Discovery Session Document Micro Business EE Web Portal June, 2013 v.1.4

Transcription

1 Discovery Session Document Micro Business EE Web Portal June, 2013 v.1.4 Apogee provides the energy industry with the world's most accurate energy analysis software. Partnering with utilities we foster customer trust, engagement in energy efficiency and an enhanced customer experience.

2 Executive Summary APOGEE is pleased to offer this discovery session document to explore building a state of the art and compelling energy efficiency Microsite targeted to hard to reach small business customers. These customers are essentially home-sized businesses and often operate using residential construction. We see them as we drive around town. They include hair stylists, surveyors, contractors and real estate brokers. These customers seldom think about their electric bill they have enough going on in their own businesses to keep them up at night. Our twenty-year experience engaging these customers indicates they will adopt change when it is the solution to comfort problems, when they are wondering why their bills change from month to month, and at those critical moments of truth when they must do something like replace the air conditioner or heating system, and when they are expanding and it would be easier and more cost effective to improve the ducts and insulation. APOGEE s online toolkit will enable YOUR COMPANY to target measures specifically and contextually. So, if YOUR COMPANY wanted to optimize the participation in air conditioner rebates, they could be offered to specific customers evidencing higher than normal air conditioning loads. The analysis can also factor in attributes in their energy profile (such as the age of certain appliances) as well as where they stack up compared to customers with the same or similar business profile. These contextually appropriate targeted measures have been proven to drive broad and deep program participation. One large IOU in the Northeast saw a five-fold increase in program participation (compared to all other customers exposed to them on the utility website) because they were offered as solutions to questions customers had about how they could reduce their costs at the time they were looking at their bills. Our tools achieve the best customer participation rates in the industry. Utility customers do not bail out when they see the inputs we require because they understand they matter. APOGEE does not pester them with market research questions that have no bearing on their bill or its analysis. We typically see 60-70% of the users complete the survey and run the analysis. This is terribly important when there is only a small targeted group that will receive the opportunity in the first place. YOUR COMPANY can t afford boring or scaring this customer group the analysis must be relevant, helpful, and on-demand. Customer satisfaction is always a priority at APOGEE and that is why we include feedback opportunities in our online energy analysis tools. The results from this APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 1

3 feedback is spectacular. Customers appreciate the way bills are explained and commend the utility for providing it. About 98% of the customers appreciate the analysis. As a point of differentiation, we are not aware of any other online energy analysis software provider that offers these feedback vehicles. In addition to energy analysis, APOGEE enables a plan feature where customers can design their own way to reduce energy and save money. APOGEE did this for the Georgia Energy Challenge ( and reviewers might wish to see how this works by registering (use any street name you can think of and identify Atlanta, GA city and state with zip code 30084). Select any small commercial accounts of interest. After you profile the account, you can see the design elements of a savings plan. Rolling up these plans provide wonderful insights into how customers think about energy changes over time. These plans also permit outbound periodic communications that nudge customers along. For example, some of these customers might want to participate in demand response and others might be more interested in lighting retrofits to lower their costs. Demand response has natural seasonal promotions associated with it. APOGEE is also proposing to add our social web formats to permit customers to compare notes with others, voice their concerns, and brag about their successes. This will enable YOUR COMPANY to close the marketing loop to learn more about these businesses and develop better targeted products for them going forward, leading to additional savings over the long term. We believe APOGEE is the perfect design, development, and analytics partner for any EE microsite initiative. We have a proven track record for successfully delivering applications of similar complexity to hundreds of electric utilities across the country. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 2

