The power of product standardization

6 min readJul 25, 2022

I was recently asked to share the story of my innovation. Here it is…..

Summary

Over the years in the rapidly evolving technology era, we have all witnessed how a small idea paves way for big things! I would like to share my story of one such concept that I came up with, that has had a profound impact on multiple workstreams in a way that it found its place in the history of the ISP, famed as top 5 innovation. (See bullet #4 in the linked external article for reference).

I conceived a method to organize the customer’s assets on a given network, so it is manageable in the OSS/BSS with a high level of clarity, accuracy, and consistency. My idea has two components to it: 1) Developing a Data Model for customer network 2) Transformation methodology of existing data to fit the new data model. The idea resonated well with the desires of our customers as they were seeking this clarity and partnered with us to deploy the solution. It later laid the foundation for the brand-new EPC that drove the transformation of the order-to-cash workflow and a customer-facing portal.

Data discrepancies in OSS/BSS result in poor customer experience

Hughes business customers procure multiple hardware/equipment for implementing a managed network services solution for their retail operations. It typically consists of one or two (second for backup) connectivity services, routing capabilities, Digital Media, and other value-added services (VOIP, Wifi, Traffic prioritization, Security).

An experienced ISP partner like Hughes consistently aims to reduce risk and simplify operations. One big obstacle in the way of accomplishing this goal has been data discrepancy and incomprehensible network components for both internal and external users. Poor identifiability of procured services and lack of correlation between services and devices on a given network caused confusion to the users of OSS/BSS applications. As per the analysis of Customer Support experts, these data inconsistencies were the root cause of poor customer experience. At the time of crisis, the average quarterly KPI measured as below: ART (Average Resolution Time) of 60 mins, AHT (Average Handle time) of 45 mins, FTR (First Touch resolution) of 25%, and CES (Customer Effort Score) of 2.2/5

Opportunity — Empower users with the complete and correct knowledge of the network topology to accelerate action

The below table depicts the ambiguous representation of products deployed on a given network. A troubleshooting agent is burdened with the interpretation of a linear list of “Site ID labels” displayed on the OSS, to identify all services and devices on the network. It provides limited information on the network topology and operational status of the individual components. For example, when there is a ‘slow browse’ scenario, the recommended path for resolution is to trigger a reboot on each of the Site IDs with the hope to hit on the right equipment. This process not only consumed time but is also resource intensive. It directly contributed to poor customer service metrics (KPI’s mentioned above).

An example of ambiguous representation of services at a given B2B customer:

‘ABC’ network at Store #12345

ABC12345 — Primary record for WAN access via Satellite broadband

ABC12345R — Suffix R indicates presence of a router. Such configurations are typical for HAN (High availability network)

ABC12345M- Suffix M for Modem, indicating additional WAN Access on the network. This could be primary channel or a backup (failover)

ABC12345AA- Suffix AA representing acceleration appliance

ABC12345AP- This location has a value-added service for Guest Wi-Fi since AP maybe indicating access point

Problems with this representation: All usage (satellite or terrestrial) was incorrectly captured against one record due to the absence of another site ID for connectivity service, skewing all reports. It lacked clarity if the network has single or dual HAN, hindering the ability to follow a troubleshooting script. No information on the type of terrestrial service supported by the modem. Unable to report issues WiFi equipment and service separately. Customer’s IT personnel as well as Hughes’s administrators needed to be empowered to quickly understand the network topology so they can act swiftly when a crisis occurs.

Strategy and recommendation — Focus on the customer’s point of view, devise a new data model and transform existing data

I visualized the essentials on the network diagram from the customer’s perspective that would help expedite device identification and quickly isolate the problem to a specific service or device. I conceived a data format that would adequately capture and maintain (including MACD scenarios in the customer’s journey) the details of the deployed customer network, and the associative rules for the relationship between the products. I diligently classified every known product in the catalog and came up with a list of possible values for product type, family, category, and grouping. Type indicated if it was a service or device. I classified them into Families: WAN Access, Managed router services, and value-added services. I further categorized the devices on their functional capabilities such as a router, modem, access point, digital media TV, etc. For services, I grouped them based on transport enabling the connectivity: Satellite/Broadband, Standard Wireless, Fixed wireless, Wireline, and POTS.

I reconciled the customer data records for a given location from various EMS and mapped them to a configuration ratified by Hughes NE (Network Engineer) and the customer account manager. Existing data was dissected and then systemically reconstructed with a new set of auto-generated IDs, each representing the most granular component on the network. The record was then padded with values for product type, family, grouping, and category. The stamps helped identify missing records. A location ID indexed all the associated records into a network unit. In the example network stated above, the new format would capture details enough to pinpoint the specific service or device being investigated:

Example of a network represented in the new Data model, removing ambiguity and enabling relationship between services and devices.

*Site ID in bold are new records; ### are auto-generated numbers

The process was piloted with data from a single enterprise customer with ~500 locations using a macro recorded in MS Excel. A 100% data accuracy was accomplished and the customer service KPI improved significantly for this customer. I worked with the ETL team to automate this process for the rest of the enterprise accounts, which were then ingested into OSS/BSS applications.

Improved KPI and built the foundation for order automation

The new qualifying data enabled OSS/BSS applications to build a hierarchy and set up compatibility and dependency rules between services and devices that ensure integrity. A visual of the location network was exposed to internal and external users on the portals. The precision and data integrity enabled a quick correlation of incidents with services and associated devices. The gains from this feature translated to better customer service metrics. The dashboard that I built using Tableau demonstrated marked improvement in customer service KPI’s. The ART was reduced to 15 mins simultaneously increasing FTR to 85%. The AHT was reduced to 20 mins, with an even more significant reduction in the number of calls for support. As a cascading effect, the CES jumped to 4.2/5 as most of the issues were resolved through self-service. The rigor of this idea led to its incorporation into a futuristic order-to-cash program, whose north star vision was to have data integrity at the front and center of customer experience. A simple idea that transformed ISP’s enterprise's business!

Let’s add color to the idea! The product details provided an opportunity to track status discretely and manage the dependency between service to service, service to device, device to device, and primary/backup role. In the example below, the indented bars are the devices associated with the service (Managed Router Services) above.