Business Process Design Underlies Successful Roll-Out of New Telecommunications Services

Situation
Cox Communications wished to rapidly introduce new telephone, internet access, and digital television services without disrupting the delivery of its core cable television services while minimizing new investment and risk. The integration of new services with existing operations posed many important questions as to how the company's operations would perform with the addition of new service processes: How could Cox portray a seamless image to customers of multiple services? What business processes were needed for the new services? How were they different from existing business processes? How were they similar? Where could the company achieve economies of scale? Where would it have to implement new processes to support the new service offerings? Should Cox develop and train a new staff to support new services? Or, would it be better to train "super reps" who could handle all of the company's offerings?

Business Solution
Aegis InterWorld consultants used their Customer-Driven Process Design methodology to integrate new processes, skills, and technology with Cox's existing operations. The consulting project included the following components:

• Understand Core Processes
  
  Detailed process models of Cox Communications' existing operations (developed in a previous consulting effort with Modus Operandi) established the financial and operational foundation on which new service processes could be built and subsequently evaluated. These models comprise the core operations of the company and describe its best practices in customer service and other areas.
  
  
• Design New Service Processes and Overlay On Existing Processes
  
  Aegis InterWorld consultants worked with cross-functional operations teams from four systems to design new service processes. The design effort focused on operating efficiencies and customer service activities, but also considered cultural, organizational, and technology issues. Using detailed process models, Modus Operandi consultants determined which resources and skills were common to the existing and new services, which would be service-specific, and how new service processes would impact financial and customer service operating performance.
  
  
• Implement a Pilot Project to Test New Processes
  
  Next, the new services were introduced in a pilot implementation in a single system. In this phase of the project, the cultural aspects of the new processes were tested for the first time. Cultural acceptance is an indicator of the validity of the process design. This initial period of use provided valuable insights as to the efficacy of the redesigned processes, unanticipated outcomes of their use, and unforeseen barriers to actual implementation. Using knowledge gained from the pilot implementation, Aegis InterWorld refined the new service processes in advance of graduated, general roll-out.
  
  
• Extend New Service Processes to Other Systems
  
  With proven process designs and experience from the pilot implementation, Cox Communications was ready to extend the new processes across its multiple systems. Governing factors such as size, extent of required change, and existing technology infrastructure determined the sequence of roll-out to the company's systems. Aegis InterWorld documented detailed process definitions and implementation requirements which were critical in consistently implementing the new services throughout Cox.
  

• Optimal integration of new processes with existing operations
• Enhancement of skills of customer service representatives and technicians
• Improved quality of customer service
• Elimination of many redundant or unnecessary business activities
• Successful introduction new telephone, high-speed internet access, and digital cable television services. Just as kids today are amazed to learn that their grandparents grew up without the benefit of television, kids born in the year 2000 will be equally amazed that television, telephone, radio, internet, and computer were once separate entities provided by separate vendors. Deregulation and technological advances have made it possible for telecommunications technologies such as cable television, digital television, internet access, and telephone services to be provided by a single source. The challenge for telecommunications firms like Cox Communications is to integrate these new services and technologies with existing operations.