1. Support Readiness Planning for Enterprise Software Companies Mike Bourn SSPA Conference 4/7/04

2. Enterprise Support Trends
Complexity and Integration Options
Mission-Critical
Consolidation – “largeness”
Outsourcing, Hosting, Managed Applications
Open Source
Lowering TCO for Sys Mgmt
Security and Accountability
Increased troubleshooting discovery, definition, and resolution times

3. Product/Service Exceptions Cost Cycle
Make
Sell
COST
COST
Product
Sustaining
Customer
Sustaining
Value-
Added Svcs
Corporate Support
Exceptions generated by: Product Defects, Product Incompletes, Customer Owned Issues
Costs to the MAKE function: Cust. Satisfaction, Defect Resolution Resources, Time-to-Market, Ability to Execute
Costs to the SELL Function: Cust. Loyalty, Lost Sales , Ability to Execute
Digital Files
EXCEPTIONS
Customer

4. Support System Overview Balancing Supply and Demand
Vendor
Customer
Customer
Support
Org
Sustaining
Engineering
Product
Sustaining
Customer
Sustaining
Support
Supply
Support
Demand

5. Support System Overview
Downward Spiral of Compromises
Compromises in Customer Response,
Product Quality, Completeness, & Scheduling
Increase Demand
Customer
Support
Org
Sustaining
Engineering
Product
Sustaining
Customer
Sustaining
Supply
Demand
More exceptions, interruptions, and escalations …
impacting resources, schedules, and quality

6. ? Ready? Readiness Supportability Training Communications
Services
Resources
Communications
Systems
Learning Curve
Readiness
Customer
New
Product, Release,
or Acquisition
Support &
Services ?
Customer can be existing or new.
Readiness: is the support org ready?
Supportability: is the product ready to be supported?
Recommend separation of the two concepts.
Supportability
Corporate
Commitment
Impact on Customers
Custom Apps
Positioning
Bugs
Upgrades
Performance

7. Optional Approaches to Support Readiness Management
Do Too Little
Wait to be told
Do Too Much
Attempt to parallel entire Eng/Mkt effort and be connected to each piece
Do The Right Amount
Ensure support organization readiness
Provide quality feedback and requirements
Represent existing customers
Ask right question at right time
Rest of the presentation assumes that you want to do the right amount and that you may be coming from one of the other categories.

8. Strategy for Launching New Internal SR Process
Determine best internal method for detecting and tracking new products before launch
Idea/Requirements
Development sequence
Marketing management
Determine what you want and when you want it from the other organizations
Executive commitment
Have #1 and #2 figured out before getting exec commitment. The next several slides focus on “know what you want.”

9. What U Want Early Awareness (> 60 days pre-release)
What is it? Specifications/Requirements. What are the issues? Who owns them? What is the plan?
Cross Functional Coordination (30-60 days pre-release)
Execution of the plan underway.
Pre-Release Scheduling (0-30 days pre-release)
Readiness deliverables: training, comms, services, systems, etc.
Release
Everything done!

10. What U Want: 2 Major Concepts: #1 Product Supportability
Supportability Requirements (variable process):
Product impact on customers
Product supportability assessment
Product technology inventory: skills requirements
Product boundaries and positioning: corporate commitment
Product service models
Support and “Services” could be used interchangeably.
Initial supportability assessment determines whether is “biggie” or “no biggie”.

11. What U Want: 2 Major Concepts: #2 Support Readiness
Support Readiness Mgmt. (repeatable process):
Support ops process coordination / project mgmt
Support ops resources
Support ops training
Support ops communications
Support ops readiness management reporting

12. Readiness and Supportability
Response Center
READINESS PROCESS
Early awareness
Cross functional Coordination
Pre-release Scheduling
Post RRB
Coordination / Communication
SUPPORT SERVICES SUPPORTABILITY TRAINING SYSTEMS
Field Services
READINESS PROCESS

13. Supportability Requirements
Sell
Make
Technology
Requirements
Features
Marketplace
Requirements
Strategy
Product
Service
Models
Product
Supportability
Existing Customer
Requirements
Corporate
Support

14. Readiness Process: Early Awareness (>60 days)
Supportability review: What is it? What are the issues? What is the support/service model?
3rd party contracting? Embedded technologies? Reselling? Tech Partners?
Tech ownership and boundaries (e.g. open source)?
Scope training requirements

15. Readiness Process: Early Awareness Typical Issues
Customer consequences for install/upgrade
Naming and numbering
Superceded releases or products?

16. Readiness Process: Cross-Functional Coord. (30-60 days pre-release)
Lock in the operational readiness game plan
Services description
Systems plan
Training plan
Resources plan
Necessary pre-release inputs/outputs from other organizations

17. Projected release compatibility
Readiness Process: Cross-Functional Coordination (30-60 days pre-release)
Communications plan
Projected release compatibility
Consequent impact on existing customer base
Integration restrictions
Compatibility with other products

18. Readiness Process: Pre-Release Scheduling (0-30 days pre-release)
Training dates
Early drops of the product
Systems readiness
Internal readiness communications
Customer communications draft
Final days Q/A test data review

19. Tips for Exerting Influence Cross-Functionally
Marketing ?
Engineering
“Mental Models”
Customer Support

20. Perspectives and Challenges
Marketing’s View
Perspectives and Challenges
Pressure from Sales Force
Corporate strategy / Executive priorities
Competition
Announcements / Product Launch
Industry Analysts
Corporate Support Leverage Points
Existing customers / Sales force
Product “reality”
Development Engineering practices

21. Perspectives and Challenges
Engineering’s View
Perspectives and Challenges
Schedules
Requirements
Resources
Corporate Support Leverage Points
Metrics
Contracts: OEM, Reselling, Partner
Product knowledge

22. ? Customer Support View Perspectives and Challenges
Technical problem solving
Phones
Exceptions
Corporate Support Leverage Points
Enterprise support definition
Supportability requirements
Service models
Management reporting

23. Corporate Support Readiness
Corporate Support is: “All other value delivered to customer.”
Every department – Customer Support, Sustaining Eng, Sales, PS, Education needs a Readiness Process.
Know what you want and ask the right questions at the right time.
Understand other department’s mental models and priorities.

24. Q & A For Additional Information, contact: Mike Bourn
(Dir. Response Center)
Teresa Powell
(Mgr. Support Readiness)