Project Type: Active Field Support

Customer: - T-Mobile

Length of Contract: 2.5 years

Project Overview:

Following the success of a preliminary development, T-Mobile asked Penrillian to extend the use of an automated software tool that sampled actual customer network experiences via a series of standard handsets held in T-Mobile's UK stores. Key to the project was maintaining a continuous flow of data every working day to a central database. This led to more than two million results being received and analysed over 2.5 years to help improve portal performance.

“The data gave T-mobile the ability to map, trend and plot “service usage” over time. The fact that we were able to highlight the impact of content change on our portal before it was deployed live was a major improvement for our customer experience programme.”

Monty Weekes, International Service Manager – T-Mobile

Challenge

T-Mobile recognised that with increasingly rich user applications, understanding the actual time taken to access and download individual web pages in different locations gives a better measure of customer satisfaction than recording document download rates over the network.

Penrillian was able to compare real download times by developing the T-Mobile Network Performance Monitor. Development time was shortened by using the existing handset browser to sample commonly-used web pages and report daily performance data by email.

When T-Mobile wanted to broaden the service, Penrillian responded by loading upgraded software onto 45 handsets, each reporting back at 15 minute intervals across T-Mobile's own network. In parallel, Penrillian developed the Massey 2 website to log, compile and present incoming data graphically for easy performance analysis by T-Mobile.

The sheer volume of recorded data made monitoring a consistent flow of comparable information from every store a priority. T-Mobile relied upon Penrillian to guarantee this.

“The Penrillian team understood our business needs, matching it at every stage with the right expertise for that particular task. They developed the enhanced solution from the proof of concept, eventually to roll out.

They managed the infrastructure and software upgrades necessary for the enhancement and provided timely updates on a daily and weekly basis as required, which meant we were able to deliver a really robust and responsive tool that was fit for purpose.”

Monty Weekes, International Service Manager – T-Mobile

Objective:

• To ensure consistent daily reporting of data via the mobile network.
• To recover, repair or replace and return any faulty hand-sets urgently to T-Mobile stores.
• To manage, collate back-up and in extreme cases reinstate lost Massey website data.
•  To advise T-Mobile on interpreting the significance of reported information.

Method Deployed:

Penrillian realised that ensuring the uninterrupted collection of actionable data from busy commercial locations was vital to the improvement project. This not only involved helping T-Mobile to set up functioning phones in prime locations but also being responsible for confirming their operational status and information-flow every morning – particularly after hectic store weekends.

“Penrillian checked the data every morning and kept calling our stores if there was a problem,” added T-Mobile's Beatrix Kalmar. “I know the problem with shops. They get very busy with lots of customers. But Penrillian kept on calling until they got through. Whenever a shop needed help, Penrillian was there.”

Beatrix Kalmar, Service Manager

Specific actions included contacting shop staff whenever any phone malfunctioned, resolving software problems and replacing damaged or non-reporting phones rapidly to maintain an unbroken stream of quality evidence. In parallel, Penrillian configured T-Mobile's website to talk to the test phones and made sure the data received was formatted for meaningful analysis, discussion and action within T-Mobile.

Monty saw strategic advantages. “The fact I had the ability to run near-time, real reports proved extremely useful when faced with challenging customer experience issues.  To be able to define accurately which area of the country was receiving a bad customer experience meant the business could ascertain the level of impact.”

Results:

The trouble-free delivery of assured quality information allows T-Mobile to examine day-to-day service activity and discuss the results regularly within all involved departments. A clear picture of total loading times at specific locations can now be used to cross-check anecdotal reports of user problems against measurable performance. The effect of portal improvements can also be verified without delay against customer expectations. In addition, SIMS from other network providers was compared and services and systems bench marked as a basis for further improvements.

“The Penrillian team delivered what they promised – to time and to scope. Key to the success of the project was the agreed delivery stages and interim sign off points along the way which really helped. Penrillian listened and they delivered.”

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