Usability is a frequent buzz word in the utility software industry. Underlying the buzz is the reality that delivering on return on investment (ROI) promises is directly linked to the customer information system’s (CIS) usability factor. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of CIS implementations fail, with usability and end-user acceptance being a significant factor.
So what exactly does usability mean?
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the technical definition of usability is: “The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which users can achieve tasks in a particular environment of a product. High usability means a system is easy to learn and remember; efficient, visually pleasing, fun and quick to recover from errors.” In the context of utility CIS, when we speak of usability we are often referring to the user interface and how well the interface was designed to meet the daily work needs of the customer service representatives and other significant users.
A CIS interface designed with the end user in mind will have the following benefits:
1) Substantially reduced training time
2) Improved end user productivity and satisfaction
3) Reduced data entry errors
4) Quicker access to customer information
5) Reduced staffing requirements and turnover
Historically, user interfaces were text-based. Navigation was primarily conducted by entering information in different fields and tabbing. While some electric utilities still use CIS with text-based user interfaces, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) is now much more prevalent. In recent years, the GUI has seen dramatic improvements and now offers more effective and intuitive ways to present information to the user than ever before.
When developing a user interface, the enlightened software vendor wisely employs “Best Practices” built on fundamentals that consider the following key questions:
- What are the users’ needs? e.g. immediate access to certain types of account information for handling customer inquiries
- What type of work environment do the users operate in?
- What is important to the users? e.g., the elimination of repetitive data entry
- Which tasks do they perform, both frequently and infrequently?
- How are they accomplishing these tasks now?
- What will ultimately enable them to work more effectively?
Defining these factors is critically important. To complicate matters, there will often be users from multiple departments with different information requirements. A well designed CIS should allow easy configuration of the user interface to precisely suit the information needs of these user groups.
“The user interface and theory around usability has evolved dramatically in the 30 plus years that we have been designing and deploying customer information systems”, says George Chauvin, Director of User Interface Design at Systems & Software, a leading provider of customer service software for utilities. “We’ve designed enQuesta, our web-based billing and customer service solution, with usability being a key factor. We validate our feature and design ideas with focus groups comprised of our customers. We understand that our customer base of leading utilities demands a system that is intuitive and empowers their staff to improve customer satisfaction as well as the bottom line.”
Reduce Training Times
Surveys among electric utilities indicate that customer service staff training times can be reduced substantially with the implementation of an intuitive CIS. Recent survey reports from Systems & Software have noted cost savings ranging from 70-90 percent as a result of decreased training times. Many mid to large size utilities also have reported cost savings ranging from $300,000 - $3 million dollars from the reduction of training sessions.
The impact on the organization is realized in a number of positive ways. First, the accelerated learning curve allows new employees to assume their positions much more rapidly. Also, temporary staff can be brought in during times of increased call center activity and trained quickly. Finally, there is less need for follow-up training and less repeat questions to supervisors.
“I’ve been involved in many CIS implementations over the years. Buy-in from end-users is critical to creating a project success story. Having screens and workflows designed from the users’ perspective - clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate - makes all the difference.
There are tremendous benefits to the entire organization: training which formally took several months now only takes weeks, productivity increases, and customer satisfaction increases. For my company, training times have decreased 70% for the majority of new users – users who have come into our organization with no prior industry knowledge. It really has the effect of optimizing the entire organization.” - Anita James, Corporate Technical Consultant, Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, TN
Improved End User Productivity and Satisfaction
A prime objective in interface design is to facilitate economy of navigation. To frame the problem, customer service representatives traditionally have had to navigate through numerous menus and screens to access disparate pieces of information which then need to be consolidated to answer a customer inquiry or perform a service order. This inefficient process flow added to the amount of time and frustration required to perform tasks. Based on user roles and tasks, the optimized and configurable “portal” or “inquiry panel” screen should present up to 75 percent of the information needed by the customer service representative (CSR) to answer most inquiries, with less-accessed information one click away. By employing minimalist navigation and constant awareness of “system state”, the CSR is empowered to deliver better service to the customer and the utility itself.
