BEST PRACTICES IN CIS IMPLEMENTATION- SMALL UTILITY PADRE DAM MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT

Transcription

1 BEST PRACTICES IN CIS IMPLEMENTATION- SMALL UTILITY PADRE DAM MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT 1

2 ABOUT PADRE DAM Located in San Diego County Padre Dam Provides Water, Wastewater, Recycled Water and Recreation Services to 100,000 Residents. We are a Public Agency with Policies and Procedures Directed by an Elected 5-Member Board of Directors. Our Infrastructure is Worth $243 Million and We Have an Annual Budget of $53 Million. We Import 100% of our Treated Water Supply and Treat 2 Million Gallons Per Day of Wastewater at our Water Recycling Facility. 2

3 SOFTWARE UPGRADE Old CIS/Billing Software: Hard to Learn Programmer Reliant Due to be Unsupported Backlogged with Fixes Time For an UPGRADE! 3

4 DiSC Profiles BUILD A TEAM Assessment Tool Used to Construct CORE Team 4

5 PREPARATION PROCESS 2011: Issued Request for Proposal 2012: Received and Reviewed 6 Proposals Developed Detailed Demonstration Scripts for Top 3 Vendors Advanced Utility was Selected Negotiated with Vendor on Pricing and Contract : Departmental Preparations for Implementation Cross Training, Optimization of Routes & Project Management 5

6 COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATION INTERFACES Software/Partner Datamatic/Mosaic Check Free Union Bank Metavante RTL InfoSend Quexion Helix Water District City of El Cajon Paymentus Purpose AMI Meter Reads Payment Processing Payment Processing Payment Processing Mailed Payment Processing Mail, Paperless and Online Payments Website (Online Bill Calculator / My Water Use) Billing Billing , Phone & Text Alerts 6

7 COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATION INTERFACES Software/Partner Point of Sale Register ESRI Paymentus (IVR) Lakeside Water District PayNearMe Online Utility Exchange Online Utility Exchange Tyler/Munis Purpose Payment Processing GIS Mapping Online, Mobile and Telephone Payment Processing Billing 7-Eleven Cash Payments Utility Credit Score Service Bad Debt Collection Service FHRIS/Accounting 7

8 PROJECT PHASES (1-3) Project Initiation Padre Dam and Advanced PM map Project Schedule Discovery Analysis Staff Interviewed to Gather Business Rules and Operational Information Specification and Interface/Modification Delivery Development Team Coded, Tested, and Delivered the District s Required Interfaces and Modifications 8

9 PROJECT PHASES (4-6) Configuration and Conversion Control Forms Configured and Data Extraction Tested for the Conversion Core Team Training Functionality and Alternative Methods of Operating CIS Infinity Software Testing Three Phases of Testing Including Full Scale for Meter Reads, Bill Calculation, Bill Print and Payment Processing 9

10 PROJECT PHASES (7-10) Go/No Go Criteria Following a Documented Criteria List, CORE Team & PM s Measured & Gauged Ability to GO LIVE on Target Date End User Training Staff Trained According to Their Job Requirements Transition to Live Cutover Plan Was Developed and Finalized for GO LIVE Post Go Live Onsite, Remote and WebEx Support for Re-Designed & New Processes 10

11 CHALLENGES Change Management Expectations, Time Management and Morale 11

12 CHALLENGES Consultant Staffing and CIS Staffing Changes 3 Different Consultant PM s on Project AUS Staffing Changes from Discovery to Go Live Data Conversion Issues Padre Dam CORE Team Challenges CSM new to Industry (ME!) Senior CSR Exits CS Core Team Early Padre Dam Staff Challenges 3 surgeries; 1 maternity leave; 1 new hire - training; 2 TEMP hire training; 1 TEMP hire loss and AMI Bankruptcy 12

13 GO LIVE Extensive Training 13

14 OMPLETE CUSTOMER PROFILES

15 -A GLANCE BILLING MANAGEMENT

16 ERVICE ADDRESS MANAGEMENT

17 CREDIT AND COLLECTIONS

18 WE WENT MOBILE Eliminates paperwork data is recorded in real-time in CIS Used for short-cycle meter related work Workload summary is shown in list form on mobile screen The mobile system will route techs to the worksite and display where the meter is located on the property Techs can plan their work more efficiently

19 FINITY.MOBILE - NO MORE PAPER!

20 PROJECT COST AS OF 2/28/14

21 MONTHLY BILLING THE IMPLEMENTATION WITHIN AN IMPLEMENTATION ARE WE CRAZY? YES! entation NOW is a Cost Savings to Rate Payers nefits Better alignment with other bill payment schedules More frequent consumption data to help make adjustments with water usage Reduction in lag time between bills to catch unusual water usage

22 MANTRAS No is Not No, Unless 3 Different People Say So. NICE to Have Versus NEED to Have. The Power of 3. Every Problem is Solvable. n t bend; don t water it down; don t try to make it cal; don t edit your own soul according to the ion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions cilessly. ~Franz Kafka

23 NOMINATED! S Week and Electric Light & Power ominated for the 2014 Expanding Excellence Awards the Best CIS Implementation category.

