Consultation on DCC Enduring Release Management Policy. Consultation opens: 18 September 2015

Transcription

1 Consultation on DCC Enduring Release Management Policy Consultation opens: 18 September 2015 Consultation closes: 16 October 2015 Classification: DCC Public

2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Objective Background Scope and Applicability Modification Proposals New Services and Products DCC Internal Changes Elective Communication Services Value-Added Services Governance Planned Release Schedule Release Management Approach Eight-phase Release Management Model Release Requirements Open Requirements Refinement Development of Regulatory and Technical Material Plan and Contract, Requirements Freeze Develop Design and Design Freeze Build and Test (System) User Acceptance Testing Go Live Standard Release Management (SRM) Urgent Release Management (URM) Supporting Documentation Release Management Procedures Modification Proposals New Services and Products DCC Internal Systems Value Added Services Elective Communication Services Service Decommission Notification Industry Engagement How to respond Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations DCC Public Page 2 of 24

3 Appendix A Process Flows New Services and Products Defect Remediation and Continuous Improvement Value-Added Services Electives DCC Public Page 3 of 24

4 1 Introduction DCC has an obligation to prepare a Release Management Policy under the Smart Energy Code (the SEC) Section H8.9. This obligation asserts that DCC shall ensure that it plans, schedules and controls the building, testing and deployment of releases of IT updates, procedures and processes in respect of the DCC Internal Systems and/or the Parse and Correlate Software in accordance with a policy for Release Management. DCC is issuing this Release Management Policy Consultation so that interested parties can provide DCC with views on what stakeholders expect to see in the more detailed, granular Policy document. Release Management can be viewed as having two phases of operation: 1. Transition Releases from DCC go live leading to Enduring Operation After DCC live operations have commenced, changes will need to be made to the smart metering ecosystem. Section X6 of SEC allows the Secretary of State discretion in allowing DCC to operate relatively autonomously during a transition period. 2. Releases relating to the Enduring Operation Once transition is complete, the DCC will enter an enduring mode of operation. In the enduring mode of operation, the governance of changes and the procedures that have to be followed will depend on the nature of the changes. This consultation concerns the processes that will be employed in the second phase; the enduring mode of operation. The results of the consultation will inform the development of this Release Management Policy, outlined in Section H8.9 of the SEC. 1.1 Objective This consultation paper summarises how DCC will manage the process of delivering changes to the smart metering ecosystem from the requirements stage to introduction of the relevant Release. It asks questions to which we would welcome responses and informs stakeholders of how to respond, and by when. Following this consultation, DCC will consider the responses received to guide its development of the Release Management Policy (which may include further consultation). 1.2 Background Future Releases comprising changes to DCC Services, their Service components and associated documentation, will be implemented through a planned schedule of Releases. The Release dates for Standard Releases will be aligned to industry Release dates set out in Section 4 below. Modification Proposals requiring a change to the SEC will be controlled by the SEC Panel, supported by the SEC Change Board, to ensure that changes to industry-wide systems are harmonised and validated six months ahead of release. The six month lead time is an industrydefined period which allows industry to make any necessary internal changes to their systems occasioned by the new Release. Other changes will be scheduled by DCC. The development resources for these changes are finite and DCC will need to work closely with the SEC Panel to ensure that developments are prioritised and coordinated. DCC Public Page 4 of 24

5 The DCC s Release Management Approach is consistent with DCC s Development Plan 1. For the purposes of this document a Release is defined as a group of approved changes which are implemented as one package, allowing implementation of multiple changes simultaneously. Each Release may comprise some elements managed by the SEC Panel and some which are managed by DCC or individual SEC Parties. The SEC Panel will manage all changes arising from Modifications to the SEC; DCC will manage all other changes. 1 DCC Development Plan; DCC Public Page 5 of 24

