1. Table of Contents

2. Project Overview

Developing best practices and standards in certain fields greatly benefits from frequent joint work or exchange of live collaboration materials with other TM Forum projects.

To facilitate low-friction collaboration between such projects, this RAND Project Charter is a member of a larger “Core Project Area” which holds the RAND Project Charters; Frameworx (Fx), Open APIs (APIs) & Open Digital Architecture (ODA).

The Core Project Area Project Charter may be seen here; tba

One of the most important sets of assets that the Forum provides to the industry is a set of standard interfaces that enable rapid, repeatable, and flexible integration among operations and management systems.

• Reduce full lifecycle costs of networks and services through use of well documented, consistent interfaces
• Integrate management systems with each other while minimizing cost and risk
• Reduce cycle time for deploying new network equipment with shorter management system integration and test cycles
• Reduce cycle time for getting new services to market with repeatable management systems integration
• Reduce development costs for adding new management capabilities with developer kits and reusable designs and code
• Easily share management information across departments, subsidiaries or with partners 
• Creating an agile flexible architecture that is capable of responding rapidly to the needs of the business

The work of the Open API Project is to provide APIs that allow simple and coherent management of any given service and provide developers key design patterns to enable rapid implementation across both the members of the Forum as well as the larger digital ecosystems outside of TM Forum.

Migration of machine readable artifacts to Apache 2.0 license mode in R18.0

It is the TM Forum’s intent to re-issue the existing TM Forum Open APIs under Apache 2.0, many of which were completed in R18 and to release the swagger code for new APIs under the Apache 2.0 license.  For clarifcation purposes, the API specification will continue to be released under the RAND license mode. Per the TM Forum Bylaws, we have created a new project and ask all software contributors to existing APIs to join this area with the knowledge that the resulting API swagger files will be published with Apache 2.0 license. The API swaggers will be up versioned and new notice and licensing statements added.

The human readable artifacts (Open API Specifications, Conformance Profiles and SID mapping documents) will continue to be published under the RAND license mode from work carried out under this charter.

Computer readable artifacts (Swagger files) will henceforth be published under the Apache 2.0 license mode under a related but different charter, see: API Apache 2.0 Project (R18.5) - DRAFT

RI's & CTKs will for the time being be released under the RAND license mode.  

Given signficant advancements in the CTK development, Postman files are being considered to be phased out as part of R18.5. 

All artifacts will be consumable from one place, in the Open API portal, here: Open API Table

The Open Digital Lab will develop in parallel as a new hosted environment where the API instances can be accessed, and consumed in a live sandbox environment.  This is specifically designed for catalyst projects in its inital phase. 

3. User Stories

Provide a high-level description of how an end-user might use the output of the project.

If desired, copy and paste the table below to create multiple instances of the table and complete it for each user story.

4. Dependencies

Add in other projects and Frameworx dependencies this project will have. Please enter if your project will require INPUT FROM, produce OUTPUT TO or require JOINT WORKING with the named projects/Frameworx. In the COMMENTS column describe the nature of the input, output or joint working.

5. Participants

This section identifies the human resources and skills required by the project to successfully deliver the items listed in this charter.  Unless otherwise noted, the level of commitment of all project participants is Best Effort.

At the time the charter is written, the individuals listed below are considered tentative participants. When the charter is approved, the tentative participants will be notified and they can “join” the project in the online community. From that point forward the project resources will be maintained and viewable in real time.

* indicates that this is a required field or role.

Role Descriptions & Responsibilities given in section 11

6. Project Workstreams and Deliverables

The project workstreams and deliverables for this project are introduced in the sections below.

6.01: API Design Guidelines

Workstream Leader: Pierre Gauthier, Stephen Harrop

6.02: API Processes & Governance

Workstream Leader: Stephen Harrop

How do we manage the wide spread of demands, priorities and resource challenges to optimise the delivery and maintenance of the TM Forum Open APIs?

6.03: Road mapped APIs

Workstream Leader: Andreas Polz

This area of the charter captures the specific APIs that appear to have wide spread industry application and a degree of urgency in their demand for development

6.04: Open API components

Workstream Leader: Pierre Gauthier, Stephen Harrop

How do we build up TM Forum Open API suites, based on use case and requirements analysis, to support specific industry challenges?

6.05: API/SID mapping Task Force

Workstream Leader: Cecile Ludwichowski, Michel Besson

How do we ensure that the TM Forum Open APIs, developed by a wide collaboration community and crowd sourced, have a consistent information model and data model view - with each other and with SID?

6.06: Driving API Adoption

Workstream Leader: George Glass

6.07: API Tooling and Automation Support

Workstream Leader: Stephen Harrop, Mariano Belaunde

How do we create a low friction and repeatable way for our collaboration community to create consistent and low effort swagger files, RI & CTK?

6.08: SDO Collaborations

Workstream Leader: George Glass; Pierre Gauthier; 

How do we collaborate with other SDOs build up TM Forum Open API suites to support specific industry challenges?

6.09: Crowd-Sourced APIs

Workstream Leader: Stephen Harrop, Andreas Polz

This area of the charter is reserved for new APIs that are crowd sourced from members during the year.  Members can start the process to submit a new API by submitting a JIRA record with the suggested new API.  They will be expected to lead the effort to develop and contribute this API through the defined API Governance process. Any new API work conducted from R19.0 onwards should be consistent with the API schema approach established in R18.5.

6.10: Event Streaming & Messaging

Workstream Leader: Pierre Gauthier

6.11: RI & CTK Task Force

Workstream Leader: Stephen Harrop

6.12: API Mapping

Workstream Leader: George Glass

7. Member Validation and Feedback Approach

Deliverables require validation and feedback. If the development team has a broad range of Members and Service Providers, validation may be within the team, however if the range of Members and Service Providers is weak, after Team Approval, deliverables must be validated beyond the team. Teams must state their Member & Validation approach here:

8. Project Tooling

Indicate the tooling required for project success.

9. Liaison Relationships

Please indicate if this project has or plans to have a relationship with other External Standards Organizations (SDOs).

10. Charter History

11. Role Definition & Responsibilities

12. Legal Notice

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