Part 14 (1/2)

When I developed the metrics to answer these questions, I kneas critical to produce an answer that would be accepted as accurate Besides the need to have controls around the collection and analysis, I needed a basic construct for the metric

I knew the quadrant I knew the possiblepoint) I also kne to test the nment with the Product/Service Health quadrant

But to ensure we gained a coulation-the use of three or more measures to answer the question In the case of effectiveness, we identified the prie, and Custoure 7-2

Figure 7-2 The Product/Service Health quadrant

Rather than select one or two, I determined that we should use all three, which would provide a fuller picture Each measure had different characteristics in their sources and methods of collection

Delivery addressed the need for objective measures of hoe provided our services and products This measure would capture data on our effectiveness without custo and reporting tools used by the IT departhts tools you are already using

By using the data from these tools, it drove the units to capture the data more accurately and frequently than they had been Before theused to their best levels and the resulting data was not useful-it was GIGO (garbage in, garbage out)

Usage was athe custo how they ”voted with their feet” This could be represented by unique customers (how many customers do you really serve) or repeat customers

Customer satisfaction surveys allow you to ask hoell you served the customer and understand what's important to theet direct input on how you can improve While the IT department already had satisfaction surveys for each trouble case, these only gathered information from customers who expressed a proble our product or service

We also wanted to hear from those who hadn't had any issues with our service and perhaps even more importantly, those who had not yet tried our services We needed to knohy potential custoanization can only grow soto current custo in new customers

So, besides the trouble ticket follow up surveys, the IT department conducted annual surveys to the entire custo on your business, youof potential custoated had a customer viewpoint and addressed a different type of feedback-objective and independent customer feedback, indirect customer feedback, and direct customer feedback

It would be nice if you could introduce the concept of triangulation and it would be accepted It would be nice if you could introduce any of the concepts I've offered so far-from root questions, to the metrics framework and taxonomy, to the use of documentation, how to use and not usewith Effectiveness-without having to fight for their acceptance

When I atteanization, I ran into a lot of resistance I believed it stee” syndro others develop and irams, I now believe it's deeper than that While the syndrome does make it difficult, even if you are an outside consultant, the refrain will be raised-”Just ask the custoh!” Not only will it be shouted, a chorus will rise up in strong harht for aones froulation of Collection Methods and Sources

Triangulation also requires different collection methods, as follows: Delivery is objectively collected and without customer involvement In other words, the custo any opinions (all quantitative data) Most times I also try to use automated collectionsyste systems) It is important to note that these do not anization delivers the products and services I will explain shortly

Usage is a measurement based on customer behaviors What do they buy? Who do they call? How often do they use our services? How did they find out about our services and products? How many one-time customers do we have vs how many repeat customers?

Custoroup Here, we directly ask the customer for their opinion A better title for this item would be ”custoht of the service and product, but you also ask for ideas for ih focus groups, or through individual interviews There are pros and cons to each, fro volumes of data collected You should pick the methods that work best for you Many times the customer base will dictate the best feedback tools

Remember our three blind mice? When they ”observed” the elephant, they had a hard ti out what it was until they were allowed to coulation) Since they were able to identify the animals correctly, it would seey-only the saulation uses ies If the elephant were alive rather than a museum exhibit, one mouse could use touch, another sht-out set of questions

Triangulation dictates that you use different sources, ies, and types of measures Table 7-1 reflects the possibilities

You can use other groupings for triangulation I offer these because I know they work, and they are simple to implement The idea is to address at least three different viewpoints, sources, and ulation can be used at each level of the o too deeply or youthousands of different ulation at the top level-in the case of effectiveness e, and Customer Satisfaction level But, you can use the same concept at the next level

For Custo three different roups, and interviews This can be very expensive, especially interviews But you could also use two different surveys-the annual survey given to a large portion of your customer base, and the trouble call survey You can also use work-order surveys-questionnaires provided to customers when you deliver your service/product This is another survey of your active customer base, but it doesn't require a problem You can also administer satisfaction surveys three to six months after delivery to see if the customer: Continues to be satisfied with the service or product now that the initial exciteths or weaknesses of your product or service Has recoe also allows for multiple measures You can measure the number of unique customers, repeat customers, and the frequency of custoht a new laptop from Best Buy and the experience was so enjoyable that I took ht a laptop for herself (nothing at all like the one I bought) and I couldn't help but buy a wireless keyboard andto type this) Not only was I a repeat customer, but I referred someone else the next week (actually I drove her to the store, helped her pick out a computer, and offered to carry it to the car for her) All of this could be used to e

I saved Delivery for last because it is the one raanization, I broke delivery into the following three major factors: Availability

Speed

Accuracy

Availability is straightforward and not always applicable Is the service or product available when the customer wants or needs it? In the case of telephone services, when you pick up the handset, do you get a dial tone? I just suffered through five days without my home service (I still have a landline for our home) due to a malfunction to the phone line outside the house The service (product) was unavailable for five days My wife and I both found this unacceptable Availability can also be triangulated (re too deep)-in this case, total outages, partial outages, and degradation of service are three viable measures

Speed is one of the most powerful of the delivery lobal society-we all want things faster Patience is mostly a lost virtue So in my project, we measured speed to resolve, speed to restore, and speed to complete work orders We also measured speed to deliver projects, software contracts, and new products Another favorite at many coes, answer the phone, or respond in person? Speed can easily be related to availability For exaes there were and how long they lasted, but how fast did we respond, resolve the problem, and restore the service?

Patience is mostly a lost virtue, so expect many of your Product/Service Health metrics to be related to speed

In the case of e, I was unhappy with the time to respond (five days to have the technician show up at my door), but I was pleased with the speed to resolve The technician fixed the problem in less than 30 minutes

The last area I used for Delivery was accuracy This was normally captured in the form of rework How ht it was resolved? Others could include defects per products delivered There are also errors in service Did we deliver the right things? Did we deliver to the right people? At the right tiht location? There are anization can make mistakes Accuracy measures the quality of your products or services froulation of Perspectives

Triangulation is a simple concept Use multiple sources of data when you can Use more than one type of measure More than one collection method More than one perspective In the case of the quadrants you are addressing, the differing perspectives is not referring to the following four viewpoints Custoers') Workers'

Leadershi+p's

Instead, I' perspectives:

Objective, non-customer involvement

Customer behaviors (observation) and