6 2 Scope and Applicability This document includes the principles for consultation with stakeholders and engagement with SECAS, governance arrangements (section 3) for the Release lifecycle (including requirements definition, development and test activities) set out in Section D of the SEC. This document also outlines the different approaches to Release Management that will operate following the commencement of DCC live operations, namely: 1. Modification Proposals 2. New Services and Products 3. DCC Internal Changes (e.g. Defect Remediation, Continuous Improvement) 4. Elective Communication Services 5. Value Added Services 2.1 Modification Proposals Release Management for SEC Modification Proposals is under the management of the SEC Panel, as set out in Section D10.7 of the SEC. DCC plays a part in the execution of the changes to requirements created by approved Modification Proposals and will provide information and impact assessments during the issue and refinement phase of their evaluation process. The remaining four approaches shown above are collectively defined as DCC Service Changes. It is proposed that these are under the management of DCC unless a change to the SEC is required in which case they will need to go through the Modification Proposal process. 2.2 New Services and Products The first consideration of DCC is to implement the Service that will support the SMETS2 meters that are to be rolled out as part of the Smart Metering Implementation Programme. However, there are a number of consumers that will not be able to make use of DCC Services without additional functionality. For example, in order to enable a greater number of consumers to benefit from smart meters, DCC will develop a Dual-Band Communications Hubs (for use in difficult properties). DCC will also assess how it could provide a common infrastructure for the existing population of SMETS1 meters. Support for these meters will be provided as a change (or changes) under the management of DCC, which will drive future changes to the SEC. 2.3 DCC Internal Changes At the commencement of live operations it is expected that defects in the deployed system will come to light. Some will be non-user affecting and can be dealt with using the scheduled Release Management process. Some defects may need urgent changes to the system. These will require implementation under the Urgent Release Management process. These processes are described in Section 5.3. As part of the ITIL-based operations, DCC will undertake continuous improvement activities. DCC intends that these changes should be scheduled as part of the Standard Release Management process. DCC Public Page 6 of 24

7 2.4 Elective Communication Services Elective Communication Services are Services that are requested by a SEC Party. They are implemented by the DCC at the relevant SEC Party s expense and provided exclusively to the SEC Party for a period of six months. Thereafter the Service may be offered to the wider User community in accordance with Section K.8 of the Code. Responsibility for execution and release rests with DCC as set out in Condition 17 of the Smart Meter Communication Licence and Section H7 of the Code. 2.5 Value-Added Services DCC may wish to add to the portfolio of Services it offers to Users. These can be very wideranging and many may not affect the operation of the DCC system. Such Value-Added Services would be developed and released by DCC but will need the approval of Ofgem. RMS Scope Q1 Do you agree that the scope of the Release Management approach is appropriate? If not, please explain your rationale and propose any appropriate changes. DCC Public Page 7 of 24

8 3 Governance Modification Proposals affecting the SEC, or SEC Subsidiary Documents, will be submitted to the Code Administrator for consideration (using the prescribed form referred to in Section D of SEC). SECAS will administer these Modification Proposals according to the process set out in Section D3 of SEC. SECAS may consult with DCC to obtain information about the feasibility of a particular Modification Proposal. During the refinement process a Work Group may issue a request for further analysis to DCC. Change Board will recommend that or determine whether the Modification Proposal should be rejected, accepted or deferred pending further information. The SEC Panel will then create a consolidated schedule of Modifications that have been directed for implementation. DCC shall inform the SEC Panel of any changes that it has scheduled for implementation in a particular Release on a monthly basis, for discussion at SEC Panel meetings. Section D4.2 of SEC allows for disputes arising over the categorisation or scheduling of Modification Proposals to be referred to the Authority for determination. DCC Internal System Changes (i.e. changes made to the DCC Total Systems that do not fall under the governance of the SEC) shall be made in accordance with the principles set out in H8.8 of the SEC. Releases of DCC System Changes (including all DCC Internal System Changes) and Parse and Corellate Software will be managed in accordance with DCC s Release Management Policy. DCC Public Page 8 of 24

9 4 Planned Release Schedule DCC will agree a Release Schedule with the SEC Panel that is practicable and appropriate. DCC proposes that there are three standard Releases each year: the last Thursday in February; the last Thursday in June; and the first Thursday in November. These dates have been selected to align with the Release schedules of other energy codes (e.g. MRA, BSC, UNC, igt UNC, SPAA and DCUSA). Standard changes will be released under the Planned Release Schedule. The initial dates for Planned Releases are shown in the table below: February Release June Release November Release 23 Feb Jun Nov Feb Jun Nov Feb Jun Nov 2019 Table 1: Planned Release Schedule DCC proposes that urgent changes will be released under a truncated timetable agreed with the SEC Panel. We expect this truncated timetable to execute changes as quickly as practicable. RMS Release schedule Q2 Do you agree that the Release schedule should be in line with existing industry Release dates? If not, please state what changes you would like to see to the Release dates. DCC Public Page 9 of 24