“We used to have a legacy “green screen” CIS. When we cut over to the new user-centered system, the effect not only on efficiency but also on customer service representatives’ morale was dramatic. It’s a great feeling to know that your efforts are improving employee productivity as well as employee and customer satisfaction.”- Lori Pryce, Deputy Treasurer, Massena Electric
Reduced Data Entry Errors
Data errors due to manual and repetitive entry have long been a major issue with enterprise software. A common practice employed by CSRs has been to write down customer information on a notepad or sticky note and enter the data at a later, more convenient time. Oftentimes, however, the CSR would forget the context in which they wrote the information and neglect to enter it in the system or it would be entered incorrectly. With quick navigation and business rules that provide immediate validation of the entered data, this is becoming less of a problem.
The following formula is commonly used for calculating the ROI achieved in productivity by reducing data entry errors. This scenario with a mid-sized utility demonstrates the savings which can be achieved.
ROI Calculation Example:
(# of Errors) x (Average Repair Time) x (Employee cost) x (Number of Employees) = Cost Savings
Applied to conservative data, the potential cost savings are impressive:
(2 errors a week) x (60 minutes to fix) x ($30/hour) x (25 employees)
= $1500 per week
= $78,000 per year
As this example demonstrates, selecting a CIS designed with the user in mind can result in cost savings of $546,000 over a 7-year product lifecycle. This figure does not include the ROI which can be achieved from decreased training times, user productivity advances, and staff reduction.
Quicker access to customer information
Quicker access to customer information translates into improved customer satisfaction and end user productivity. For utilities that receive a large volume of calls, any productivity increase means bottom line cost savings. Information which traditionally took five or six mouse clicks to access, now only takes one or two clicks – with the user always able to return to the main screen in a single click.
Additional benefits reported by end users are fewer steps to complete tasks, fewer screens to navigate, fewer menus (replaced by hyperlinks), more role-based information on key screens, and greater confidence in interacting with customers.
Reduced staffing requirements and turnover
Productivity gains from improved usability have reduced the number of customer service representatives required by some utilities. In addition, the increased job satisfaction reported by end users contributes to improved staff retention.
"I have seen a remarkable reduction in staffing needs over the past years. With the upgrade of our CIS system, EPB has been able to reduce our Customer Relations staff with a particular emphasis on our Remittance Processing area. The savings realized can be directly attributed to usability improvements in overall workflow, navigation, and screen design." - Anita James, Corporate Technical Consultant, Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, TN
Customer Self Service
The internet has brought with it numerous possibilities of empowering customers to have direct access to their account information. Some CIS providers have developed Web-based customer self service modules that embed seamlessly in the utility’s website. Customers can update personal information, including mailing address, telephone number and email address. Customers have the ability to view an up-to-the minute account summary, electricity consumption and billing history – all within a few simple mouse clicks. They can even securely pay for their services with a credit card or enroll in ACH programs. To further increase customer service and reduce overheads associated with queries, an extensive online help and Frequently Asked Questions knowledge base can also be added. Cost savings to the utility can be significant as it alleviates call center volume. Once again, usability is a key factor as there is no opportunity for training customers. Navigation and information retrieval has to be intuitive otherwise customers will give up in frustration or call the CSR for assistance, thus defeating its purpose.
Usability – Increasingly important in CIS selection
The end user experience is increasingly viewed as critical to a successful CIS project and ongoing operations. When asked what factors influenced their CIS selection decision process, leading utilities are often quoted that usability – even more than functionality, technology, and price – is the most important deciding factor in selecting a CIS vendor. Looking at the metrics and customer quotes above, it is “easy to see” why.
About the Authors
David Phillips is an enQuesta consultant with Systems & Software. David has more than a decade of experience in software design, project management and marketing. He can be contacted at David.Phillips@systemsandsoftware.net
George Chauvin is the Director of User Interface Design at Systems and Software. George has been developing user interfaces for client and web-based applications for over 10 years. He can be contacted at George.Chauvin@systemsandsoftware.net
So what exactly does usability mean?
