Object Integration Framework
Definition
The Object Integration Framework (OITF) is a structure that enables the management of an object’s lifecycle in the context of a CRM solution.
The goals of the OITF are to:
Enable applications to interact with objects using a defined protocol
Allow an object to influence a business process
Enable integrated state management to track an object’s life cycle
Protect object data from inconsistent changes
Centrally define business rules (logic) that impact an object
Use
The OITF greatly simplifies the development of standard, industry, or customer-specific scenarios – it is not limited to specific business processes.
As an object moves throughout different phases in its lifecycle, external influences change the state of the object. An external influence may be represented, for example, by the sale of an object or the filing of a complaint. Because it is difficult to predict all interrelations with other business transactions and lifecycles, the OITF is provided to flexibly define the behavioral metadata for an object.
Integration
The object’s lifecycle is heavily interrelated with other lifecycles (for example, the. customer engagement lifecycle) and with business transactions (process integration).