10 5 Release Management Approach 5.1 Eight-phase Release Management Model The five classifications of change set out in section 2 each require that appropriate consultation and co-operation with different parties is followed to achieve successful implementation and Release. These Release Management Procedures are set out in section 6. However, the steps that the DCC will need to undertake are very similar. The table below sets out the phasing for the implementation of a Modification Proposal but some phases are common to other Release Management Procedures. The charts in Appendix A reference where the processes utilise one or more of these phases. Phase Title Steps 1 Release requirements open 2 Requirements refinement 3 Development of regulatory and technical material 4 Plan & Contract, Requirements Freeze 5 Conclude all design Confirm and communicate the requirement to plan a new functional Release. Business statement of scope for release. Receipt of requirements for proposed changes. Continuation of the above process together with requirements refinement, costing and shaping to ensure positive business case can be maintained for the Release and that the scope of Release can be delivered within the defined timescales. Modification of SEC to support requirements and any resulting obligations. Development of specifications to support requirements (SMETS, CHTS, GBCS, CPA, etc). Development of plans and procurement of solution(s) to deliver to new specifications and regulation. Conclude consultation and designate. Closure of requirements based on consulted specifications (where appropriate). Detailed design and build by Service providers/suppliers, together with conclusion of other design artefacts (DUIS, MMC, etc). 6 Build and test Build and DCC Testing of new Release (plus UEPT if required) 7 User Acceptance Testing User Testing and Acceptance (completes 6 months before Go Live) 8 Go Live Release goes live (with roll-back plan in place) Table 2: Generic DCC SRM Release Cycle DCC Public Page 10 of 24

11 5.1.1 Release Requirements Open Under the Standard Release Management process, a Release Record will be created in the DCC Remedy database for each Release. The Release Record details requirements for a Release and will be opened 24 months prior to its proposed Release Go Live date according to accepted industry practice. This timetable could be extended if it is felt that, for example, there may be an extended development process. The new Release will appear on DCC s Release Schedule published on the Self Service Interface (SSI), or other appropriate means, and DCC s Release Management website, as a notification to SEC Panel, Users and other interested parties that the new Release is open for new requirement proposals Requirements Refinement All changes will be assessed and scheduled for triage through a controlled process to accurately prioritise and categorise each new requirement in terms of value added benefit to the Parties and cost effectiveness. This process will be undertaken in close cooperation with the SEC Panel. Capture & Refinement of Requirements Indvidual Assesement Technical and scheduling feasibility Risk and impact Categorisation of requirement Prioritisation of requirement. Technical impact and risk on DCC Services, Release Impact Assessment Urgency of requirement implementation Safeguarding of release timeline Business Requirements Statement Figure 1 Requirements Refinement Stages The primary objective of the Requirements Refinement phase is to continue the gathering of new requirements and to refine requirement details in terms of: Cost and technical development; and Determining the expected Development, Implementation and Testing schedule. DCC Public Page 11 of 24

12 The Requirements Refinement phase will review existing Modification Proposals and DCC Service Changes that have previously been assigned to a future Release to determine whether they should be included in the Release under consideration. All requirements will be assessed for: Technical and scheduling feasibility; Risk and impact; Categorisation of requirement; and Prioritisation of requirement. As part of the Requirements Refinement process, allocation of changes into the target DCC Release will be based on: Technical impact and risk to DCC Services; and Urgency of requirement implementation, as defined by the SEC Panel (SEC related changes only) and/or DCC. On completion of the Requirements Refinement process, the SEC Panel will issue a draft Business Requirements statement, specifying the scope for the Release and detailing each of the changes that have been accepted for inclusion and an outline Release Plan (including the Requirements Freeze date). RMS Release schedule Q3 Q4 Do you agree that the Requirements Refinement process will be appropriate for the development of the requirements? If not, please explain your rationale and propose any appropriate changes. Do you agree that the SEC Panel is the correct authority for the publication of the Business Requirements statement and outline Release Plan? If not, please explain your rationale and propose any appropriate changes Development of Regulatory and Technical Material Many of the proposed changes to requirements will result in Modification Proposals that directly impact the Code. This will often precipitate a technical Change Request. Where the impact assessment of a requirement has ascertained that a regulatory and/or technical document requires Modification, DCC will establish communication with appropriate document owners to develop and amend these documents to support the requirements, in accordance with the governance process for the relevant document(s). In the case of a Modification Proposal (including Modification to a SEC Subsidiary document), DCC will comply with the SEC Panel Modification procedures and support the requirement(s) and any resulting obligations. DCC Public Page 12 of 24

