Transcript - Optimal Connections, LLC

“Building a Web SelfService Portal:
Keys to Success”
Paul M. Dooley
Principal
Optimal Connections, LLC
www.optimalconnections.com
Agenda
• The Trend toward Customer
Empowerment
• What’s in It for You and the Customer?
• Popular Portal Applications
• Key Steps in Implementing Your Webbased Portal
• Keeping it Going for Continued Success!
• Q&A
The Trend Today: Customer Empowerment
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The trend today is toward globalization, 7 x 24 coverage,
and multi-channel support. Customers are asking for…
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Choices – support how and when they want it
Convenience - right channel for the issue
Availability - avoid problems in the first place!
Empowerment - be informed
Return on Investment - to get the most from
their system
People – rather than big media - are taking a big part
themselves in creating and driving news and information
(witness youtube.com and similar destinations)
Traditional media is rapidly migrating to an online format and
leveraging this “new media”
In fact, any business without a respectable web site is like a
business without business cards – its just plain expected
these days!
The Web is “Power to the People”
• More than ever, its power to the people - with new web trends
such as …
– Wikis – where the people publish the content themselves under the
guidance of a hosting organization
– Blogs – web logs where individuals share their thoughts, opinions and
advice via online journals
– Personal websites – MySpace, Facebook, etc., are forming new
communications platforms for people
• For today’s IT organization, the need is for us to function more
like a business
– Where end-users are treated like “customers” and the emphasis
is on minimizing costs, while maximizing productivity,
customer and employee satisfaction
• One important way to take advantage of these trends, and
accomplish this three-fold purpose is to deploy an effective
web self-service portal
What’s in It for Customers?
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Access support anytime – a web support portal is
available whenever customers need help – 7 x 24.
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Better understanding of IT service & support – with
easy access to SLAs, policies, and info, expectations are
more accurately set.
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Increased availability of solutions to known errors –
customers enjoy increased and faster access to common
solutions
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Higher system availability – fast access to solutions
leads to higher uptime and customer satisfaction
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The ability to collaborate with other customers – a
web portal can provide the ability for chat communities
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Ability to influence service quality – by submitting
feedback, requests for enhancements
What’s in It for IT and the Service Desk?
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Makes it easy for customers to do business with you
– Be accessible 7 x 24
Publish services and set accurate expectations
– Service catalogs and SLAs
Collaborate with customers as “support partners”
– Empower them to get answers to simple questions,
resolve low priority incidents
Make it convenient for customers to submit service requests
– Planned activities, handled more cost-effectively via a portal
Facilitate Problem Management: inform customers so as to avoid problems
– Status updates, advisories regarding solutions to “known errors”
– Provide standard pre-approved changes
Reduce cost, increase customer satisfaction
– By empowering users, raising productivity for the service desk and users
– Reduce incidents through self-service, proactive problem management
– Do more work with the same level of staff
Operate Like a Business: Market your value!
– Display your mission, publish successes, and promote your value
Popular Web Portal Applications
and Sample Portal
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Automated Status Reporting
Web incident entry/update for customers
Answer “How to” questions and provide solutions to
simple known errors
Process routine service requests
Provide proactive advisories
Download center for updates
Fast access to online documentation
Enable customer collaboration with
chat
Publish service levels and a service
catalog
Keep customers informed about
policies
Popular Web Portal Applications
Automated Status Reporting
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Most help desks & service desks don’t do an effective job at
providing status regarding incidents/requests in process
More timely status reporting is an opportunity for improvement in
most support centers
– By maintaining a ‘user profile’ and integrating it with your SMS, your
portal can keep customers informed about their incident status
– Report by number, location, date, and other criteria.
– Summary information and drill down reporting should be available
Benefits:
– Set expectations more accurately, and keeps customers informed
– Maintains customer satisfaction levels
– Averts incoming calls for status, lowering costs and ensuring higher
productivity
Challenges:
– Analyst writing skills
– Quality incident logs to capture timely & accurate incident status
– Web integration with your SMS to automate the process
Automated Status Reporting
Proactive Status Updates
Popular Web Portal Applications
Log or Update Incidents
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Customers enter/ update incidents by themselves for lower priority
incidents. Higher priority incidents phoned in (guidelines)
Tip: enforce a search of the KB first before allowing entry!
– Otherwise you risk unnecessary incidents (a solution may already
be available)
– Key: if no solution, then allow electronic incident entry
Route incidents and requests to your normal queues
– Avoiding the need for special monitoring
– Establish metrics for service requests as well as incidents!
