Primary Use Case: Social Affiliate & Partner Selling

Background Overview

Affiliate and partner selling extends reach through social networks. Without proper management, affiliate programs are difficult to track and incentive systems are unfair. This primary use case describes partner management, referral tracking, and incentive settlement.

Goals & Value

• Partner Management: Efficient management of affiliate partners.
• Referral Tracking: Accurate tracking of referrals and conversions.
• Incentive Settlement: Fair and timely incentive payments.
• Program Growth: Expand affiliate network and performance.

Participating Roles

• Partnership Manager: Manage affiliate relationships.
• Affiliate Partners: Promote products and earn incentives.
• Finance: Calculate and process incentive payments.
• Marketing: Recruit and support partners.
• IT Team: Maintain affiliate tracking systems.

Primary Scenario User Story

As an affiliate partner, I want to track my referrals and earnings easily, so that I can optimize my promotion efforts and receive fair compensation.

Sub-scenario Details

Sub-scenario A: Partner Onboarding

• Roles & Triggers: Need to recruit and onboard affiliates.
• Main Process:
  1. Partner applies to affiliate program.
  2. Review and approve partner applications.
  3. Set up partner accounts and tracking.
  4. Provide partner training and materials.
• Success Criteria: Smooth onboarding; proper setup; comprehensive training.
• Exceptions & Risk Control: Application issues; setup errors; training gaps.
• **Metric Suggestions: Onboarding success rate, setup accuracy, training completion.

Sub-scenario B: Referral Tracking

• Roles & Triggers: Need to track partner referrals.
• Main Process:
  1. Generate unique referral links/codes for partners.
  2. Track clicks, conversions, and sales.
  3. Attribute sales to appropriate partners.
  4. Update partner dashboards with tracking data.
• Success Criteria: Accurate tracking; proper attribution; real-time updates.
• Exceptions & Risk Control: Tracking errors; attribution failures; dashboard issues.
• **Metric Suggestions: Tracking accuracy, attribution correctness, dashboard usage.

Sub-scenario C: Incentive Calculation

• Roles & Triggers: Need to calculate partner incentives.
• Main Process:
  1. Track partner sales and conversions.
  2. Apply incentive rules and rates.
  3. Calculate earnings for each partner.
  4. Generate earnings reports and statements.
• Success Criteria: Accurate calculations; fair incentive application; clear reporting.
• Exceptions & Risk Control: Calculation errors; incentive disputes; reporting issues.
• **Metric Suggestions: Calculation accuracy, dispute rate, report clarity.

Sub-scenario D: Payment Settlement

• Roles & Triggers: Need to process partner payments.
• Main Process:
  1. Calculate partner earnings for period.
  2. Verify earnings and resolve disputes.
  3. Process payments to partners.
  4. Provide payment confirmations and records.
• Success Criteria: Timely payments; accurate processing; complete documentation.
• Exceptions & Risk Control: Payment delays; processing errors; documentation gaps.
• **Metric Suggestions: Payment timeliness, processing accuracy, documentation completeness.

Scenario-level Test Case Examples

Test Preparation: Prepare affiliate platform, tracking system, incentive calculator, and payment processing.

Test Case A-1: Referral Tracking (Positive)

• Prerequisites: Partner shares referral link.
• Steps:
  1. Customer clicks partner's referral link.
  2. Makes purchase.
• Expected Results:
  • Referral tracked accurately.
  • Sale attributed to correct partner.
  • Partner dashboard updated.

Test Case B-1: Incentive Payment (Negative)

• Prerequisites: Partner earns commissions.
• Steps:
  1. Calculate partner earnings.
  2. Process payment to partner.
• Expected Results:
  • Earnings calculated correctly.
  • Payment processed timely.
  • Partner receives payment confirmation.

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