13 5.1.4 Plan and Contract, Requirements Freeze At the Requirements Freeze date, all allocated changes to be included in a given Release will be frozen and no further changes to the Business Requirement Statement will be accepted (other than by exception as explained below). This is to ensure that the development resources are not faced with a shifting specification and that the interaction of the Release components does not need to be continually revisited. The closure of requirements will be based on the regulatory and technical documents described in section Following the Requirements Freeze, the Release Plan will be finalised and the planning of procurement activities will commence. This may result in a Change Request against an existing contract or a new competitive procurement process being started. If a new Modification of sufficient priority is approved, or an urgent defect or need for improvement is identified, after the Requirements Freeze date, then the following options may be considered: A lower priority change may be deferred from the Release, in order for the higher priority change to be added to the next Release. The lower priority change will be allocated to the next appropriate Release. In relation to Urgent Modifications, an additional Release may be scheduled by SEC Panel. In relation to urgent changes to DCC Internal Systems (e.g. for defect corrections), the Urgent Release Management process outlined in section 5.3 will apply. Where a change is considered an Urgent Release, lead times are void and key dates will be subject to agreement between DCC and SEC Panel; o o Urgent changes to DCC Internal Systems (e.g. Urgent Defect Remediation and Continuous Improvements) will be led by DCC in consultation with SEC Panel, Urgent Modification Proposals will be led by SEC Panel in consultation with DCC. As part of this phase, the DCC will develop a roll-back plan that will allow recovery from an unforeseen failure at Go Live Develop Design and Design Freeze The Develop Design phase comprises finalisation of the detailed designs with DCC Service Providers, discussions with Parties (where affected) and conclusion of all related designs and artefacts. The Design Freeze date occurs at the conclusion of the Develop Design phase. The design for the Release will be fixed from the Design Freeze date, with no further changes to the design being possible. DCC Public Page 13 of 24

14 On completion of the Design Freeze, DCC will issue the Scope of Business Requirements statement, specifying the detailed scope for the Release together with all User-facing design material. System build activities may also commence at this stage Build and Test (System) All system build activities will be assured against the approved Release Design Specifications and will be managed by the DCC Release Management function. Release documentation will be developed and the technical environment and test facility will be allocated. Quality assurance of all build components will be managed via DCC assurance. Once the build has been completed, Unit Testing will commence, followed by System Integration Testing. During the Build and Test phase, DCC will seek to provide an informal test environment for Parties to use where this is practicable User Acceptance Testing User Acceptance Testing will be undertaken once DCC testing has successfully concluded. If appropriate, Parties may have to conduct a subset of User Entry Process Testing (UEPT) and SMKI and Repository Entry Process Testing (SREPT). Under normal circumstances, User Acceptance Testing must be completed six months before the date of Release in accordance with industry practice. RMS Release schedule Q5 Do you agree that the User Testing and Acceptance should complete six months before the Release is scheduled to Go Live? If not, please explain your rationale and propose any appropriate changes Go Live At Go Live DCC will monitor the deployed Modification for correct operation and be ready to roll back the system in the event that unforeseen problems emerge. RMS Release phasing Q6 Do you agree that the eight-phase Release Management model is appropriate? If not, please state how you think the Release phases should operate; or state the changes you would like to see to the Release phasing and provide a rationale. 5.2 Standard Release Management (SRM) The Standard Release Management (SRM) approach will use the defined and phased approach set out above, with supporting milestones that will provide clarity and certainty for SEC Parties. SRM Releases will go live on one of the dates in the Planned Release Schedule set out in section 4. DCC Public Page 14 of 24

15 The majority of changes will be allocated to one of the Release dates in the Planned Release Schedule. However, DCC recognises that Urgent Releases may occasionally be required to meet a specific requirement for a particular change and which will need to be implemented outside of one of the planned Releases. These urgent Releases will be delivered via Urgent Release Management (URM). 5.3 Urgent Release Management (URM) The URM process will be made available to deal with urgent changes. It is proposed that much of the decision-making will be delegated to DCC to expedite the process where it relates to change to DCC Internal Systems. DCC proposes that the URM process will follow the same Release Management phases as the SRM, but specific milestone dates will be assigned by DCC to meet the nature of the accelerated requirements. This will result in a compressed consultation timetable and a foreshortened time between the completion of UAT and Release. Additional resources may be required to meet this accelerated Release and it should be borne in mind that higher costs may be incurred. RMS Release models Q7 Do you agree that the Standard/Urgent Release model is appropriate? If not, please state how you think the Release models should operate; or state the changes you would like to see to the Release model. 5.4 Supporting Documentation In each case, the DCC will manage planning for the deployment and completion of all documentation associated with the Release. Documentation and details of all DCC Releases will be made visible to Users via the Self Service Interface (SSI) and DCC Website Release Schedule. The Release Schedule will be a rolling 52 week view, updated and published weekly. Release Notes for each Release will also be available, detailing as a minimum: List of Modifications and DCC Service Changes; Statement of Business Requirements; Service(s) impacted by Release; Documents to be amended as a result of the Release; and Release Plan key dates. Full details of the Release Management process cycle will be documented in the DCC Release Management Policy. DCC Public Page 15 of 24

