About the Client

The client maintains and handles requests for military service information and records from veterans, researchers and other federal agencies.

Challenge

The client employs a staff of approximately 300 full time employees to handle 1.7 million record requests annually. Typically, reference requests take 12-15 weeks to be processed. Between submission of a request and response, the request is usually handed off multiple times due to poor indexing and cross-referencing capabilities. As a result requests are often returned for additional information, further holding up the process. There was the need for a much more efficient case management system to improve their productivity and customer satisfaction.

To manage all requests received by the case management system requires handling a massive amount of data. Executive management within the organization, and other federal agencies, needed operational and decision-making reports. The current mode of reporting and analysis was proving to be extremely time consuming. Supervisors typically spent an hour a day or more running multiple queries to get the data they needed. Management Analysts were spending more time on extracting, collating and validating data than on analysis. Faced with these difficulties, the client decided they also needed an analytics solution to meet all their reporting and analytic requirements for the case management system.


Requirements for the solution included:

• Significant reduction in record response time
• Reduction of required follow-up requests
• More contact options for customers such as web, phone, and email
• Maintain costs within federal agency’s budget parameters
• Efficient Reporting and analysis capabilities


Optimos Solution

The Optimos team, working closely with the client’s business process re-engineering group, reviewed the critical requirements and new processes for the new case management system. A prototype of the Siebel based solution was developed and presented the client. Upon approval, development was underway and completed in less than one year. This included interfacing with the client’s case and record tracking database, which tracks and processes in digital form both electronic and snail-mail inquiries from receipt through closure. An extension of the Siebel application was also created, allowing new cases to be received electronically and converted to digital images in the mailroom as they are received.

Optimos remained involved through the entire project lifecycle, not just development. In conjunction with the new case management system prototype rollout, Optimos consultants developed and installed a working system prototype in the client’s training room to train employees on the system. Feedback was collected during these training sessions and during weekly meeting was collected and as requested by the client, changes were incorporated in the system.

Optimos was also selected by the client to build a Siebel Analytics solution for the case management system. The analytics solution provides extensive reporting capabilities to Executive Management, Management Analysts, and Operational Managers within the organization. It also provides direct access to external users in other federal agencies to all reports related to case management.

As a result of the Optimos solution, managers, supervisors, and analysts are more effective in the use of their time, focusing on process improvements to achieve better results rather than data gathering. These are direct and quantifiable benefits with an estimated dollar value of $385,000 which represents a delivered payback period of less than two years.

Optimos devised a comprehensive strategy for user adoption for the analytics piece of the solution. The first step was to familiarize user groups and management with Business Intelligence concepts and Siebel Analytics capabilities through high-level as well as detailed presentations. This was reinforced through Siebel Analytics demonstrations. Senior Management involvement was sought and received for high visibility. The requirements gathering process was also used to further strengthen knowledge of Business Intelligence concepts and Siebel Analytics capabilities.

The case management analytics rollout was accompanied by a half to one-day of custom designed training for all users. The training as well as the training material was designed to enhance ease of use and provide the user with a friendly non-threatening environment for learning to use the new product. This overall user adoption strategy resulted in an overwhelmingly positive response.

Benefits

Measurable results included:
• Record request time reduced from 12-15 weeks to less than 6 working days
• Required follow-up on requests reduced from 25% to less than 5%
• More contact options for customers were provided, including web, phone, email and fax

Optimos delivered a Siebel based case management system that provides seamless electronic information flow and an automated tool set to support the reference service mission of the client.

In addition to easy access, increased information usability and high user adoption, the Optimos Siebel Analytics solution resulted in a significant push for better data quality.