Enquiry Process Redesign and Remodeling

Transcription

1 1 Enquiry Process Redesign The as-is processes maps revealed local databases outside SITS holding enquirer data on different systems, both hard-copy and electronic. It also highlighted a number of inefficiencies and manual interventions by staff. The two key high-volume enquiry processes for the University are prospectus requests and open day bookings. Process redesign was based on over-arching goals developed from the Student Lifecycle project, the Project Board and project stakeholders. With respect to enquiries these included: Move prospectus order to an automated online system; Move open day booking online with automated responses, reminders and follow-up; Capture enquirer data in the student administration database; Data entry by the enquirer. The existing prospectus ordering system did have an online form that was submitted to Student Recruitment, generating an containing the data captured. This was manually copied and pasted onto a standard form to generate an address label. Similarly the process for open day booking was via a website online form, or printed form in promotional materials. The online form generated s to Student Recruitment containing the booking information. Whether received by or hard copy this data then needed to be keyed into SITS. Both were inefficient processes requiring re-keying of data, and had other drawbacks that resulted in considerable manual intervention to cope with: individuals who d booked onto more than one event; booking amendments; register generation etc. Because not all enquirer data was stored centrally in the SITS database, it was not available for enterprise-wide management reporting, trend analysis, conversion tracking or marketing. In summary the data captured for prospectus order sat outside the student administration database and the data captured for online open days needed to be re-keyed into the database. The initial aim of the SLAP project with regard to online prospectus order and open day booking was to use the SITS software modules acquired to automate the process. This included: Direct keying of enquirer data into the central student administration database at source; Automatic duplicate checking; Automatic channelling of bookings to administrative units; Automated acknowledgement and correspondence; Automated reminders (Open Days); User friendly reports and data mining for marketing and administration purposes. As requested by the Project Stakeholder Team, the processes were redesigned and draft enquiry process maps produced. These were produced by the Project Implementation Team in consultation with both the Tribal Lead and Development consultants. The redesigned maps were then reviewed with the administrative units and stakeholders responsible for open day booking and prospectus order. Any agreed modifications were incorporated. Following the enquiry redesign activities, there were three key outcomes: A map of the re-designed process booking an open day; A map of the re-designed process for ordering a prospectus; A list of requirements used to develop a product description for the software that would automate the re-designed processes. A copy incorporating the redesigned process maps is available: One important change to the existing process was to initially stream enquiries by the type of course they were interested in. The streaming reflected the course categories used by the University s website: Undergraduate Courses; Postgraduate Taught Courses; Postgraduate Research Courses;

2 Professional Courses; Short Courses. The redesign phase needed consensus on the type and level of data to be captured from the enquirer. This was an area of much debate by project stakeholders, administrative units, the Project Board and the Project Implementation Team itself. The essence of the discussion centred on the perceived antagonism between: Data essential for completing the process; Data for marketing activities; Data collection as a barrier to completion of an online process. 1.1 Enquirer Data Capture Key to development of the automated online open day booking and prospectus order process was the data captured and in particular how much is acceptable before it becomes a barrier to the enquirer? This was informed by: The information enquirers already provided using enquiry forms; The information requested by other Universities offering online enquiry; The requirements of stakeholders and process owners/operators; The data validation requirements of the SITS database. If the SLAP project was to automate the open day booking and prospectus order processes, a minimum level of enquirer data was required in order that the SITS database could validate the data and check for duplicates: Title; Forename; Surname; Date of Birth. Over a series of stakeholder meetings, discussions took place over the nature and order of the additional enquirer data to be captured. The experience of developing the new enquiry process made it clear that redesign should not underestimate the detailed level at which stakeholders and process operators want to get involved. It was important to capture as much of this input in advance through the stakeholder analysis activities and involving process stakeholders, operators and owners in redesign. Failure to involve all interested parties would have risked extensive redesign later. The redesign activity identified the following data suite: All open day booking and prospectus order enquiries: Level of Study Compulsory Open day booking, prospectus request or both Compulsory Title Compulsory Forename Compulsory Surname Compulsory Address Compulsory Postcode Optional Compulsory Mobile number Optional Date of birth Compulsory Source of interest Compulsory Academic year of study Compulsory Course Compulsory Prospectus only: or post (only UK & only if printed copy available) Page 2 of 5

