To set the stage . . .
Phoenix has always allowed manual out-of-sequence processing. The steps included manually reversing, one by one, all the changes effective on or after the out-of-sequence change; then processing the out-of-sequence change; then manually reapplying, one by one, any of the desired changes effective on or after the out-of-sequence change . . . Whew! Lots of Phoenix entry and issue work. And, as with all manual entry and issue work, the potential for accidental errors exists; not to mention that sequence numbers change.
Enter Automated Out-of-sequence processing in Phoenix.
Phoenix Entry and Manager have been modified to initiate an automated out-of-sequence change that mimics the manual steps but requires very little user intervention and no additional entry or issue work. The user simply chooses to continue with an automated out-of-sequence change and makes the appropriate OOS change in Entry or Manager. Phoenix will then leave traditional Phoenix and bring you to the new Automated Out-of-sequence (.NET) processing.
You tell Automated Out-of-sequence processing which existing changes should be reapplied and which changes should have printed output (like a DEC page) and the rest is done automatically.
As an added bonus, the internal Phoenix sequence numbers remain unchanged! Plus, all Phoenix portfolios that are automatically reversed, original and reversal, are identified as ‘obsolete’ so they do not get included in subsequent Automated Out-of-sequence processing.
Lots of web services and .NET technology went into providing Automated Out-of-sequence processing. There were both technical and business challenges to be met. An early challenge was how to let Automated Out-of-sequence processing know about Phoenix database configurations – the solution was to create a SchemaGenerator tool that must be run initially for each line of business in your database and whenever your Phoenix configuration changes (such as when you add a field to a view or add an endorsement).
Rating in Automated Out-of-sequence processing was also an early concern, especially the time it might take to rate many reapplied changes. Our early belief that XML rating would provide excellent performance has proven true. XML rating uses the same ART trees and ART logic as traditional Phoenix (so no need to rewrite your existing ART logic) but communicates with ART more efficiently. As a matter of fact, a lot of the ‘rating’ time in Automated Out-of-sequence processing is really time spent checking if any PME (Program Mandatory Endorsement) logic needs to take place, rather that outright policy rating. We’d love to be able to be specific about how much faster Automated Out-of-sequence XML rating really is, but as you know, there are many factors that influence the time it takes to rate. At this time, we feel comfortable saying that Automated Out-of-sequence XML rating is generally faster (and sometimes significantly faster) than traditional Phoenix rating.
We are very pleased to provide Automated Out-of-sequence processing. This article is intended to whet your appetite. We look forward to seeing and responding to specific questions or comments about Automated Out-of-sequence processing as you roll it out at your company.