Problem

A widely recognized consumer research organization wanted to create an application for conducting telephone based surveys. The application would be used by groups of interviewers in multiple call centers run by the organization. For each new study, the organization configures a new survey corresponding to the study questions. When an interviewer became free, the application would dial a new number from the consumer database and display the consumer information and the first question on the interviewer's screen. As the consumer answers questions, interviewer records the answers on the screen, and the application presents the next question for the interviewer to ask the consumer. The results of the survey are recorded in a database.

Solution

Based on their requirements, this organization decided to develop their consumer research application using the Nouveau Alliance Collaboration Platform and Workflow Automation Service. Key features that influenced their decision were:

Flexible workflow automation. The application required the ability to quickly define new surveys and corresponding GUIs for each question.. The Nouveau Alliance Workflow Automation Service made it simple to define and load new surveys, using a library of pre-defined survey activities. Each activity automatically generated the GUI that was appropriate for the type of survey question, and managed responses from the consumer. The ability of the Noueau Alliance Workflow Automation Service to to manage custom libraries of workflow activities and nodes greatly simplified the process of creating and deploying new surveys.

Database connectivity. The application required accessing a database of consumers, and recording consumer responses in a SQL database. The Nouveau Alliance Workflow Automation Service includes a complete set of SQL database activities that allow workflows to query and update databases, and manage database transactions. By providing full SQL database connectivity to any JDBC compliant database, the Nouveau Alliance Workflow Automation Service enabled the workflow-enabled survey applications to access consumer information and record consumer responses without the complexity of programming SQL database interfaces.

Ease of integration.. The application had to integrate with existing commercial dialer hardware and software in the call center. When the dialer initated a call, the interviewer and survey software both must be notified and a new survey started. Similarly, when the call is completed, the dialer and survey software both must be notified and the results of the survey recorded in the database. The Nouveau Alliance Workflow Automation System integrates with external systems making it easy to create custom activities that communicate with external systems and trigger workflows based on external events.

Results

Using Nouveau Alliance Workflow Automation Service, this consumer research organization was able to quickly develop a consumer survey solution that is fully integrated with their call center hardware and software. As a result, the company realized significant savings by creating a workflow-enabled solution that enabled survey developers to quickly create and reconfigure surveys and collect and analyze results, without requiring developers to modify the application or create new GUIs for each new survey.