BACKGROUND
Aspects of the disclosure relate to computer hardware and software. In particular, one or more aspects of the disclosure generally relate to computer hardware and software for assessing client impact.
Large organizations, such as financial institutions, may have many clients, and in serving these clients, such organizations may undertake many projects that affect different clients in different ways. For example, a financial institution may include a commercial banking line of business, and various initiatives and other projects undertaken by this line of business may affect commercial banking clients of the organization in different ways.
Although an organization and its various client-service teams may have a relatively good understanding of what projects are being undertaken, as well as an understanding of how specific projects may affect specific clients, it may be difficult to gain an understanding of how a specific client may be holistically impacted by an entire portfolio of projects that may be undertaken by an organization and/or by a specific line of business within an organization.
Aspects of the disclosure relate to various systems and techniques that provide effective, efficient, scalable, and convenient ways of assessing client impact, particularly in ways that may enable an organization to understand how specific clients may be holistically impacted by an entire portfolio of projects being undertaken by the organization.
In some arrangements discussed in greater detail below, a computer-implemented process may provide ways of identifying what projects are occurring within an organization and/or within a specific line of business of an organization. Of those projects that may be occurring, it may, for instance, be determined which projects are going to impact a client in a meaningful way. In addition, an inventory may be created and/or published to provide a holistic view of how specific clients are impacted by an entire portfolio of projects (which may, e.g., be undertaken by the organization and/or by a specific line of business within the organization), and the inventory may also allow individuals to drill-down to access specific information about the effects of specific projects and specific deployment events on particular clients. By leveraging various aspects of the disclosure, an organization and its employees may be able to better serve the organization's clients, as the organization and its employees may have a better understanding of the overall impact that all of the projects being undertaken by the organization and/or by a specific line of business within the organization may have on a specific client.
Thus, in some embodiments discussed in greater detail below, a computer system may gather project data associated with one or more projects. Subsequently, the computer system may identify one or more client impacts based on the gathered project data. The computer system then may publish an inventory based on the one or more identified client impacts.
In some instances, gathering the project data may include automatically collecting at least a portion of the project data from one or more project management systems. Additionally or alternatively, gathering the project data may include receiving at least a portion of the project data as user input. In some instances, the gathered project data may represent a complete project portfolio for at least one line of business of a financial institution.
In some instances, in identifying the one or more client impacts, the computer system may determine, for each project of the one or more projects, whether one or more client impacts exist for the corresponding project. Based on determining that a set of client impacts exists for the one or more projects, the computer system may categorize each client impact of the set of client impacts. Additionally or alternatively, in identifying the one or more client impacts, the computer system may determine whether one or more client impacts exist for one or more deployment events associated with at least one project.
In some instances, in identifying the one or more client impacts, the computer system may produce an impacted clients list. In addition, the computer system may contribute the impacted clients list to the inventory.
In some instances, in publishing the inventory, the computer system may provide client-specific change information to one or more coverage personnel. Additionally or alternatively, in publishing the inventory, the computer system may analyze a volume of change activity for at least one client, and may determine, based on this analysis, that at least one deployment event of at least one project should be delayed for the at least one client.
These features, along with many others, are discussed in greater detail below.
The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements and in which:
In the following description of various illustrative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, various embodiments in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and structural and functional modifications may be made, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
As noted above, certain embodiments are discussed herein that relate to assessing client impact. Before discussing these concepts in greater detail, however, an example of a computing device that can be used in implementing various aspects of the disclosure, as well as an example of an operating environment in which various embodiments can be implemented, will first be described with respect to
I/O module 109 may include a microphone, mouse, keypad, touch screen, scanner, optical reader, and/or stylus (or other input device(s)) through which a user of generic computing device 101 may provide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker for providing audio output and a video display device for providing textual, audiovisual, and/or graphical output. Software may be stored within memory 115 and/or other storage to provide instructions to processor 103 for enabling generic computing device 101 to perform various functions. For example, memory 115 may store software used by the generic computing device 101, such as an operating system 117, application programs 119, and an associated database 121. Alternatively, some or all of the computer executable instructions for generic computing device 101 may be embodied in hardware or firmware (not shown).
