1. Excel PowerPivot Based Dashboard
Problem: The client was spending significant amounts
for manual monthly analysis of data around
marketing campaigns and results but also had a small
budget for IT Development.
Solution: Create a PowerPivot based dashboard
combining data from multiple sources including SQL
Databases, Data Cubes, Share Point Lists, and Excel
Spreadsheets.
Results: An aesthetically semi-automated dashboard
dramatically decreasing monthly reporting costs.
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2. Excel PowerPivot Based Dashboard
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3. Partner Segmentation Tool
Problem: The prior year partner segmentation tool
(narrowing 500,000 partners to 20,000 managed
partners) cost roughly $2 million and did not deliver
as expected.
Solution: Create a tool combining data from 8 sources
applying strategy based selection criteria using
around 100 DAX expressions in an easy to use tool in
PowerPivot.
Results: A well received PowerPivot based tool
delivered for 5% of the prior year costs providing
more and better data than previously available.
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4. Partner Category Recommendation Sample
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5. BI Solution
Problem: As the launch manager, analyst and strategist
for a project, pulling data for analysis grew to take up
75% of each month.
Solution: Learn SQL and Microsoft Reporting Services
to automate the monthly reporting.
Results: The monthly reporting cycle was reduced from
3 weeks to 3 days with better data and teams asked
“which BI Team had developed the solution”.
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6. Sample Reporting Services Report
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7. Sample Reporting Services Report
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8. Sample Reporting Services Report
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9. Measuring Customer Experience
Problem: The client’s market share is under threat
from several companies that offer a more intimate
customer experience.
Solution: Benchmark the customer experience of 8
targets in various industries for best practices.
Results: CONFIDENTIAL
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10. Benchmarking: We Benchmarked 9 Companies to Assess Industry Best
Practices Around Specific Customer Interactions
Experience Takeaways:
Customer Experience Landscape
•
Proactive
Proactive + Relationship
Oriented=Customer Centric
• Loyalty and higher Lifetime Time
Attractors Value (LTV) = Approachability
• 56% of the Companies
Benchmarked have a 360 degree
view but aren’t fully utilizing
• Complexity of business is not an
Transaction Oriented
excuse for bad customer
Relationship Oriented
experience
• A good product does not equal a
good customer experience
Deflectors
The Fine Print
Reactive
• The number of company interactions is not statistically
significant and scoring may vary with further
interactions
• The relative location of each company is a good
representation of how “Joe Customer” interpreted his
interactions

11. Methodology
Define Develop Interact Measure Identify
Identified a Created realistic Used all available Developed 70+ Performed GAP
Customer Service customer channels to measurement Analysis to extract
Life Cycle* scenarios to drive interact with target attributes within best practices for
encompassing the customer companies, in- the phases of the inclusion in the
experience from interactions along store, web, phone Customer Service business case.
pre-purchase to the Customer and chat to Life to allow
Primary
disposition. Service Life Cycle* research, comparison.
purchase goods
and service,
create and resolve
support issues and
return products or
cancel services.
Secondary
Utilized Forester, Gartner and performed extensive internet research.
Target Companies: Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Amazon, Best Buy, Google, Comcast, T Mobile and Fidelity
*”The Customer Service Life Cycle: A Framework for Improving Customer Service through Information Technology”. Gabriele Piccoli, PH.D. 6/01/2001
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12. Customer Service Lifecycle* Phases
1. Establish Need
2. Determine attributes
These lifecycle phases were used
to identify and score interactions
between the customer and the
target companies
3. Source selection
4. Ordering
12. Transfer & Disposal 5. Authorization & Payment
13. Auditing & Accounting 6. Acquisition
7. Testing & Acceptance
8. Integration
9. Usage monitoring
10. Upgrading
11. Maintain
*”The Customer Service Life Cycle: A Framework for Improving Customer Service through Information Technology”. Gabriele Piccoli, PH.D. 6/01/2001
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13. Customer Interaction Scenarios and Measurement Attributes
Example Customer Interaction Scenarios
Software Company #1 Software Company #2
• Utilized pre-purchase • Purchased and returned 2
selection group, attempted 1 Laptops, 2 Wifi Routers, 1
chat support incident, Music Player, Applied for
completed 2 technical support Credit Card, Utilized multiple
calls plus prior experience and free selection services, trialed
system knowledge several pay services, and
called for support 5 times.
Example Attributes Used to Measure Each of the Scenarios for Each Benchmarked Company (over 70 were used)
Attribute # Example Attributes -2 -1 0 1 2
Does the company provide access Extensive forums or
to communities for additional discussion groups with
Yes, some form of
information? ratings on participants,
66 No community information
moderators, other
sharing
methods to judge the
value of the information
Does the Customer register Forced registration with no Registration encouraged but
31 ownership of the product? customer benefits, company Customer registers with not required for support,
No registration
unaware of owner of product minimal information offers tangible benefits to the
even with registration. customer.
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14. Meet Joe Customer
The part of Joe Customer was played by Joe Dion.
Joe Customer is a particularly savvy customer pretending to be dense and needy. Joe Customer kept his
identity hidden as much as possible throughout the interactions (unless of course, that would create legal
issues or impede completion of the scenario), even when his real name was revealed, he has never heard of
his consulting firm and has no knowledge of this project. In fact if asked, he’s a freelance writer (yes,
several targets did ask during the needs assessment stage…) *Yes, I even removed my badge before entering
stores!]