Benefits:
– More cost-effective way of handling low priority incidents and
requests
– Convenient access and empowerment for customers
– Forms-based entry provides superior formatting over email
Challenges:
– Web integration to SMS
– Metrics, monitoring and reporting for quality assurance
Log or Update Incidents
Sample Entry Screens
Popular Web Portal Applications
Provide Answers and Solutions
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Provide fast answers to the top Frequently Asked Questions
Access to simple, re-usable solutions and answer common
questions
Incident cost: Self-Service vs. Phone
– Through easy, fast access to an integrated,
effective knowledge base (KEDB)
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– Facilitates Problem Management
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Benefits:
12.44
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Series1
– Quick answers to common questions, users
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resolve simple repetitive incidents
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– Empowers customers, lowers avg incident
Web Self-Service
Phone
cost according to HDI 2008 study
Challenges:
– Integrating KEDB to your Service Mgt System & web portal
– Effective processes (Knowledge Centered Support (KCS),
Problem Mgt and Incident Mgt)
– Providing access to only “customer
ready” solutions
– Knowledge Monitoring
Providing Answers and Solutions
Sample Screen
Top
Solutions
Popular Web Portal Applications
Reset Passwords
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One of the biggest sources of repeat incidents!
– 30-50% of calls, in fact, indicates a recent IDC study *.
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A significant potential cost saving for many help desks
– Since many end-users could easily reset their own passwords if
equipped.
– Deploy one of the many software solutions through your web portal to
enable customers, freeing your staff for more pressing incidents
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Benefits:
– Empowers customers to resolve these simple service requests faster,
while freeing up your staff for other work.
– Lowers costs and improves staff productivity
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Challenges:
– Integrating password reset tool to your web portal
– Providing for security policy compliance
– Encouraging, educating and training users to use
Reset Passwords
Sample 3rd Party Password Reset Tool
Sample apps:
•P-Sync
Popular Web Portal Applications
Enter Service Requests
• 7 x 24 support for routine service requests
• Reserve valuable phone support time for processing higher
priority unplanned incidents
– Position the web as a vehicle for Request Fulfillment, and
optimize your handling of routine service requests
– Examples: Standard change requests, requests for upgrades or
upgrades, documentation & media requests, enhancement requests
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Benefits:
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Conserves valuable analyst phone time for handling incidents
Can be an integral part of implementing ITIL V3 Request Fulfillment
More cost-effective, automated handling of service requests
Convenient 7 x 24 hour access for customers and users
Challenges:
– Monitoring responsiveness to the channel for efficient service request
processing, so as to meet customer expectations
– Service catalog integration, automated fulfillment on back end
Popular Web Portal Applications
Deliver Proactive Advisories
• Keep customers informed about known errors and ways to
avoid potential problems through timely “service advisory”
bulletins
– Timely bulletins describe reported known problems, and include
advice on how to avoid the issue
– Can link back to support web page for next steps
– A component of proactive “Problem Management”
• Benefits:
– Supportive of ITIL Problem Management, this practice helps
customers avoid problems in the first place – ensuring higher
productivity, uptime, and customer satisfaction
– Also lowers support costs by avoiding incidents in the first place
• Challenges:
– Implementation of a supporting Problem Management process
– Standard forms and supporting procedures, automation
Popular Web Portal Applications
Deliver Proactive Advisories
Popular Web Portal Applications
Provide Standard Pre-Approved Changes
• Leverage your web portal to cost-effectively provide access
to pre-approved standard changes (minor updates and
upgrades)
– Avoid sending out CDs or DVDs, and reduce costs
– Provide updates or upgrades to software cost-effectively via a
“downloads” center.
• Benefits:
– Reduces cost for the service desk, while providing convenient 7 x
24 access to popular updates and upgrades. Relieves the
administrative burden of processing standard change requests.
• Challenges:
– Only use for pre-approved, low risk updates and upgrades.
– More complex or critical software updates require Release Mgt
assistance to ensure trouble-free installation and configuration.
Provide Routine Updates
Sample Screen
Popular Web Portal Applications
Deliver Online Documentation
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Customers want access, and we want them to be informed about
how to use the services we provide
Examples:
– Publish your service desk support policies. Set customer expectations.
– Your analysts need the customer to refer to a user guide, manual, or
other set of instructions from time to time – why make things difficult?
– Provide HTML and PDF access
– HTML enables search, and PDF provides easy download
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Benefits:
– Speeds incident resolution and lowers cost – no searching for the right
manual!
– An easy way to ensure the customer always has the proper manual for
the job at hand!
