
What are some of the deadlines? When do we need business requirements
done? When are you expecting the first release with some features?
Do you have any shared space on Confluence or SharePoint where team
documents are uploaded regarding processes, common issues, main
stakeholders involved in the project etc.
Are requirements gathered in the form of use case documents, BRDs or user
stories or mix of these techniques? (If he asks which ones are you
comfortable with, just say I have done them all so I am equally comfortable
with any of them)
In the end do ask if there is anything else that he may not have asked or you
may not have answered, you would be more than happy to answer.
I thank you for your time, for the detailed background and the opportunity
you have given me to explain my experience. You have a great rest of the
afternoon.
Front end facing app
-I worked with SLMS (Software Licensing Management Solution) as a
customer-facing app where we created an id for the customer, which they
could use to log in.
In their account, they could manage their subscription and date without
necessarily needing to communicate with us
It also allowed the client to be able to
download purchase
renew, create custom reports
view entitlements
update deployments
and receive e-notifications when new software or updates were available.
I also groomed the backlog, wrote user stories, and since there were several
teams involved, I also wrote use cases with the process flows explaining any
integration points. I made sure to engage the stakeholders in discussions
and made sure the stakeholders understood what was being delivered based
on the specific customer channels or segments in mind.
-What are the different business models you
used?
I worked on SAAS (Software as a service) Model at HP. I’ve previously
worked with the streaming services Model and Content Model at Verizon , I
haven’t worked with it directly but I’m aware of the subscription box model
as well.
-What is software entitlement?
What was your role
Software entitlement is all about who has access to the software. This
includes what level of access, how many users can use it, what level of
access each user has.
I established the process from beginning to end, from the point that
someone wanted to purchase the subscription to the point where it goes to
invoicing.
I worked with stakeholders to identify the needs and based on previous
models, I came up with and suggested the best subscription model and what
would be the best way to deal with software entitlements.
The client also had to understand what level of subscription they have, and
how it works and then gave the client workshops to help them understand.
I dealt with the initial application process when someone applied for the
subscription and then also was the point of reference for anyone who
needed any assistance with their subscription details in the duration of that
contract.
On the customer service side of things, I dealt with renewals where I
negotiated the metrics with the customer and billing integration in a way
that makes the whole process easier.
-Role in a specific use case
I was working on User management for a subscription client, and I was
tasked with identifying their needs. This was a customer subscribing to
cloud-based software. The client said that they wanted a feature that would
allow for time management but after further inquiry I found that they’re not
just looking for time management or some timesheet. They wanted a
solution where they could manage payroll, talent, employee engagement,
compensation, benefits registration, and other additional stuff. Then my
task became to accommodate as much of this as I could within the user
management model. I had to identify what sort of usage the customer would
be engaged in, what sort of license and pricing would best benefit them and
the pricing model and subscription model had to be something that was an
ongoing revenue generator. I wrote specific user stories in terms of
identifying what the customer is using right now based on understanding
their existing application and functionality and explaining to them how our
compensation management would accommodate what they were already
doing and also give them added functionality. And I had to use specific use
case documents to explain to them that as part of this compensation
management, someone can come in and they can look at their current
account value. As part of absence management, they can see how many
absences they are entitled to. I wrote use cases for the specific of like
payroll requirements and holiday accumulation etc. to explain to them
which departments would be involved, what sort of licensing would work,
what sort of access level would the client have to manage. Explain to the
customer how they can change the entitlements if needed through the
ongoing contract. And then once we got into this process, I had to do some
analytics to make the best recommendation and inform the customer not
only how they can maintain their current functionality but also how they can
improve on it. The goal was that with some training in the workshops that I
provided the client was able to do the subscription management
themselves.
-What is recurring ROI or revenue?
Return on Investment simply means how much profit you’re making. This is
your total profit divided by total expenses.
Who was your customer at HP?
I worked with a few school districts, banks, hospitals etc.
Do you have any questions?
What is the most important thing someone planning to join this position should know?
What can I do to prepare myself better for this job?
May I ask, what do you like best about working in this role and company?