4 Solution Overview APOGEE is suggesting a unique approach to extend YOUR COMPANY s reach into the small business customer segment based upon our capabilities in the latest product release. Instant Insights Program Design We would start with a review of the XXX,000 account billing histories sorted by the business types as described in YOUR COMPANY data records. This will provide a way to rank each customer within their business segment. It also permits the use of APOGEE s Instant Insights application to break those bills into three valuable buckets: heating, cooling, and everything else. Instant Insights shares the same energy analysis engine as the rest of our applications, guaranteeing a uniform, accurate, fun user experience. The Everything Else bucket is generally dominated by lighting for most customers, but APOGEE s commercial building load database can disaggregate even further if needed. This initial analysis could then be used by YOUR COMPANY to target customers who have high air conditioning loads relative to others in the same customer group. Or, if lighting programs are more important, these tools can pick out the most likely lighting candidates. QR Code Lead Generation APOGEE suggests printing a QR code on the bill to drive customers to our analysis outputs of these characteristics. Almost all smart phones can read QR codes and it is proven to be an effective way to get customers to try something. Each QR code is unique to each customer and brings to them their bill analysis when it most matters. Being naturally curious, customers will want to fill in their business profile to refine their comparisons as well as learn about opportunities their business has to save energy and money. Our proposed social site will also encourage these customers to compare notes and see what other customers are doing as well as how well they are achieving savings. Customer Enrollment, Pledge and Tracking These techniques encourage customers to participate in YOUR COMPANY s programs. Customers review and select from energy savings plans and utility programs generated just for them. They pledge a savings plan and track the resulting savings. Aggregate comparative standings are delivered from the start, followed by comparisons of heating, cooling, and Everything Else as well. This analysis method has been perfected as automated monthly comparisons in APOGEE s product called Progress Insights which is explained along with other APOGEE analysis methods in the Appendix of this proposal. These analysis methods let customers see how their actions really perform since they can track cooling, heating, and Everything Else over time. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 3

5 Engaging User Interface ( UI ) for Savings Persistence APOGEE also proposes to replace the battleship gray wireframe approaches we have used in past commercial calculator instances with a rich pictorial menu. Customers who want to really understand their lighting opportunities will fill in a picture laden form where each lighting source has a picture of what it typically looks like. Plus, as they fill in this form it will automatically update the analysis giving them satisfaction that they are explaining the bill as and how much each lighting source is influencing the bill. Contextually relevant opportunities to save (upgrade lights, change out exit signs, use occupancy sensors on areas that are infrequently used, etc.) will be offered with specific savings estimated from the customer s unique situation. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 4

6 Implementation There are two components to the Microsite implementation. The first will leverage the existing APOGEE CommercialEnergyCalculator ( CEC ). The core CEC is a sophisticated commercial energy use analysis tool based on APOGEE s proprietary energy analysis software. Because of the power of the engine, customized for actual local weather and energy rates CEC can generate accurate analyses of a commercial building s energy use and costs with only a few commonly known inputs from the customer. CEC will be enhanced to provide a calculation engine that is capable of generating energy usage and saving data for what if scenarios specifically tailored to the profile of the customer s business. This engine will allow accurate savings and usage data to be displayed to customers when they are searching for energy saving recommendations such as what if I change my lighting to. CEC will also be enhanced to provide access to all the power of the analysis engine via a Web Service without any dependence on the Graphical User Interface. The second component is the User Experience. The User Experience will be powered by a high availability, high performance hosted server and leverage the WordPress CMS. Using WordPress, APOGEE will provide a responsive UI tailored to the context of the user s browser - a Mobile version for mobile users and desktop version for desktop users. The User Experience will interface to YOUR COMPANY system for user authentication and billing information and use the Web Service provided by the APOGEE CEC for customer specific energy usage and saving information. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 5

7 Illustrative Example Bill has already used his YOUR COMPANY Business Portal before, and is very familiar with the easy to use dashboard that displays the current savings programs he s participating in and the current savings he is enjoying by being part of those programs. He also loves that his business logo is right there on the screen - it gives him ownership and it feels like the programs are truly his. Within individual programs Bill can see what fellow business people in the community are doing and whether they have found that particular program to be effective. He no longer sees this as just a way to manage her energy usage and monitor his bills, but a virtual community of like-minded individuals who are Bill is your typical small business owner. He wears many hats every day. He is the manager of the shop, but also the owner and lead coffee barista. Bill is the marketing and advertising coordinator, purchasing agent, customer service representative, janitor, and much more. Bill s day is full, and he does not have much free time. That s why he signed up for the new YOUR COMPANY Business Portal, because it saves him time and lets him manage his bill while finding ways to save on energy, all from the convenience of his hardest working employee his mobile phone. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 6