24 Evans r of Park and Recreation Lakes Preserve THANK YOU!

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26 Our Company For more than 80 years, Golden State Water Company has delivered reliable, quality water and great service to customers in 75 communities across California. Market Cap: Over $1B Customers: We serve 280K connections, service over 1M customers. Customer Service Centers: 22 throughout CA 24 Hour Customer Service: 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year Water Systems: Operate 38 Water Systems Electric Systems: Operate 1 Electric System Service: We operate a 24 hour customer service line. Water use Efficiency: We help people and businesses use water efficiently and offer rebates and special programs to customers to help manage water use. 2

27 Identifying Need We knew our operations could improve with better tools. We wanted visibility, usability, and scalability. We began by examining our existing condition through a detailed assessment. The results of that assessment made a compelling business case. Legacy system in place for >15 years Configuration was unique and unsupported by existing resources Tech-savvy customers expected a higher level of service Reporting and visibility to operations were insufficient Management fears regarding budget overages were perpetuated by horror stories of other utilities experiences 3

28 Making Choices Conducting an assessment of our existing condition required tremendous data gathering and analysis. To fully identify what our requirements would be, we needed an approach that considered our resources, our operational standards, and our market. Contract on the project was enormous; attention to detail was a key factor in keeping the project and vendor on task: Choose partners who understand your business. Choose partners who take time to understand your organization s unique situation and needs. Documents Stakeholder interviews Reporting Focus on cost containment while not letting quality suffer. Prepare adequately for the project. Know where you are and where you want to be. 360 View of Golden State 4

29 Selecting a Partner Since we knew we needed help, we went through a thorough process to evaluate Consultants that could help with the Business Case and the Software Selection. Our process identified the following key needs for our new Partner: Transparency was critical for our utility. We needed a bulletproof approach. Our new partner needed to be unbiased and independent. Their core business needed to be utility CIS Business Case, Software Selection & Implementation Support. Documents Stakeholder interviews Reporting They should have an integrated methodology that could develop the Business Case all the way to Post Go-Live Support. We didn't want a runaway project like you sometimes see out there. They should be hands-on with our project. 360 View of Golden State 5

30 Tools for Managing We knew we would need help negotiating with the software vendors as we just don t do that every day. Our Business Case partner actually built the Statement of Work based on our needs. Our Concerns Were: We have heard about many runaway projects. Making sure we received what we purchased was a concern. Our approach: Our Statement of Work had many control points that were fair but gave us assurances. Having our team be able to run the system on our own was a major concern. 6

31 Managing The Vendor Our core business is delivering clean drinking water and building utility infrastructure to support the business, not buying and managing huge technology projects. Our Statement of Work was one of the keys to our success. Strategies for Managing Project & Vendor: Built our own Statement of Work, Utility-focused not heavily favoring the Vendor Contractually every RFP requirement answered had to be delivered. Results of our approach: Achieved a fair agreement for our utility. Received the planned scope. Cost containment achieved and project was actually under budget. Employ methodology to set expectations and hold parties accountable. 7

32 Utility Side Of Staffing Project Again, our core business is delivering clean drinking water and building utility infrastructure to support the business, not buying and managing huge technology projects. Strategies for staffing our side of the project: Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodologies are not our expertise. We needed strong expertise on key roles of the project. We believed we needed additional leadership for key utility side lead roles. Results of our approach: Using a third party in leadership roles helped dramatically in driving project success. Our assigned team members were taken out of their day-to-day roles to focus on the project. We assigned strong utility staff members, just not enough. 8

33 Managing Change Based on the age and technology of of our legacy systems, we expected substantial process changes for improvements. We knew our formal approach would be required. Strategies for preparing for change: Created a Change team for the project. Engaged all stakeholders. Integrated Change Management with our training approach. Change management was an integral part of our Steering Committee. Results of managing change: More engagement from the end users. Process changes were identified, agreed upon and managed. Our trainers were prepared for the process change questions during training delivery. The Steering Committee was involved in any significant process changes. 9

34 Project Results Defining our requirements led us to examine our business processes. With detailed research and analysis, we revised many practices that had evolved over the years to accommodate deficiencies in the software. New software improved our capabilities. Benefits of new CIS installation: Robustness of the data and the ability make more proactive decisions. Better integration with other systems and CIS. Visibility to customer experience Transparency across the organization Better reporting and accountability Our trusted partners provided: Support and expertise in expected situations as well as crises Confidence and guidance in decision making Methodology and Tools to make the process smoother and easier Maintaining a relationship long after the contract expires Improved efficiency in most departments Reduced ramp-up time for new hires 10

35 Lessons Learned No project is perfect, so you can always look back and identify areas of improvement. Issues we encountered: Limited staffing for the implementation Challenges with remote offices and training Some of the more mature workers, were very comfortable with the green screen legacy systems Next time: Backfill: our operations team members are moved to the implementation. Additional trainers to support the remote offices. Also plan on refresher training right after the Go-Live. Ensure basic computer skills for modern systems are part of your training plan. 11

36 Success Our project was a huge success! Successes: No business disruptions No lawsuits Smooth transition No delayed bills Revenues did not take a dip We are maintaining our Oracle Solution on our own 12