Joe Customer acted within defined scenarios to fully test the Customer Service Lifecycle from before the
customer identifies a need through purchase and ownership to retirement and disposal. Joe Customer also
took liberties with the scenarios when circumstances allowed an even deeper interaction. Joe Customer
took every opportunity to ask extra questions, particularly dumb questions to demonstrated his naivety,
providing even greater opportunities for the targets to provide assistance
Joe Customer challenged any cancelation and restocking fees, but, was cordial in his challenge. (The
experience may have differed, had he become enraged). Where relationships already existed, new
relationships were established to avoid historical taint. (new email accounts, new affinity accounts, new
buyer accounts, etc.)
Joe Customer kept extensive notes of his experience including screen shots which can be seen at
<SHAREPOINT site here>
We hope you enjoy Joe Customer’s interactions…we certainly did .
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15. Current State Competitve Customer Experience:
Joe Customer© buys a computer
Approachable and Resolution Oriented =
Positive Customer Experience
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16. Current State Competitive Customer Experience:
Joe Customer© buys a computer
Approachable and Resolution Oriented =
Positive Customer Experience 16

17. Measuring “Confusion”
Problem: Competitors are intentionally creating confusion
about the benefits of open source software and software
based on open standards to compete against the client in
selling to the public sector.
Solution: A methodology to measure “confusion” over the
terms open source and open standards to determine if the
“confusion” is leading to open source preferences in
legislative activities.
Results: A correlation was found to exist between “confusion”
about the benefits of open source software and government
procurement mandates; the client developed strategies to
counteract the “confusion” and neutralize the procurement
preferences.
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18. Measuring Confusion
Define Develop Measure Validate Analyze
Read a sample of Identified a set of Read documents Provided the Analyzed the
legislative confusion points, (49 from 25 clients leading results of all
documents to (statements which countries) to Open documents and
identify an attributed the identify confusion Standards/Open identified
approach to value of open points in their Source Law Firm correlation
measuring standards to open native language with the between confusion
confusion over the source), and a (English, French, documents and and preference as
terms open source body of Spanish, Italian, measurement well as areas of
and open measurement and Portuguese) system for greatest confusion
standards. rules to allow and verified comparative to be targeted with
objective understanding analysis. PR and training
treatment of all using translation Reconciled all efforts.
documents. software. differences.
Open Standard: A standard that is developed or
Open Source: software that is distributed
ratified in a consensus based process, which is
according to a licensing model that grants access
available to implementers and which has the goal
to the source code of a program and requires that
of requiring that the IP necessary to implement
the source be made available to third parties for
the standard be licensed to implementers on
further distribution and modification
reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
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19. Greater Confusion=Hard Preference
Preference by Confusion Points
100%
90%
80%
% of Documents with type of Preference
70%
60%
50% Hard Preference
Soft Preference
40% Neutral
30%
20%
10%
0%
Confusion Points 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
# of Documents 8 10 7 6 7 4 1
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20. Measuring “Awareness & Understanding”
Problem: The client faces billions of dollars in risk if employees
violate the intellectual property of other parties; the client
has developed intellectual property policies and expends
substantial training effort to reduce the risk of intellectual
property violation, however, had no way of knowing whether
employees knew or understood the policies.
Solution: A methodology to measure awareness and
understanding of intellectual properties among employees
using a scenario driven quiz delivered as a survey with a 60%
response rate from those sampled.
Results: Employees were found to be more knowledgeable than
expected, however results were used to increase training
efforts in problem areas, and attorneys utilized the
information in working with their internal clients.
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21. Demonstrating Understanding
Scenario: Marc Zimmerman was just hired by Microsoft from a competing
company. He was hired primarily because he led a group at his prior employer that A realistic scenario developed in
was developing the same types of products he will now be working on at
Microsoft. Marc developed many of the ideas that formed the basis of those products
conjunction with attorney subject
and still has copies of schematics, software code and other items. To speed up the matter experts.
development process, Marc is considering making this information available to his
team.
Marc Should: (select one answer)
•Freely provide the information to everyone in his group Survey respondents identified what they
•Not use this to create products but can distribute it to show what the competition is
doing believe to be the acceptable action in the
•Say he came up with the ideas after leaving his last job and freely distribute them
•Not provide or use the information from his prior employer in his Microsoft projects given scenario.
•Have an LCA attorney present when he discloses information from his prior employer
Why? (select one answer)
•It's difficult to prove where ideas came from and he was hired by Microsoft for his
prior experience Next the survey respondent selected an
•This is good competitive intelligence and usable as long as it doesn't go into Microsoft appropriate justification. Each possible
products
•Marc's previous employer can keep the products Marc developed, but not the ideas action in the first question had a logical
he developed
•An attorney present creates an attorney-client privilege and protects Microsoft from paired reason to demonstrate policy
legal problems
•This may violate employment agreements with both companies and violate trade
understanding in the second question.
secret law
Completion was anonymous and voluntary,
yet designed to be entertaining and
challenging; surveys elicited responses
from 60% of the targeted population.
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22. Different Categories of Awareness=Different Training Challenges
Trade Secret
100%
80%
60%
87 93 83
86 90 80
40%
65
52 49 52 50
44
20% Unaware
Confused
Aware
0% Intuitive
-20%
-40%
Trade Secret 1 Trade Secret 2
-60%
BizDev
BizDev
All
Developer
All
Developer
PM
PM
Marketing
Marketing
Tester
Tester
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