8 sharing valuable information that can help him be more successful. Once he selects the lighting he wants to investigate, he has several ways to find the best savings for him. He can calculate estimated savings if he were to use the new technology by clicking on Calculate Savings. He can read about programs and rebates offered by clicking on Programs & Rebates. Bill can also learn about the lighting technology by using the online learning center. And he can find out if others in his area are using these programs with success by clicking on Community to read comments and reviews. He decides to get started by seeing if it s worth the cost to convert by clicking on Calculate Savings. Bill is presented with a clear, easy to understand calculator that can help him see just how much he can save. What really amazes him is that the calculator doesn t just estimate his savings it knows how much electricity he already uses by looking at his bill, so he s seeing real dollars he could take advantage of. After Bill has already signed up for two savings programs and has been pleased with the progress he is making, as shown on the welcome dashboard. He realizes how rewarding saving the environment can be when it puts more money in his pocket, so he decides to explore other savings that YOUR COMPANY has made available to his business. When he clicks on the My Plans button, Bill is given four simple options Programs and rebates for lighting, temperature, electronics, and everything else. He heard something about regular light bulbs wasting a lot of energy, so he clicks on Lighting to learn more about alternatives. Bill then specifies what type of lighting he d like to research - he decides to look at L.E.D.s since he s heard it s the latest technology, and wants to see how much he could potentially save if he adopted the technology for his shop. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 7

9 seeing the results he checks the local reviews to see if anyone else is doing it. Bill finds that six other local business owners have switched to L.E.D.s and they have loved the results, so he decides to go for it. Bill is happy because he has the opportunity to do research on his business energy use in an easy to operate system that works from his mobile phone or desktop computer. He can track and monitor what savings he s already achieved, and compare his results to others in the community. He can also investigate other ways to save all from the same simple interface. This user experience illustrates a hypothetical user of the YOUR COMPANY Business Portal designed to be fast loading, simple to use, and flexible regardless of the device being used to view it. Bill s limited schedule and lack of access to traditional computers has made him ever more dependent on mobile technology. By providing a system to manage his energy usage, YOUR COMPANY empowers him to take advantage of more rebates, incentives, and programs that he otherwise would not participate in. Additionally, Bill has the feeling of being taken care of without ever talking to a physical person. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 8

10 Task Overview APOGEE has a team of five developers, two quality control specialists, two project managers, and one graphic designer that will be utilized during the development of YOUR COMPANY s Business Portal. The following is a list of high-level tasks: o Wirefranalysis & User Flow Design the flow from one screen to the next and sketch out basic design elements o User Experience & Graphics Build user stories and screen shots around the wirefranalysis and user flow; develop appropriate graphics o Template Design Build the visual layout of the site and integrate into the content management system o User Management Create the user management portal for handling new users and editing preexisting users o Dashboard Build the main entrance page, a centralized area that displays all features in one central place o Bill Pay Integrate bill pay into the website and dashboard o Business Profile Build the profile module to allow for building out a business profile o Bill Analysis Integrate the calculator engines to analyze current bills o Recommendations, Rebates, & Special Purpose Calculators Build the rebates, recommendations, and special purpose calculator section o My Plan & Tracking Create the plan area with long term result tracking APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 9

11 Quick-Start Methodology If time is of the essence for a pilot project APOGEE will utilize the Agile development methodology and a series of sprints to develop this project. APOGEE will engage YOUR COMPANY in the writing and prioritizing of user stories. At the end of each sprint period, YOUR COMPANY will have the opportunity to review the current site. YOUR COMPANY will be provided a direct link to the staging environment to assess the project status at any time. Delivering a high quality product requires commitment to quality control. Internally, APOGEE utilizes industry standard QA practices. We use tools such as Microsoft Test Manager and Jira to manage the test plans, test automation and defect tracking. At the end of each iteration, a candidate release is turned over to QA and the test plans are executed on the release in a QA environment. Any defects that are identified by QA are reported using a defect tracking system. APOGEE proposes development of the YOUR COMPANY Business Portal utilizing the Wordpress Content Management system, the most widely used and recognized content management system and known for its high level of flexibility and customization. Within the Wordpress CMS APOGEE will utilize PHP, JQuery, JQuery Mobile, HTML5, CSS, as well as SQL databases to build and manage the system. The APOGEE ComCalc utilizes.net technologies such as MVC, ASP.NET and C#. Bug fixes are handled through our help desk system, designed to direct project specific problems to the appropriate team(s). Browser and device testing is accomplished through virtual machines loaded with operating systems and browsers including Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, Mac OSX, android, ios, and more. Adobe Device Central is an advanced software capable of simulating any mobile device profile, allowing for extensive testing for maximum compatibility. Ongoing bug fixes and maintenance will be handled through the APOGEE help desk system. When issues occur YOUR COMPANY submits a support ticket which is received by our development team and remedied. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 10

12 Financial Summary Budget numbers for this offering shall be defined after an onsite discovery session to confirm that the elements of this offering meet YOUR COMPANY s needs for its respective markets. APOGEE Interactive, Inc. Confidential and Proprietary 11