16 6 Release Management Procedures Section 2 lists five classes of change. Each class of change follows a separate procedure from inception to delivery. The procedures are outlined below. 6.1 Modification Proposals Modification Proposals will be administered by SECAS as set out in Section D of the SEC. The process for managing new iterations of the SEC (including Subsidiary Documents) is set out in the Panel Release Management Policy, required under Section D10.7 of the SEC. 6.2 New Services and Products New Services and Products will be handled on a case by case basis. These may, or may not, require action by the Secretary of State, SEC Panel and The Authority. Examples of New Services and Products are the introduction of a Dual-band Communications hubs and the Enrolment and Adoption of SMETS1 meters. (The latter example will be subject to DECC transitional governance as set out in Section N of the SEC 2.) The steps in the New Services and Products Release Management procedure could be as follows: 1. DCC assesses solution; 2. DCC authorises implementation of solution through the appropriate governance mechanism; 3. DCC works with DECC to prepare SEC Modifications and prepare Release dates as appropriate; 4. Changes to the SEC are laid in Parliament and Secretary of State designates legal text; 5. DCC implements system changes. Other process flows are shown in Appendix A DCC Internal Systems It is proposed that DCC will implement defect remediation / continuous improvement Releases without reference to SECAS or DECC, provided that the Releases can be implemented without a change to the SEC. The key steps in the process are: 1. DCC evaluates the change. If it requires a Modification to the SEC then it will be submitted through the Modification Proposal procedure; 2. DCC refines the change in accordance with H8.9 of SEC; 3. DCC prepares a report setting out the nature of the change and its impact; 2 as amended by the Secretary of State in DCC Public Page 16 of 24

17 4. If the change is likely to impact Users, DCC will consult with Users and the Technical Sub- Committee as set out in H8.8 of SEC; 5. DCC implements the change. The process flow is shown in Appendix A 2. RMS Defect Remediation & Continuous Improvement Q8 Do you agree that the strategy for dealing with Defect Remediation and Continuous Improvement is appropriate? If not, please state how you think Defect Remediation and Continuous Improvement should operate; or state the changes you would like to see to the Defect Remediation and Continuous Improvement process and provide the rationale. 6.4 Value Added Services Value Added Services are defined in 2.5. As stated, there is a wide range of Services that may be implemented by DCC with the permission of Ofgem. An example might be an analysis of consumption data that can be used to predict demand peaks. The process flow for Value-Added Services will be tailored to meet the specific demands of the Service, but a generic process flow is shown in Appendix A 3. RMS Value-Added Services Q9 Do you agree that the strategy for dealing with Value-Added Services is will need to be on a case-by-case basis? If not, please state how you think Value-Added Services should operate; or state the changes you would like to see to the Value-Added Services process and provide the rationale. 6.5 Elective Communication Services Elective Communication Services are provided by DCC to a Party on a bi-lateral basis. As an example, an energy supplier might wish to modify the HAN to be able to attach a smart freezer that takes advantage of cheap power using a Service delivered by the DCC. The key stages of an Elective Service are: 1. DCC evaluates the User proposal and prepares a Preliminary Assessment. The Party is consulted before moving to the next step; 2. DCC produces a detailed assessment of the proposal including an implementation schedule. The Party is consulted before moving to the next step; 3. DCC produces a description of the complete offer and moves to execution. The process flow is shown in Appendix A 4. Once the implementation schedule has been agreed and the contract has been accepted, the resources to meet the terms of the contract will be reserved and may not be redirected to meet other demands of the Release. RMS Electives DCC Public Page 17 of 24