Give example
A client said that they wanted better Use as part of one of the subscription model we had for
human resources where we were trying to identify arrivals actually as to identify with the
customer that what they need is an obviously they wanted something for what you call time
management but the more discussions had understood that's not really just the timesheet or
time management they wanted a solution where they could manage like payroll talent
employee engagement compensation benefit registration all that kind of stuff so my rules end
was too within the human resource subscription model to identify that what sort of usage
would the customer be engaged in what sort of licensing and pricing would best benefit them
and obviously the pricing model and the subscription model had to be something which would
be ongoing revenue generated not only for IBM but also something that gives value to the to
the customer so I wrote specific user stories in terms of like identifying that what customer is
using right now based on understanding what their existing application and functionality that
we're using and telling them that how our compensation management would provide not only
what they're also doing but also give them added functionality and I had to do specific use case
to documents to explain to them that as part of this compensation management some I can
come in they can actually look at their basically what their current account value is as part of
let's say absence management vacancy there how many absences they are entitled to if they're
like you know something called like a float holiday standard holidays and how many have they
accumulated how many are character from last year getting into specifics of those processes
right even for payroll you
know I wrote specific requirements and use cases to to help them understand that what are the
different departments will be involved in that based on that what sort of licensing would work
and what sort of access level would the client had to manage 'cause as I mentioned that you
know IBM has this could be called passport advantage online power as we used to call it which
is basically there for clients to be able to come and manage their entitlements to help them
explain that perspective as well that how they're going to come and they can actually even
change their entitlements through an existing contract to an ongoing contract so that was part
of it and then obviously being able to I identify you know once we got into this process I had to
do sort of some analytics based on certain subscription matrix you know like that what are the
best recommendation we can provide you know whether it's using a subscriber metric or
recurring revenue metric you know just a retention metric that what would be the best way to
not only engage the customer but also tell them that how they can improve on their existing
utility by maybe adding something more or tweaking their existing subscription.
Customer-facing app
One of my customers was a bank so the
So so basically this I just mentioned you know like the power app that I mentioned is the front
end facing app passport advantage online when we go in there that customer can so we create
the ID for the customer and once the customer ID is created the customer can manage their
subscription that is the front and application the one that I've alluded to a couple of times
passport advantage online it's actually a front and application which allows the customer to be
able to manage specific data you know and be able to download purchase renew create custom
reports view entitlements update deployments and it also actually is a front end app that
actually had a functionality which we call like E notifications where you know the customer
would be able to receive notification you know when when a new software matching their
preferences was available to download or was something was approaching end of support so
that was all front end based OK
And not only as I mentioned earlier part of the process was to understand what the customer
needs another but another part was to sort of educate the customers where right that how
they can come and use this so I had to do the workshop to show them that you know how they
can go view and download order migration and download history report how they can I see
that what they are purchased and if they want to renew software how they could do that how
they could view the entitlement inventorie an allocations and how they can kind of like go in
and track and change any diploid product so that's where I could say it was part of it was first
processor explained earlier to question was where I did workshops and Jeff sessions to establish
that what the customer wanted and what we were trying to build for them and what was the
best software model for the customer and what I just explained to right now second part was
basically more evident quality workshop they would be more like demos customer demo to
help them understand the features and functionality's hours facilitating both I was facilitating
the workshops and chat sessions to understand the business need get the requirements align
the requirements with what we were delivering and then I was doing the the sessions in the
end the demos to help them understand how this worked
Gathering obviously I want to go through the entire process once I had done the requirements
obviously there were multiple iterations with the requirements are refined and approved once
that was done the demo was obviously done at the very end once we had done the UAT the
features were built and tested by the QA team then we did the customer demo sure if I
misunderstood you said that
License management you know first of all my role was to establish the process in terms of you
know from the point of you can say software subscription order management I would call it in
this case you know to the point where it goes to financial and invoicing what is the process like
for instance you know I was obviously involved in as part of this entitlement license
management account contacts renewals obviously with renewal there are two sides to it one is
that as part of the renewal what communication goes into our initial subscription applications
and also as part of renewals the customer service management side of things where you know
being able to negotiate the matrix with the customer and then do the billing and the most
important thing and one other important I would say in this that at least I've learned is the ease
of sort of billing integration with the whole process'cause as soon as I notice that the customer
found that whole process to be easily accessible it was basically a very positive process that was
my role you know being able to establish their understand that process entire process and right
specific requirements as in user stories to capture what were the different systems involved
what were the different integration points involved and who were the different stakeholders in
and and just sorry in case I didn't I missed your question I don't know if you want me to explain
what entitlement and was basically as expected just the right to use or access the software
Siemens EDA
Intial stages
Discovery stage:
Roadmap – Agile Release new functions every month
Stakeholders, customers,
At IBM- software subscription support
Part of the process- someone purchases the software, but then different subscriptions processes
work. Catalogs and renewels are manged.
Active and future entitlements
Active renewals codes.
What is the order history
View proof of entitlement certificates.
