Creating Process Flow Diagrams – A Case Study

Disclaimer

Companies  mentioned in this case study are fictitious and are for educational purposes only. Scenarios, events and names mentioned in this case study are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, corporations or institutions are purely coincidental.

The Expectation

You have been employed to Pixel-Tech  as  a business analyst during the pandemic of 2020.  You are tasked with coming up with new process steps to resolve Pixel-Tech’s online purchases in-store pickup  process and their tech support process in response to the pandemic.

Background

Pixel-Tech is a large supplier of consumer hardware devices such as laptops, tablets, printers, monitors and cables. They have large stores in every state and also have an online store where customers can purchase items online and have it delivered to their home or delivered to the nearest Pixel-Tech store.

Pixel-Tech also offers tech support services to small and medium size companies. These services include setting up new machine for new employees, responding to support issues from employees such as access controls, errors on their computers, malware and security monitoring etc… Pixel-Tech also helps to physically collect machines that need to fixed and send them to the manufacturers where needed.

In Store Pickup Process

Currently the process to handle pickup of online sales is as follows:

When a customers buys and item online they can choose to have it delivered to their nearest Pixel-Tech store as one of their delivery options. When  it  arrives to  the store, the  customer is notified by email and text messages  and goes to the store to pickup. When the customer arrives at the store they usually have to join a line  to wait to receive their item and this wait could take up to 20 minutes. This is because item pickup is done at the customer service line along with other customer service requests.

Once it’s their turn, the customer has to verify their identity  and provide the tracking number sent in the email or text message in order to receive the item. The agent finds the package with the tracking number that matches  what the customer gave and verifies the identity of the customer, then the customer is given their item and can then leave the store.

The Problem

Because of the pandemic and social distancing requirements the store can no longer have log lines for customer service. How can they still provide a good service for their customers who make purchases online and need to  receive the item quickly?

Your Task

You are also tasked with finding a covid-safe way to help customers pickup their items that are purchased online. Design a new work flow that will demonstrate the new processes.

Tech Support Process

Currently the process to handle support tickets is as follows:

1. The computer given to each employee is tracked with an inventory number
2. A special remote access software is loaded unto the machines
3. When the employee has a problem and needs support then they can enter their a ticket from the special software found  on their desktop or  send an email to support@pixel-tech.com
4. The communication to Pixel-Tech is logged and given a ticket number and added to the queue
5. A tech support agent who is monitoring the queue will pick the next ticket available in the queue
6. The tech support agent will  contact the employee and remotely connect to the machine where possible to attempt to solve the problem
7. The tech support will update the ticket. If it is solved then the ticket is closed and confirmation is sent  to the employee
8. If it is not solved,  then it can possibly be escalated to a second level support, then third level if needed
9. If the issue cannot be resolved remotely at all, then the tech support agent arranges to pickup the machine from the client’s office location
10. The employee is given a loaner machine to work with while their original machine is being fixed
11. Once the original machine is in the possession of Pixel-Tech, then the agents try to resolve and if not then arrangements are made to repair with the manufacturer
12. When the manufacturer fixes the machine then the machine is returned to the client’s office location, distributed to the employee and the loaner machine is put back in inventory

The Problem

Since the pandemic, a new process is needed as most clients of Pixel-Tech have employees  who are now working from home and technicians will need to track the inventory that is dispersed in  everyone’s homes.

Your Task

Come up with a revamped process for the tech support agents in light of the pandemic and given that there is no one working from the office anymore. How can the agents continue to offer the same quality service?

Tip

• Redesign the item pickup for online purchases. How can we do this observing social distancing and reducing the number of people in the store?
• Think through  tech support having to go to employees homes to recover machines since they are no longer at the office. What could that new process look like?
• Design the new process flows and prepare a presentation to defend why you chose this new process.

Get the answers for this case study here!