![How's that Customer-Centric Stuff Working Out for You? [update] class=](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Doug Hadden VP Products
I gave an update about our customer process improvements in August 2010: So how’s that “customer-centric” stuff working out for you. I described our measurement of “customer cases”:
We measure customer cases. Customer cases include:
- Software problems that could be defects in the code.
- Data problems that may be caused by software defects, database or hardware issues
- Software enhancement requests
- Service requests – looking for implementation assistance or advice
Where are we now?
Open Cases
- 2010: reduced the number of open cases by 70% since March 2008
- 2012: reduced the number of open cases by 80% since March 2008
We’re operating with about 1/2 the open cases in 2012 as in 2008 which is remarkable because we’ve introduced a whole new version of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite – Version 7. The score has dipped from “green” to “yellow” in our weekly scorecard 4 times since late 2009.
Open Emergency Cases
- 2010: reduced the number of open emergency cases by more than 97% since March 2008 compared to rolling average over the past year
- 2012: reduced the number of open emergency cases by more than 98% since March 2008 compared to rolling average over the past year
The “open emergency cases” have moved to a steady state where there have only been 8 weeks in 2011 and 2012 (so far) where emergency cases were reported and not resolved by the following Monday. The score has dipped from “green” to “yellow” in our weekly scorecard 1 time since late 2008.
Customer Weighted Cases
The improvements to reduce the number of open cases got us to think about other case metrics. Our “customer dashboard” shows the customers with the most open cases. We weight customers with many cases (red) higher than those with above average (yellow). April 2010 through March 2011 showed an increase in “weighted cases by customer”. This matches the introduction of Version 7 as enhancement requests and minor defects cases increased as customers rolled out the new product. We have found that improvements to data integrity and usability have also generated some issues. We have managed to remain in “green” for our weekly scorecard for over a year.
Performance Outputs
These statistics show “outputs” rather that customer satisfaction “outcomes”. My sense, from meeting with customers, is that there is a consensus that FreeBalance support has improved significantly over the past four years. Is this your experience? Comment on the blog entry or email me at dhadden@freebalance.com.