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Installation Automation
Early efforts to automate broadband installations
By: Bruce Bahlmann - Contributing Author (your
feedback
is important to us!)
Created: August 23, 1996
On Friday August 16, 1996 I called a meeting in to explore several
ideas I had regarding automating the installation process. This meeting included the
following people:
Will Biedron - Director, Broadband Engineering
Bruce Bahlmann - Manager, Technology & Development
Neovi Vrotsos - Manager, Customer Care
John Ladd - Manager, Installation Group
Suzanne Wyman - Technology Specialist, Technology & Development
Steve Winer - Consultant
Alex Rosean - Technology Consultant
While this meeting was initially a brainstorming meeting, it quickly
developed into a design meeting on a future product. The basis for the
development of this product included:
- Increasing
the amount of information we have before the installation takes place.
- Reducing
our exposure to pre-existing computer problems
- Pre-qualify computers
before installation
- Perform diagnostics on
computer before installation
- Collect configuration
information before changes are made
- Reduce
time-on-site by automating and standardizing the changing of computer configuration
settings
- Simple script walks
installers through screens to configure PC
- Ensures “ALL”
correct settings are made consistently
- Take snapshot of
configuration changes (before vs after)
- Reduce
time on follow-up support calls
- Customer care can view a
copy of the computer information on their screen or view a copy of a transferred file sent
by the customer (flag any changes to original configuration)
- Customer has the ability to
restore changes made by installers (eliminate service call)
- Simplify
deactivation of service
- Uninstall script restores
original computer configuration settings
- Diagnostic program verifies
computer operating correctly
- Log file tracks the result
of each diagnostic – result forwarded to customer care (e-mail or web)
- Simplify
re-activation of service
- Enable customers to easily
re-activate configuration
- Simple re-visit to install
modem
The proposed phases of development
of this tool are as follows:
- Brainstorming (step completed – partial results listed above)
- Further explore ideas with possible vender (step completed – see
attached document on survey of currently available off-the-shelf
diagnostic tools)
- Administration acceptance and financial backing (on-going)
- Development of information & diagnostics tool
- Development of installation script
- Development of communications and automation
Note planning, design,
development, testing, and training are assumed part of each phase
Additional Notes:
| At pre-order or customer inquiry period (A) |
At time of order (B) |
Time prior to install - before going to site (C) |
At site pre-install - before work begins (D) |
Installation (E) |
Follow up support (F) |
Disconnect (G) |
After disconnect (H) |
(A) At Pre-order or customer
inquiry period - Inquiry of the potential customer would include some basic information on
PC type, operating system, current network cards, and customer data including name,
address etc. An initial determination could then be made if the service could be installed
based on the customer's system.
(B) At time of order - The
customer could obtain the diagnostic tool in a number of possible ways. Either through a
downloaded file, the Broadband Service Provider website, or a diskette could be mailed.
The customer would then run the program, a dialog box would appear on the customer's
monitor showing the customer what information is being collected and the data would be
uploaded to the Customer Care database. This information would include more specific
computer configuration information and would be used to further determine if the customer
has the proper hardware and software to be connected. In the future, this interface to
Customer Care database could set up the customer and the initial service ticket.
(C) During the period prior to
install, before going out on the installation - The captured information could be used to
recommend installation hardware needed, based on operating system and PC type. In the
future, the diagnostic tool could make a number of recommendations on installation in
preference type order.
(D) At site pre-install (before
work begins) - Confirm customer data and computer configuration. Utilize diagnostic tool
to obtain another snapshot of customer's configurations immediately prior to installation.
Upload snapshot to database.
(E) Installation - Immediately
after installation of service, repeat diagnostic of working configuration. Upload snapshot
to database. Analysis of the snapshots prior to and after installation can be used for
customer support and to return customer to pre-installation configuration, if the
subscriber decides to leave the service.
(F) Follow up support - Customer
could run the diagnostic tool when service is needed. This information would be utilized
by the customer support representative to analyze of configuration at installation vs the
configuration at the time of trouble. In the future, an application could be developed
either in the diagnostic tool or at the Broadband Service Provider website, to walk
customers through self-diagnosis, with perhaps a tab-based or cgi-form application. If a
service call is required, the diagnostic would be repeated for analysis, as well as to
build a knowledge base.
(G) Disconnect - The diagnostic
tool again would be run, and compared to original configuration information to restore the
system to operation (previous settings)
(H) After disconnect - Analyses
and documentation of periodic diagnostics would be analyzed to develop the knowledge base
and support any customer service problems.
After the fact
significance (5/11/20001 bfb)
This meeting was significant as it
represented the first known attempt to define a software product capable to qualifying,
installing/configuring, diagnosing, and supporting follow-on functionality like customer
support, disconnects, and reconnects for broadband data services. Several software
products as of late have surfaced in this area, however most all are based on much of
these same principles that were first conceived at this meeting. This group was
truly the pioneers of installation automation software!
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