초록 ▼

A service creation system for a communications network of the intelligent network type has 3 different levels at which service creation activities can be carried out, these being SCE1, SCE2 and SCE3. The use of separate levels allows access to the service creation system to be kept functionally sepa

A service creation system for a communications network of the intelligent network type has 3 different levels at which service creation activities can be carried out, these being SCE1, SCE2 and SCE3. The use of separate levels allows access to the service creation system to be kept functionally separate for users having different interests in the network. Hence, features which have to be installed at the network element level for a selected service to be available can be created in SCE1. Marketable service features, which give a view of features in that they encapsulate call handling logic thereof together with support and management descriptions of the feature, can be created in SCE2. Service packages, which permit collection of marketable service features to meet requirements of a service together with servicespecific support and management information, can be created in either of SCE2 or SCE3. The service provider at SCE2 creates and tests edit graphs which comprise ordered sequences of marketable service features. These are then made available to the customer at SCE3. Profiles, which list the features relevant to a service for a user and provide data slots for the data necessary to each feature, can be provisioned and modified in SCE3 by the creation of execute graphs from edit graphs. In addition to marketable service features, metafeatures can be embedded in edit graphs. These are similar to marketable service features but have no associated screen information. This allows the user to generate execute graphs from what appears to be a blank screen but in practice has embedded constraints by means of the metafeatures, thus ensuring that the execute graph is still within tested constraints.

대표청구항 ▼

1. Service creation apparatus for a communications network in which communications services can be created or modified by screen-based manipulation of ordered sequences of units of code, the system providing a service by running such an ordered sequence of units of code in accordance with an execute

1. Service creation apparatus for a communications network in which communications services can be created or modified by screen-based manipulation of ordered sequences of units of code, the system providing a service by running such an ordered sequence of units of code in accordance with an execute graph, wherein the system comprises:i) an interface for use in accessing stored units of code; ii) means to select a set of units of code from those stored; iii) means to create or modify an edit graph, the edit graph determining at least in part the ordered sequence associated with a set of units of code for the provision of a communications service; iv) means to associate an edit graph with visual information for use by a user on a graphical user interface in editing or modifying the edit graph to produce an execute graph; and v) means to supply the edit graph together with the visual information to the graphical user interface; wherein the means to supply the edit graph together with visual information is adapted to supply at least one edit graph without visual information such that an execute graph can be produced from the edit graph without the edit graph being visible, or with the edit graph being only partially visible, to the user.