18 RMS Electives Q10 Q11 Do you agree that the strategy for dealing with Elective Communication Services is appropriate? If not, please state how you think Electives should operate; or state the changes you would like to see to the Electives process. Do you agree that resources for implementation of an Elective Communication Service should be ring-fenced at the signing of the contract? If not, please state how you would propose that the contract operates and state the rationale. 6.6 Service Decommission Notification DCC proposes that the decommissioning date of a specific Version of a DCC Service with the SEC Panel should be at least twelve months in advance of decommissioning of that Version. Twelve months allows sufficient time for SEC Parties (and SECAS) to consider the impact of Service withdrawal and plan mitigation activities. As a minimum, DCC proposes that Versions will be supported for two years 3 following notification to SEC Parties that the Service is due to be decommissioned in line with industry best practice. RMS Service decommissioning Q12 Do you agree that twelve months notice and a two-year retirement programme is appropriate? If not, please state what period you believe DCC Services should be retired over; or state the changes you would like to see to Service Decommissioning. 6.7 Industry Engagement DCC will engage directly with Working Groups, User forums, Parties and other relevant stakeholders to collaborate in the development of enhancements to the DCC Solution by the means outlined in section 6 of this document. This is likely to take a similar format to DCC s current design forums, which will supplement the provision of details of forthcoming Releases via the SSI and DCC website. 3 Exceptional scenarios may cause this to change (e.g. security flaw identified). Service Version life may be extended if new versions compromise the ability to interact with deployed metering assets. DCC Public Page 18 of 24

19 7 How to respond Please provide responses by 16 October 2015 to DCC at If you have any questions about the consultation documents, please contact Consultation responses may be published on our website Please state whether all, or any part, of your consultation response is confidential. Please note that responses in their entirety (including any text marked confidential) may be made available to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (the Authority). If you have questions about our approach to consultations, please contact our Regulation Manager at DCC Public Page 19 of 24

20 8 Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations Term Abbr. Description Balancing and Settlement Code BSC Contains the governance arrangements for electricity balancing and settlement in Great Britain Change Board The SEC Change Board is responsible for approving or recommending the approval of changes to the SEC. It is supported by SECAS. Data Communications Company DCC The organisation delivering Great Britain's Smart Metering Network Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement DCUSA The agreement that provides a single centralised document, which relates to the connection to and use of the distribution networks Independent Gas Transporters igt Develop, operate and maintain local gas transportation networks Master Registration Agreement MRA Provides a governance mechanism to manage the processes established between electricity suppliers and distribution companies to enable electricity suppliers to transfer customers Planned Release Schedule The schedule of Releases which are planned for specific dates, three times each year Release A group of approved changes which are implemented as one package, allowing implementation of multiple changes simultaneously Release Management The process adopted for planning, scheduling and controlling the build, test and deployment of Releases of IT updates, procedures and processes Release Management Policy RMP How DCC will operate the enduring Release Management process beyond the commencement of DCC live operations Release Plan A plan setting out the phases of a particular Release with start and end dates for each phase SEC Administration and Secretariat SECAS The organisation that administers The Code SEC Change Board The executive board that manages changes to the Smart Metering infrastructure SEC Panel The SEC Panel is responsible for the management of the SEC Monifications Process SEC Party A person or organisation that has agreed to be bound by The Code Smart Energy Code (the Code) SEC A multi-party agreement which defines the rights and obligations of energy suppliers, network operators and other relevant parties involved in the end to end management of smart metering in Great Britain Standard Release Management SRM Release Management that follows the Planned Release Schedule Supply Point Administration Agreement SPAA Sets out the inter-operational arrangements between gas suppliers and transporters in the UK retail market Uniform Network Code UNC is the hub around which the competitive gas industry revolves Urgent Release Management URM Management of Releases that have to follow an accelerated Release schedule User A User of the DCC systems Version A particular Release of a Service differing in certain respects from an earlier Release of that Service DCC Public Page 20 of 24

21 Appendix A Process Flows Note: numbers in the top right-hand corner of the boxes refer to the phases outlined in this document (section 5.1). 1. New Services and Products DECC (or other Authority) activities are shown in blue. DCC activities are shown in purple. The above diagram is an illustrative example of how a New Service Product may be implemented the process may differ, depending on the nature of the Service. DCC Public Page 21 of 24

22 2. Defect Remediation and Continuous Improvement DCC Public Page 22 of 24

23 3. Value-Added Services SECAS activities are shown in green, DCC in purple. DCC Public Page 23 of 24

24 4. Electives Party activities are shown in red, DCC in purple. DCC Public Page 24 of 24