steps performed by the order manager can be listed as fol- lows (see Figure 20.3): 1. Validate the order for completeness and correctness. 2. Identify the parameters and the steps for provisioning the services requested. 3. Check if sufficient inventory is available and allocate resources to fulfill the service request. 4. Do any manual installation and setup, if required to the identified infra- structure. This is performed by interacting with the workforce management module. 5. Trigger provisioning and activation of requested services. 6. Update the status of the resources with the inventory module. 7. Do end-to-end, real-time testing of the configuration and fix any issues. 8. Initiate billing for the activated services. 9. Communicate order status as completed to customer management modules. The provisioning system plays a critical role in fulfillment of service. The pro- visioning process in itself is quite complex where the activities would be across different kinds of networks and can involve a variety of tasks related to the service. For example, when a service is provisioned it might involve configuring elements Customer Service management catalog Billing Order Order Inventory management management Verification and validation Workforce Provisioning management system Figure 20.3 High level steps in order management. OSS/BSS Functions in ATM or FR for transport, RAS for access and some elements in a wireless network. The actual task to be performed in the element could include, but not limited to, configuring an application, setting up parameters for security, connec- tivity setup between elements, associating storage with server or application, and SO forth. The provisioning OSS (see Figure 20.4) can also handle configuring of network for dynamically oriented transactions like authentication, accounting, and authorization. To summarize, the provisioning system can do application provision- ing, service provisioning, resource/element/server provisioning, network provision- ing, storage provisioning, securi