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the technical definition of usability is: “The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which users can achieve tasks in a particular environment of a product. High usability means a system is easy to learn and remember; efficient, visually pleasing, fun and quick to recover from errors.” In the context of utility CIS, when we speak of usability we are often referring to the user interface and how well the interface was designed to meet the daily work needs of the customer service representatives and other significant users.
A CIS interface designed with the end user in mind will have the following benefits:
1) Substantially reduced training time
2) Improved end user productivity and satisfaction
3) Reduced data entry errors
4) Quicker access to customer information
5) Reduced staffing requirements and turnover
Historically, user interfaces were text-based. Navigation was primarily conducted by entering information in different fields and tabbing. While some electric utilities still use CIS with text-based user interfaces, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) is now much more prevalent. In recent years, the GUI has seen dramatic improvements and now offers more effective and intuitive ways to present information to the user than ever before.
When developing a user interface, the enlightened software vendor wisely employs “Best Practices” built on fundamentals that consider the following key questions:
- What are the users’ needs? e.g. immediate access to certain types of account information for handling customer inquiries
- What type of work environment do the users operate in?
- What is important to the users? e.g., the elimination of repetitive data entry
- Which tasks do they perform, both frequently and infrequently?
- How are they accomplishing these tasks now?
- What will ultimately enable them to work more effectively?
Defining these factors is critically important. To complicate matters, there will often be users from multiple departments with different information requirements. A well designed CIS should allow easy configuration of the user interface to precisely suit the information needs of these user groups.
“The user interface and theory around usability has evolved dramatically in the 30 plus years that we have been designing and deploying customer information systems”, says George Chauvin, Director of User Interface Design at Systems & Software, a leading provider of customer service software for utilities. “We’ve designed enQuesta, our web-based billing and customer service solution, with usability being a key factor. We validate our feature and design ideas with focus groups comprised of our customers. We understand that our customer base of leading utilities demands a system that is intuitive and empowers their staff to improve customer satisfaction as well as the bottom line.”
Reduce Training Times
Surveys among electric utilities indicate that customer service staff training times can be reduced substantially with the implementation of an intuitive CIS. Recent survey reports from Systems & Software have noted cost savings ranging from 70-90 percent as a result of decreased training times. Many mid to large size utilities also have reported cost savings ranging from $300,000 - $3 million dollars from the reduction of training sessions.
The impact on the organization is realized in a number of positive ways. First, the accelerated learning curve allows new employees to assume their positions much more rapidly. Also, temporary staff can be brought in during times of increased call center activity and trained quickly. Finally, there is less need for follow-up training and less repeat questions to supervisors.
“I’ve been involved in many CIS implementations over the years. Buy-in from end-users is critical to creating a project success story. Having screens and workflows designed from the users’ perspective - clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate - makes all the difference.
There are tremendous benefits to the entire organization: training which formally took several months now only takes weeks, productivity increases, and customer satisfaction increases. For my company, training times have decreased 70% for the majority of new users – users who have come into our organization with no prior industry knowledge. It really has the effect of optimizing the entire organization.” - Anita James, Corporate Technical Consultant, Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, TN
Improved End User Productivity and Satisfaction
A prime objective in interface design is to facilitate economy of navigation. To frame the problem, customer service representatives traditionally have had to navigate through numerous menus and screens to access disparate pieces of information which then need to be consolidated to answer a customer inquiry or perform a service order. This inefficient process flow added to the amount of time and frustration required to perform tasks. Based on user roles and tasks, the optimized and configurable “portal” or “inquiry panel” screen should present up to 75 percent of the information needed by the customer service representative (CSR) to answer most inquiries, with less-accessed information one click away. By employing minimalist navigation and constant awareness of “system state”, the CSR is empowered to deliver better service to the customer and the utility itself.