The generic computing device 101 may operate in a networked environment supporting connections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 141 and 151. The terminals 141 and 151 may be personal computers or servers that include many or all of the elements described above with respect to the generic computing device 101. The network connections depicted in
Generic computing device 101 and/or terminals 141 or 151 may also be mobile terminals (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs, notebooks, and so on) including various other components, such as a battery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).
The disclosure is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the disclosure include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
According to one or more aspects, system 160 may be associated with a financial institution, such as a bank. Various elements may be located within the financial institution and/or may be located remotely from the financial institution. For instance, one or more workstations 161 may be located within a branch office of a financial institution. Such workstations may be used, for example, by customer service representatives, other employees, and/or customers of the financial institution in conducting financial transactions via network 163. Additionally or alternatively, one or more workstations 161 may be located at a user location (e.g., a customer's home or office). Such workstations also may be used, for example, by customers of the financial institution in conducting financial transactions via computer network 163 or computer network 170.
Computer network 163 and computer network 170 may be any suitable computer networks including the Internet, an intranet, a wide-area network (WAN), a local-area network (LAN), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a frame relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode network, a virtual private network (VPN), or any combination of any of the same. Communications links 162 and 165 may be any communications links suitable for communicating between workstations 161 and server 164, such as network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, and/or the like.
Having described an example of a computing device that can be used in implementing various aspects of the disclosure and an operating environment in which various aspects of the disclosure can be implemented, several embodiments will now be discussed in greater detail. As introduced above, some aspects of the disclosure generally relate to assessing client impact, particularly the impact or impacts of various projects and deployments on different clients of an organization, such as a financial institution. In the discussion below, various examples illustrating how client impacts can be identified, evaluated, and/or otherwise assessed in accordance with one or more embodiments will be provided.
As seen in
In some embodiments, project data gathering subsystem 205 may be configured to collect project data from one or more project management systems and/or process feeds and/or otherwise capture data from one or more change management systems. In addition, project data gathering subsystem 205 may be configured to receive project data as user input for specific initiatives and/or other projects.
In some embodiments, client impact identifying subsystem 210 may be configured to determine whether a particular project has a client impact and/or whether a particular deployment event associated with a particular project has a client impact. In addition, client impact identifying subsystem 210 may be configured to categorize identified client impacts, and may be further configured to produce an impacted clients list and contribute the list to an inventory.
In some embodiments, inventory publishing subsystem 215 may be configured to provide client-specific change information to coverage personnel (e.g., by making available an impacted clients list received from subsystem 210). In addition, inventory publishing subsystem 215 may be configured to analyze change activity for specific clients and determine whether specific projects and/or deployment events should be staggered and/or otherwise delayed (e.g., so as not to overwhelm one or more specific clients with a relatively large amount of change).
As indicated above, these are examples of the subsystems, databases, and/or other elements that may be included in system 200 in some embodiments, as well as some of the functions that may be performed (e.g., by system 200 and its various subsystems). In other embodiments, additional and/or alternative subsystems, databases, and/or other elements may similarly be included, and/or other functions may be performed, in addition to and/or instead of those discussed above.
Having described an example system that may be used in assessing client impact in some embodiments, an example of a method that may, in some embodiments, be performed (e.g., by such a system 200; by another computing device, such as computing device 101; and/or the like) will now be discussed in greater detail with respect to
As seen in
In some instances, gathering the project data may include automatically collecting at least a portion of the project data from one or more project management systems. For example, in gathering the project data in step 305, the computing device may collect information about various projects from one or more project management systems (which may, e.g., be owned, operated, and/or maintained by specific project teams and/or other groups or individuals within the organization). In collecting such information, the computing device may, for instance, automatically capture information about new projects and/or changes in existing projects from one or more data feeds that may be provided by one or more change management systems (which may, e.g., be updated by one or more individuals who may be involved in various projects, such as a project manager, change manager, and/or the like).