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Challenges:
– Integration with a document management system
– Timely updates to ensure accuracy
Popular Web Portal Applications
Deliver Online Documentation
Popular Web Portal Applications
Enable Customer Collaboration
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Enable interactive, real-time two-way chat with customers
– Extends self-service web portal to assisted service
– Some audiences prefer this method (ie, gaming)
– Can be integrated with Click-to-Talk, making it easy to
transition to phone
Analysts can handle multiple sessions simultaneously
Benefits:
Incident Costs: Chat vs. Phone
– Positions you as flexible, ‘customer-centric’
– Decreases cost per incident*, as some
incidents transition to chat
– Can boost analyst productivity through multitasking, ‘canned’ replies
– Ensures self-service experience is successful
Challenges:
HDI 2008 Survey
– Lacks ‘tone of voice’, handling emotions
– Integrating with a SMS to log, track sessions
– Requires that analysts have typing, multi-tasking skills
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Chat
Phone
Enable Customer Collaboration
Sample Chat Screen
Sample apps:
•LivePerson
•InstantService
Popular Web Portal Applications
Publish Your Service Levels
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Negotiating and documenting Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
doesn’t do anyone any good if the contents of those agreements
aren’t communicated to customers, end users and the help desk!
– Customers and users need to know what to expect
– Staff need to know at what level to deliver depending on the customer
– Provide a link to “Your Service Levels”, informing users about the
contents, terms and conditions of their SLA.
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Benefits:
– More effective communications of SLA contents
– Expectations more accurately set, enabling higher customer satisfaction
– Service Desk staff better positioned to deliver accurately
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Challenges:
– Be sure that any changes to SLAs are reflected in a timely fashion
– Empower Service Level Management/Catalog Management to make
changes and updates as needed to reflect agreements and service levels
in force
– Integration with a complete, web-based Service Catalog
Popular Web Portal Applications
Deploy a web-based Service Catalog
• Go further than just the SLA: let customers know about
your services!
• Start with basics: listing the various services you provide and
informing customers in business terms
– Describe services not in “IT Terms”, but in terms customers understand
– Include name, description, typical user, features/benefits, availability
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Include other helpful information with your service catalog to help
customers in deciding which services they need
– Providing pricing information if appropriate(value)
– Link in the relevant supporting SLA detail
– Eventually provide links so that once a customer has selected a given
service, they go directly to automated service request entry!
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Benefits: more customer and business centric – making it “easy to
do business” with the service desk and IT
Challenges: planning your catalog; defining and documenting your
“services”; building, deploying, promoting and maintaining the catalog
Provide a Service Catalog
Sample apps:
•newScale
5 Key Steps
to Implementing Your
Web Portal
Step 1: Develop and Present a Business
Case Before You Do Anything!
• Why?
Sets expectations for management on what to expect (and
not expect)
– Defines a mission, clear goals and objectives, a time table, and
milestones in the development and deployment of your portal
– Lays out projected costs with a Cost/Benefits Analysis, proposed
investment (people, hardware, software, etc.), a projected Return on
Investment (ROI), an Action Plan and a projected timeframe for roll-out.
– Defines Key Success Factors, so you’ll know when you’ve arrived!
– Simply good business practice – reinforcing the notion that you “run
your support center like a business”
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1. Complete a situation analysis
 Document the current situation with respect to customer self-service
 Establishes a “baseline” for later evaluation
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2. Define your Goals and Expected Benefits
– Identify and prioritize the key goals for your portal. Identify the biggest
quick “wins” – prioritize these, and implement those features first to gain
early successes in the rollout
How to Develop and Present a
Business Case
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3. Summarize your proposed solution:
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Provide an overview of the design, features, and functions.
Summarize costs and project timeline
List assumptions and risks, with contingencies
Spell out goals and benefits
Provide cost justification, with ROI projection
4. Quantify cost savings expected to be realized
– Provide projected estimates of cost savings, based on achieving the
expected goals and realizing the benefits
– Convert each projected benefit – performance improvement or cost
reduction - into a dollar figure. Include a simple table to illustrate your
assumptions and estimates
– Example:
Reduce incoming incidents for simple repetitive incidents users
can resolve themselves (“How to” FAQs, simple solutions).
50 calls per week, x 52 weeks = 2600 incidents,
2600 incidents x average cost of $12/incident = $31,200
savings/Yr
How to Develop and Present a
Business Case
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5. Estimate Development and Deployment Costs
– Itemize project costs; compare total projected costs to estimate savings
Examples of costs to factor in: Projected support team costs software costs,
hardware costs, annual hosting costs, professional services, on-going admin and
support costs
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6. Assemble Your Business Case
– Assemble the output and document a logical business case, with supporting
and information. Include costs, benefits, and savings over time to illustrate ROI
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7. Moment of Truth: Present Your Case to Management
– Secure management commitment, support and funding
Next Step? Lay the Ground Work!
Step 2: Lay the Ground Work!
Assemble Your Team & Plan
• Like any other strategic initiative, this one deserves..
