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Chapter 12 I D eveloping BmnmIT Solutions -/

BlueandChallengesWeb SystemsWhen Web-based self-service isgood, it'sre- remain thesame:settingasidemoney andtimeformaintainingally good. Customer satisfaction soars and thesite,anddesigningflexibilityintoapplication interfacesandcall center costs plummet ascustomers an- businessrulessothesitecanbechangedasneeded. .swer their own questions, enter their own CitiStreet. CitiStreet (www.citistreetonline.com) isa globalcredit card numbers, and change their own passwords with- benefits servicesprovider managing over $170 billion in sav-out expensivelivehelp. ings and pension funds and is owned by Citigroup and StateBut when Web-based self-service is bad, it's really bad. Street Corp. CitiStreet isusing theJRules softwaredevelop-Frustrated customersclicktoacompetitor'ssiteor dial upyour ment tool to makerules changes in itsbenefits plan adrninis-call center-meaning you'vepaid forboth aself-servicewebsite tration systems,many of them featuringWeb-based employeeandfor acallcenter, andthecustomer isstill unhappy.A poorly self-service. JRules manages thousands of business rules re-designedWebinterfacethat greetsself-serviceuserswithacon- lated to client policies, government regulations, andcustomerfusingsequenceofoptionsorasksthemquestionstheycan'tan- preferences. Previously, business analysts developed the re-swer isasurewayto forcethemtocall ahelp center. quired businessrules foreachbusinessprocess, and IT devel-Blue Cross-Blue Shield. For Blue Cross-Blue Shield of opers did the coding. But now analysts useJRules to createMinnesota (www.bluecrossmn.com). developing Web self- and change rules, without help from developers, saysAndyservice capabilities for employee health insurance plans Marsh, CitiStreet's CIO. "We'veeffectivelyelimnated thede-meant the difference between winning and losing several tail design function and80percent of the development func-major clients, including retailer Target, Northwest Airlines, tion," saysMarsh. IT isinvolvedinmanaging thesystemsandand General Mills. "Without it, they would not do business platforms, but it'slessinvolvedinrulesmanagement, hesays.with us," explainsJohn Ounjian, CIO and senior vicepresi- The software helps speed the development process fordent of information systems and c rporate adjudication ser- newbusiness systemsor features, saysMarsh. For example, itvices at the $5 billion insurance c . Sowhen Ounjian used to takeCitiStreet sixmonths to set upbenefit plans forexplained to executives that the c relationship man- clients; it now takes three months. CitiStreet can also reactagement (CRM) project that woulo Web-based self- more quickly to market changes and new government regu-service by client employees would cost !Ii1) mllion for the lations. It hasused the rules development software to quicklyfirsttwo phases, they didn't blink. revisebusinessrulesto accommodate the changes inpension. Blue Cross-Blue Shield also learned the importance of programs required by new legislation. AndMarsh saysthatcommunicating with business units during the design phase when a client company recently added asavings plan to itsof its Web self-service system. Ounjian and his technical . benefits program, CitiStreet was able to easily develop andteam designed screen displays that featured drop-down implement changes withJRules.boxes that they thought were logical, but a focus group ofend users that examned aprototype system found the fea-

ture cumbersome and thewording hard to understand. "Wehad toadjust our logic," he says,of the subsequent redesign.'AT&T Wireless. When AT&T Wireless Services (www.atrws.com)began rolling out itsnew high-bandwidth wirelessnetworks, its self-servicewebsite required customers to saywhether their phones used the older Time DivisionMultipleAccess(TDMA) network or the newer, third-generation net-work.Most peopledidn't knowwhichnetwork theyused, onlywhichcallingplan they had signedup for, saysScott Cantrell,e-businessITprogrammanager atAT&T Wireless. SoAT&Thad toredesignthesitesothecustomer just entershisuser IDand password, "and the application follows built-in rules toautomatically sendyou to theright website,"Cantrell says.According to Gartner Inc., more than athird of all cus-tomers or userswho initiate queries over theWeb eventuallyget frustrated and end up calling ahelp center to get theirquestions answered.Whether aself-serviceapplicationisaimedatexternal cus-tomers or internal userssuchasemployees, twokeystosuccess

Cross, AT&T Wireless,CitiStreet: Development

of Self-Service

Case StudyQuestions1. Why domore than athird ofallWeb self-servicecus-tomersget frustrated andendup callingahelp center?Use the experiencesof BlueCross-Blue ShieldandAT&T Wireless tohelp youanswer.2. What aresome solutions tothe problems usersmayhavewithWeb self-service? Use the experiences of thecompanies in this caseto propose several solutions.3. Visit thewebsitesof BlueCross-Blue ShieldandAT&TWireless. Investigatethe detailsof obtaining anindivid-ual health plan or anewcell phone plan. What isyourappraisal of the self-servicefeaturesof thesewebsites?Explainyour evaluations.Sources: Adapted fromStacy Collete, "How Will YouCon-.nect with Customers?" Computenuorld, January 6,2003, p.19;Robert Scheier, "Know Thy Customer," Computenuorld,March 24, 2003, pp. 27-28; and BobViolino, "Who'sChanging the Rules?" Computenuorld, July 28,2003, p. 38.