In some instances, gathering the project data may include receiving at least a portion of the project data as user input. For example, in gathering the project data in step 305, the computing device may receive at least a portion of the project data as user input (which may, e.g., be manually entered by a user of the computing device) for certain initiatives and/or other projects. This may, for example, allow the computing device to better capture information for all of the projects that may be on-going in an organization and/or in a specific line of business of an organization, as in some instances, the project data that may be automatically gathered in step 305 might not include, for various reasons, information for certain projects.
In one or more arrangements, the gathered project data may represent a complete project portfolio for at least one line of business of a financial institution. For example, in some arrangements, the project data gathered in step 305 may represent a current view of the entire project portfolio of a commercial banking line of business of a financial institution. In other instances, the project data gathered in step 305 may represent a current view of the entire project portfolio for an enterprise (which, e.g., might not be a financial institution) or a specific line of business within such an enterprise.
Continuing to refer to
In some instances, identifying the one or more client impacts may include determining, for each project of the one or more projects, whether one or more client impacts exist for the corresponding project, and based on determining that a set of client impacts exists for the one or more projects, categorizing each client impact of the set of client impacts. For example, in identifying one or more client impacts in step 310, the computing device may evaluate each project of the one or more projects to determine whether one or more client impacts exist. In addition, based on determining that one or more clients impacts do exist (which, e.g., the computing device may group into a set of client impacts), the computing device may categorize each client impact included in the set of client impacts (which may, e.g., include the client impacts determined to exist based on the evaluation of each of the projects). In some instances, in determining whether one or more client impacts exist for a specific project, the computing device may automatically determine whether such client impacts exist. For example, in determining whether one or more client impacts exist for a specific project, the computing device may parse the gathered project data associated with the project to identify and/or categorize changes being made to specific products and/or services that are offered and/or provided to specific clients. Additionally or alternatively, in determining whether one or more client impacts exist for a specific project, the computing device may receive assessment data as user input from one or more users (who may, e.g., manually identify, categorize, and/or otherwise assess changes being made to specific products and/or services that are offered and/or provided to specific clients).
In categorizing client impacts (which may, e.g., be identified and/or determined to exist in step 310), the computing device may determine that each of the identified client impacts corresponds to one or more predefined categories of client impacts, as these categories may assist the organization in better understanding the nature of the change(s) being made and how certain clients will be affected. For example, the predefined categories may include an “awareness/instructions” impact category, which may correspond to relatively basic changes where no significant actions are needed from a client, but the client will nevertheless be notified of the changes. The predefined categories also may include a “client action required” impact category, which may correspond to changes that might require a client to spend a significant amount of time preparing for the change (e.g., significant changes to user interfaces, security protocols, the training that might be required, and the like). The predefined categories also may include a “fees/pricing” impact category, which may correspond to changes in pricing, billing methodology, and/or terms and conditions. The predefined categories also may include a “location change” impact category, which may correspond to banking center closings and divestitures, vault and item processing site changes, and/or other location changes. The predefined categories also may include one or more categories for changes that do not have any client impact, such as a “new product/features” category, which may correspond to changes that may only affect a client if the client signs up for new services or opens new accounts, as well as a “none” category, which may correspond to changes where a client will not notice or experience any differences after deployment of the change.
In some instances, identifying the one or more client impacts may include determining whether one or more client impacts exist for one or more deployment events associated with at least one project. For example, in identifying the one or more client impacts in step 310, the computing device may determine whether one or more client impacts exist for one or more deployment events included in the one or more projects that are described and/or otherwise included in the gathered project data and/or that are being evaluated by the computing device. In particular, the project data may include information about specific deployment events of particular projects, and each project may have one or more deployment events. In one or more arrangements, each deployment event may be an instance in which one or more specific changes (e.g., in products, services, and/or the like) are rolled out and/or otherwise provided to one or more clients in connection with a corresponding project. Thus, in identifying the one or more client impacts in step 310, the computing device may analyze any and/or all of such deployment events to determine whether specific deployment events have had and/or will have client impact. The impact(s) caused by specific deployment events may, in some instances, subsequently be categorized in the manner discussed above.