– A focused cross-functional team of Subject Matter Experts
– Budget commitment of people, time and resources
– A project lead & well defined project plan
• Incorporate Team Best-practices
• Engage your Marketing Department
– Don’t ignore your marketing dept!
– Usually responsible for the “image” to the business, customers and
marketplace
– Can be a valuable source of expertise and resources, plus ensuring your
initiative is in line with corporate policies and standards
• Involve Your Web Team
– A valuable resource for technical support, resources, and on-going
maintenance
– Make them part of your team so you can work together to make the
portal a reality!
Lay the Ground Work
Ensure Quality Processes
• Provide for Quality in Your IT Support Organization
– For a web self-service portal to be successful, you must have solid
supporting processes in place within your support center
– These must be positioned to effectively support the customer portal
(foundational)
– Otherwise you seriously compromise your success
• Key elements for support within the center include:
– Service Desk function, with adequate resources & capabilities
– Quality support processes (Incident, Request Fulfillment and Problem
Management)
– Knowledge Management process, system and repository
– Business style writing skills
– Quality logging of incident and service request (standards, QA process)
– A Service Mgt System that supports web integration
– The ability to budget supporting resources – tools, people, technology
Step 3: Develop Based on
Best Practices
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Align it with Your Organization’s Web Site
– Should have the same “look and feel”
– Your portal is your image – make it look professional!
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Make it FAST!
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Why users are going to your site? Searching for a solution.
Response and resolution time are key customer satisfaction drivers
Beware of fancy features which slow performance!
Emphasize fast display, fast loading, and fast response
Integrate it into your systems to minimize manual updates
To manage, establish metrics & tools to measure and report on:
– Number of page visits, unique visitors, repeat visitors
– Most popular pages, least visited pages
– Knowledge base effectiveness; % growth in solutions; % of visits
successful; solution re-use; most popular authors
– End-user satisfaction levels with portal
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Identify “gaps” and address in a continuous improvement program
Develop Your Portal Based on
Best Practices
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Keep it Simple and Easy to Use
– Be compatible with the parent site
– Pay attention to easy navigation and usage
– If you can “personalize” it, so much the better 
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Make it Engaging!
– Keep all critical resources 1-3 clicks away
– Like your analysts, your portal should greet the customer!
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Make it Easy to Find via the Search Engines!
– “If you build it, they will come”. Not true.
– Most people arrive at a web sites through a search engine – about
80%; only a small percentage by knowing the URL.
– Make your web support site easy to locate!
– Optimize your site so that search engines rank your site
at the top of the list when someone types a relevant
search phrase
Step 4: Treat Rollout
Like a Product Launch!
• Once you’ve designed, developed and tested your new
web self-service portal, you’re ready for roll-out.
• This is “the moment of truth”, so we suggest managing your
rollout just like any important new product or service.
– Done right is can be very effective and successful. Reduced
costs, increased productivity and customer satisfaction.
– Done wrong, and you end up with disappointed customers, and
a difficult recovery (first impressions matter!).
Treat Rollout
Like a Product Launch
• Establish a “Product Manager” and support team
• Develop a Release Plan
• Rollout it out in Phases to ensure success
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Internal rollout in the Support Center first
Beta phase (to key customers and users)
Early adopters
Full rollout
• Consider “branding” your portal
• Position it properly as an “expansion of services”
• Assess feedback as you go, and communicate successes
early and often!
Step 5: Keeping it Going
Ensuring Continuing Success!
• This is now one of your key support channels - don’t neglect
it!
• Market it on an on-going basis
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Play a recording to promote it while customers on are ‘hold’
Promote its use via your analysts (during silent time)
Offer a free web-based or CD “demo”
Post the URL everywhere!
• Keep it current through automated updates and effective
management
• Report success to your staff, management, and customers
• Assess your ROI against your initial “baseline” and move
ahead into the future!
It’s Up To You: Take it to the Next Level
with Your Web Portal!
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You’ll be more Customer and Business Centric –
making it easier for customers “to do business” with
you
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You’ll Lower Costs – by enabling customers to
solve many incidents and log requests themselves
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You’ll Raise Productivity – helping customers avoid
problems in the first place, resolving simple issues
quicker. Higher uptime results, along with higher productivity.
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You’ll Be More Proactive – staff will have more opportunity to
engage in proactive Problem Management, eliminating the source of
problems
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You’ll Differentiate Yourself from the Competition – by virtue of
the fact that you offer an effective, proactive “one stop” web channel
to assist customers around the clock.
What are You Waiting for? – Get
Started!
.. Any Questions?
Thank you for attending this session. Please fill out
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Paul M. Dooley
Principal
Optimal Connections, LLC
E: [email protected]
W: www.optimalconnections.com