Think big, plan quick and build bricks
29. 3. 2021
The success and quality of the software are determined by decisions right at the beginning of the design time of the architecture, graphical interface and backend functionalities. Every ambitious software architect strives to design robust software that will eventually become the so-called OOTB COTS product, or so-called "all-machine" that knows everything.
Software produced in the 1990s also conformed to this approach.Robust complex tree menu, keyboard shortcuts, multilevel layers. To use such a software, the user had to be an "associate professor" of the solution. Trainings, manuals, application experts and consultants were needed to build and maintain such a solution. The design of the processes required consulting companies, project managers, and if someone got on the project, they had the implementation secured for several years, if not a decade. Tailor-made software with its own processes could only be afforded by a large corporate company, and over time it found that this was not enough, and the whole process started all over again. Smaller companies had to adapt to software for the SME segment with minimal customization, and even these monoliths and "all machines" often did not have completed functionalities, which was called a solution feature.
The fourth digital revolution brought the need for greater agility, shortening the time needed to get the idea to the market . The functionality and SW need to addrčess other channels than internal employees, e.g. customers, wholesalers, customers appreciate to set up and order the services themselves via the mobile app on the phone. It is necessary to think big, but to realize big dreams it is better to use suitable means, smaller blocks, several iterations and think in context to make more applications for one solution and tailor each to the needs of the given user and purpose. It is necessary to plan and iterate quickly, because this is the fourth digital revolution.
1. Guided process.
It is necessary to design a graphical interface and data intake formulars so that everyone can do it quickly and without training. We eliminate the need for training and an associate professorship to work with the application by creating a so-called guided process. In practice, it is a set of screens, where the user fills in the required data, the individual steps of the process are divided into screens. After finishing one step with next or back user iterates between stages. It's similar to buying a plane ticket, where you choose from where, to where, date, passengers, class, additional services and pay. Such a design of the way of working with software can have a significant impact on the success of the company. It eliminates the need for user training, reduces errors, speeds up processes and reduces the number of staff required to complete the process.
The importance of such an approach was so great that the customer decided to transform other key processes into an assisted process. The guided process which replaced standard approach with several views, applets increased the completion of the process and decreased the demand for number of agents needed.
2. Dedicated thin applications
Instead of designing a robust "everything" GUI for everything and everyone, it is better to design and create the most efficient interface and application for each target function group and channel. As an example, I will mention our cloud solution Monit7 (http://www.monit7.com).
During initial design, we wanted to put a solution for the dispatcher, partners, customers, customers and admins into one GUI. We re-evaluated this approach and focused on each target group separately.
We have developed a mobile application for customers, in which they can order a limousine, see its location, etc. This application creates a certain loyalty of the customer to the provider. Ordering is faster and more efficient than going the journey through a classic website. .
We have designed a mobile app for drivers, which sends them tasks and rides with details, in which they can switch their status so that the dispatcher knows if he is free and also to be automatically navigated to the destination after receiving the task.
For dispatchers who must be able to handle customer requirements in the field or outside the office, we have created an application also installed in the mobile phone.
We have developed a specific web application for customers, which displays the location of the carriers they have ordered with their location.
An application for customers where they can order a limousine. For mobile dispatchers dispatching GUI in mobile application.
3. Multichannel integration
The principle of this approach is that specialized GUIs and integrations that serve a specific customer channel are set up over a robotic application with a lot of information and functions.
Devices (Set-top-box, IoT), e-shops, intranets can also be integrated, or a specific part of the application can be inserted into another using IFRAME and subsequently the data flow can be integrated and synchronized.
A good example is the multichannel extension over Oracle Siebel CRM in the telko segment. Above the unified product catalog, ordering and activation processes, the price list integrates an e-shop for end customers, partner CRM, intranet portal, mobile application for activating services, IVR, or the involvement of a customer set-top box. Such a solution may end up that the original GUI is fully replaced by multichannel integration and the solution serves as a backend..
4. Chatbot
Many customers see the use of a phone call as a slowdown or an obstacle and want to be served faster, without waiting on the line. One solution is the selfcare mobile application mentioned in point 2. Many times, however, interaction is required to set up the service, choosing the right components, where the agent finds out how to help the customer. For the 24x7 insurance contact center, we helped develop a chatbot, which will allow you to run a chatbot at peak times, when all agents are busy, but also for customers who prefer faster service without waiting int he IVR queue. Chatbot simulates the work of a human agent and calls the right help and assistance to the customer based on the answers of his questions. On the one hand, it saves costs for agents at peak times, but it also makes more agile and faster equipment available to the new Y generation. There are also factors that improve help, when the chatbot finds out the location of the caller from the phone and thus saves time.
5. Voice assistant
Machine Learning and artificial intelligence have accelerated the widespread use of speech analysis and synthesis. Controlling software by human speech and applications in cars, homes is part of everyday life. It is one of the other hybrid approaches that will replace the "omniscient" application.
Ready-made personal assistants in the cloud are offered by Amazon Web Services called Amazon Alexa for Business, or Google with its Cloud speech-to-text or text-to-speech module.
CCW is an AWS partner with certified developers and has never been easier to integrate into a personal assistant application.
Conclusion.
The future of software lies in the hybrid agile approach of users to functionalities. The once standard robust application "all-mighty" GUI is being replaced by specific hybrid applications that meet narrowly and efficiently selected functionalities. With the development of machine learning and its application in AI, the control of software gradually approaches man in the most natural way, namely the interface of speech communication. You need to think big, plan quickly, and develop effective blocks designed only for specific functionalities and audiences, something like the bricks that make up an application.
Fulfilling this dynamic trend requires knowledge of a wide range of software technologies, architectures and techniques and also creates a high level of effort to keep up with this pace. Software companies must constantly monitor, train developers, and learn about these new technologies.
CCW, s.r.o. does everything to offer its customers the most suitable and best on the market. We go to international congresses like Websummit, Oracle Open World, we are certified partners of Amazon Web Services, Oracle, we follow trends from Google, Microsoft. The fact that we have the opportunity to participate in several international cutting edge implementations gives us the opportunity to share experiences. .
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