In some instances, identifying the one or more client impacts may include producing an impacted clients list, and contributing the impacted clients list to an inventory. For example, in identifying one or more client impacts in step 310, the computing device may produce an impacted clients list, and subsequently may contribute the impacted clients list to an inventory (which may, e.g., be published by the computing device, as discussed in greater detail below). In some instances, the impacted clients list may, for instance, identify one or more specific clients that may experience one or more client impacts as a result of the projects and/or deployment events being evaluated by the computing device. In addition, the impacted clients list may, for example, include additional information about the specific client impacts that may be experienced by specific clients, such as information about the category or categories of the client impacts, information about the specific projects that may impact specific clients (e.g., information identifying specific changes that will impact specific clients), and/or the like. In some instances, the impacted clients list may additionally or alternatively include information about the impact(s) of particular changes on a family or parent company or other entity, as well as information about the specific impact(s) on associated primary or child companies or other subsidiary entities. Further, in contributing the impacted clients list to an inventory, the computing device may, for instance, upload and/or otherwise make available the impacted clients to a database and/or other resources for publication.
Continuing to refer to
In some instances, publishing the inventory may include providing client-specific change information to one or more coverage personnel. For example, in publishing the inventory in step 315, the computing device may provide client-specific change information to one or more coverage personnel. The client-specific change information may, for instance, identify the various changes and/or client impacts that may affect a particular client (e.g., based on the client impacts identified in step 310). In addition, the one or more coverage personnel who receive the change information for a particular client may be selected to receive such information by the computing device based on their relationship with the particular client (e.g., such as individuals who may have a sales relationship with the client, a service relationship with the client, and/or the like). By providing such client-specific change information to one or more coverage personnel for a particular client, the computing device may enable such coverage personnel to have a holistic discussion with the client about the changes that have been and/or are being rolled out to them.
In some instances, publishing the inventory may include analyzing a volume of change activity for at least one client, and based on the analyzing, determining that at least one deployment event of at least one project should be delayed for the at least one client. For example, in publishing the inventory in step 315, the computing device may analyze a volume of change activity for a particular client (e.g., by calculating, estimating, and/or otherwise determining a numerical and/or qualitative amount of change being imposed on the client as a result of all of the client impacts identified in step 310). Subsequently, the computing device may determine, based on this analysis, whether one or more deployment events of one or more projects should be staggered and/or otherwise delayed (e.g., for all clients, for some clients, only for the specific client, and/or the like). For example, based on the volume of change activity exceeding a predetermined threshold (which may, e.g., be a numerical threshold, such as a specific number on a scale between one and one hundred, or a qualitative threshold, such as an impact level between “no change activity,” “low change activity,” “intermediate change activity,” and “high change activity”), the computing device may determine that one or more specific deployment events of one or more specific projects should be staggered or delayed. On the other hand, based on the volume of change activity being under or at the predetermined threshold, the computing device may determine that one or more deployment events of one or more projects should not be staggered or delayed. By determining to delay certain deployment events in this way, the computing device may enable the organization and/or a line of business within the organization to prevent a relatively large or excessive amount of change from being imposed on a single client at any given time.
Having described several examples of the processing that may be performed in assessing client impact in some embodiments, several example user interfaces that might be displayed and/or otherwise provided by a computing device, such as a computing device implementing one or more aspects of computing device 101 and/or system 200, in performing such processing and/or in otherwise implementing various aspects of the disclosure will now be discussed with respect to
For example,
Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, an apparatus, or as one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions. Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Any and/or all of the method steps described herein may be embodied in computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable memory. Additionally or alternatively, any and/or all of the method steps described herein may be embodied in computer-readable instructions stored in the memory of an apparatus that includes one or more processors, such that the apparatus is caused to perform such method steps when the one or more processors execute the computer-readable instructions. In addition, various signals representing data or events as described herein may be transferred between a source and a destination in the form of light and/or electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).
Aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of illustrative embodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, and variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the steps illustrated in the illustrative figures may be performed in other than the recited order, and one or more steps illustrated may be optional in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.