“We used to have a legacy “green screen” CIS. When we cut over to the new user-centered system, the effect not only on efficiency but also on customer service representatives’ morale was dramatic. It’s a great feeling to know that your efforts are improving employee productivity as well as employee and customer satisfaction.”- Lori Pryce, Deputy Treasurer, Massena Electric
Reduced Data Entry Errors
Data errors due to manual and repetitive entry have long been a major issue with enterprise software. A common practice employed by CSRs has been to write down customer information on a notepad or sticky note and enter the data at a later, more convenient time. Oftentimes, however, the CSR would forget the context in which they wrote the information and neglect to enter it in the system or it would be entered incorrectly. With quick navigation and business rules that provide immediate validation of the entered data, this is becoming less of a problem.
The following formula is commonly used for calculating the ROI achieved in productivity by reducing data entry errors. This scenario with a mid-sized utility demonstrates the savings which can be achieved.
ROI Calculation Example:
(# of Errors) x (Average Repair Time) x (Employee cost) x (Number of Employees) = Cost Savings
Applied to conservative data, the potential cost savings are impressive:
(2 errors a week) x (60 minutes to fix) x ($30/hour) x (25 employees)
= $1500 per week
= $78,000 per year
As this example demonstrates, selecting a CIS designed with the user in mind can result in cost savings of $546,000 over a 7-year product lifecycle. This figure does not include the ROI which can be achieved from decreased training times, user productivity advances, and staff reduction.
Quicker access to customer information
Quicker access to customer information translates into improved customer satisfaction and end user productivity. For utilities that receive a large volume of calls, any productivity increase means bottom line cost savings. Information which traditionally took five or six mouse clicks to access, now only takes one or two clicks – with the user always able to return to the main screen in a single click.
Additional benefits reported by end users are fewer steps to complete tasks, fewer screens to navigate, fewer menus (replaced by hyperlinks), more role-based information on key screens, and greater confidence in interacting with customers.
Reduced staffing requirements and turnover
Productivity gains from improved usability have reduced the number of customer service representatives required by some utilities. In addition, the increased job satisfaction reported by end users contributes to improved staff retention.
"I have seen a remarkable reduction in staffing needs over the past years. With the upgrade of our CIS system, EPB has been able to reduce our Customer Relations staff with a particular emphasis on our Remittance Processing area. The savings realized can be directly attributed to usability improvements in overall workflow, navigation, and screen design." - Anita James, Corporate Technical Consultant, Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, TN
Customer Self Service
The internet has brought with it numerous possibilities of empowering customers to have direct access to their account information. Some CIS providers have developed Web-based customer self service modules that embed seamlessly in the utility’s website. Customers can update personal information, including mailing address, telephone number and email address. Customers have the ability to view an up-to-the minute account summary, electricity consumption and billing history – all within a few simple mouse clicks. They can even securely pay for their services with a credit card or enroll in ACH programs. To further increase customer service and reduce overheads associated with queries, an extensive online help and Frequently Asked Questions knowledge base can also be added. Cost savings to the utility can be significant as it alleviates call center volume. Once again, usability is a key factor as there is no opportunity for training customers. Navigation and information retrieval has to be intuitive otherwise customers will give up in frustration or call the CSR for assistance, thus defeating its purpose.
Usability – Increasingly important in CIS selection
The end user experience is increasingly viewed as critical to a successful CIS project and ongoing operations. When asked what factors influenced their CIS selection decision process, leading utilities are often quoted that usability – even more than functionality, technology, and price – is the most important deciding factor in selecting a CIS vendor. Looking at the metrics and customer quotes above, it is “easy to see” why.
About the Authors
David Phillips is an enQuesta consultant with Systems & Software. David has more than a decade of experience in software design, project management and marketing. He can be contacted at David.Phillips@systemsandsoftware.net
George Chauvin is the Director of User Interface Design at Systems and Software. George has been developing user interfaces for client and web-based applications for over 10 years. He can be contacted at George.Chauvin@systemsandsoftware.net