3 Open day only: Open day event Number of guests Special requirements Meeting with disability advisor Meeting with International student advisor 1.2 Software Development and Automation of Enquiry Processes Once the redesigned enquiry processes had been mapped and agreed with stakeholders, the next stage was to develop the new SITS software to support implementation of the automated and online elements of the processes. Since the SITS software needed for development was new, a number of training events were organised to support the SLAP Project Implementation Team: Tasking - workflow managed processes with automated task management, including management of offers, interviews, etc. IPP Institutional Programme Publishing: allows details of any programme to be published on the web. evision (the SITS web interface): Intray messaging and task manager Advanced Reporting Process Manager - which enables accurate mapping of complex workflow processes, and completion of tasks and events required to meet process objectives. This software training and follow-up consultancy support from Tribal was a key component of developing both the online enquiry and application processes. The finalised redesigned process maps were reviewed with Tribal. It was decided to combine the online open day booking and prospectus order processes. This was to encourage enquirers who d ordered a prospectus to book an open day, and vice-versa. It also meant that only one software process was developed. Combining the two processes did have some benefits in terms of a one-click online process for enquirers. Additionally it did not require re-keying of data if both processes were required. However the act of combining the two did make the resulting software build more complex. The online form displayed table entries already held within the SITS database (usually drop down menus). These tables often required revision prior to implementation, for example: ARI (area of interest) table to reflect current website categories; IGR (interest group records); TTL (title); SOI (source of interest); COD (country of domicile); MMA (marketing material records); MEA (marketing enquiry action records). It was important that before any changes to the tables were implemented, users were consulted. The implication of table changes throughout the SITS system was analysed, for example where old codes were attached to enquiry records. This was to ensure data wasn t removed leaving unresolved links. Table coding formats were also developed. Once the tables were displaying the correct data/data options, there were often changes to working practices that had to be negotiated. Data maintenance procedures also had to be agreed. SRL (standard report letter) s were compiled for the automatic correspondence with enquirers once an open day booking or prospectus request had been submitted. This was done in co-operation with marketing and administrative units to ensure the correct content, language and branding. One area of concern, especially to marketing colleagues, was the inability of SITS to send HTML s. However the Project Stakeholder Team did agree that this meant it was less likely s would be intercepted by spam filter software etc. Page 3 of 5

4 Because enquirer data was now to be held within the SITS database, the following reporting and maintenance vistas were built in consultation with stakeholders/users: Adding an Open Day Open Day Register Prospectus order and labels Mark actions as complete A Disability Advisor information report was also created. Several SRLs were added to the vista to allow administrators to enquirers to confirm open day booking and subsequently thank enquirers for attending. This included an SRL that could be amended by administrators, allowing them to enquirers of any last minute changes to open day arrangements. An automatic open day reminder was set up as a batch job to notify enquirers 4 days prior to the event. 1.3 Preparation for Online Open Day Booking and Prospectus Order Testing Once the combined redesigned combined process had been automated through the SITS software development, the process was thoroughly tested. A comprehensive test pack was compiled and all the process functionality, data capture and automated activities were tested for various scenarios. Change requests were managed through the Project Implementation Team, and change requests that couldn t be agreed and implemented were referred to the Project Stakeholder Team for guidance. The test version of the redesigned automated online open day booking and prospectus order process was presented to the Project Stakeholder Team and key administrative units such as Student Recruitment. This was a final opportunity for them to review the redesigned process and review it for any quality or functional issues. 1.4 Testing of the Online Open Day Booking and Prospectus Order Process Following operator training, a comprehensive Test Pack was compiled and circulated for testing. Any issues captured during the test phase were documented and actioned by the Project Implementation Team. Any changes were tested prior to launch of the new Open day booking and prospectus order process. 1.5 Go Live of the Online Open Day Booking and Prospectus Order Process In preparation for launch the Project Implementation Team worked closely with both the University s Web Development and Marketing teams to ensure links to the new process were through the correct website channels and pages. The new online open day booking and prospectus order process went live in October and within the first 6 weeks had has handled over 2300 enquiries: ENQUIRY&code2= A survey of enquirers experience using the new enquiry process was carried out following launch. Feedback was extremely positive - with 96% rating the new process as either excellent or good. Only 4% considered the amount of personal information requested was too much. 96% considered the content of the automated responses to be excellent or good. Page 4 of 5

5 Poor 1% Fair 4% Good 31% Excellent 64% Figure 1. Online Enquirer Feedback: What did you think of the process?. A key performance indicator of the effectiveness of the new process was the management of open days. Student Recruitment indicated that the registration lists were more accurate, and feedback forms indicated attendees satisfaction. 1.6 Continuous Improvement of the Online Open Day Booking and Prospectus Order Process Since launch the online open day booking and prospectus order process has been viewed by all stakeholders as a success. It is faster, captures data at source and has the flexibility to manage both open day bookings and prospectus requests much more efficiently. Page 5 of 5