Read world-renowned marketing content to help grow your audience, Read best practices and examples of how to sell smarter, Read expert tips on how to build a customer-first organization, Read tips and tutorials on how to build better websites, Get the latest business and tech news in five minutes or less, Learn everything you need to know about HubSpot and our products, Stay on top of the latest marketing trends and tips, Join us as we brainstorm new business ideas based on current market trends. IEEE, 2010. When a task is handed off from one engineer to another, there is an up-to-date, accurate architecture diagram to work from.. 2008. In Global Software Engineering (ICGSE), 2010 5th IEEE International Conference on, pages 165174. For example, another Zendesk customer, Prezi, has teams in two locationsone in San Francisco and one in Budapest. Our offerings for Salesforce include the same 24x7x365, follow-the-sun support with a guaranteed response of under 10-minutes for P1 critical issue . To visualize, we created the diagram below: Global customer support might not be necessary for every company, but it's important to begin using a global customer service model if you have international customers who are submitting tickets while you're asleep. 7. Start off by asking key questions. CX is a top priority for financial services providers, and for good reason. Note that it will only suit some business models. Rather than making the customer wait several hours until you can get back to working on a solution, follow the sun allows you to pass on the work to the next site. [2] Murray R Millson, SP Raj, and David Wilemon. The top three best practices that were found in research are agile methods, the use of technology for knowledge sharing (e.g. According to the FTS model concept, production and maintenance can be separated between locations in different time zones. Follow the sun: distributed extreme programming development. The FTS model has proven its potential for decreasing time to market, accelerating product development and ensuring consistent client communication. By submitting my personal information, I consent to Zendesk collecting, processing, and storing my information in accordance with the, By submitting my personal data, I consent to Zendesk collecting, processing, and storing my information in accordance with the, The value of agent education and training during economic slowdowns, What is employee turnover? 0000063267 00000 n They are summarized in the table below. Based on these observations and the results presented in literature, it can be said that FTS approach is not widely used in practice because of its limitations and challenges. 1. 0000007912 00000 n That means customers requests and communications are coming in quickly and oftenand these businesses must meet that demand. Tools for estimating and planning schedules, allocation of project tasks, sprint management, progress tracking are essential utilities for front line managers. Follow the Sun Support - SyncApps, the #1 Integration Cloud IEEE, 2013. What is a Follow the Sun Model? | Global Call Forwarding Agile seems to be the best and most suitable for FTS based approaches because the principles of Agile anf FTS complement each other. Because it is always daytime somewhere in the world, you need a way to support customers around the globe no matter what time zone they are in and without too much delay. Follow the Sun: Introduction (1 of 3) - SlideServe Several workflows seem to be using the FTS model, but in reality this is not always the case. There is also research that studied the impact of the number of sites on working speed and accuracy in Follow-the-Sun software development [9]. Please reload the page and try again, or you can contact Zendesk for support. Because of its uncommon nature, FTS is also least practiced in the industry and has very few documented examples of success. Make your own animated videos and animated presentations for free. Documenting how many resources are available every month at the start of a new project will help your team determine accurate timelines and avoid team member burnout. A novel approach to distributed concurrent software development using a follow-the-sun technique. A typical ITSM process can involve something as simple as an employee asking for a new laptop. Computer, 42(1):66-73, 2009. So how can companies of different sizes utilize that to their advantage? Since the teams may have different tasks, it is important to ensure that each team has a common understanding of goals, methods and company policies. Zuora uses private comments in Zendesk tickets to help communicate important details to team members picking up issues already in progress. 0000065082 00000 n According to Carmel [1], FTS has challenges such as coordination barriers, cultural differences, and communication difficulties depicted in Fig. Federal Republic of Germany, 2017. Stars, 16 Agency Leaders Explore The SEO Trends Impacting Their Work In 2023, 15 Smart Ways To Address High Employee Turnover, How Vietnam's Entertainment Industry Can Increase Its Global Reach, 6 Best Practices For CEOs And Professional Leaders Using LinkedIn. In Agile Conference, 2005. You will want to standardize on the technology and tools you use to support your agile methodologies and implement, monitor, revise, and manage your follow the sun model. There are claims that FTS is being used at General Motors and at OfficeTiger [4] [5]. Are the majority simple, transactional issues like password changes and processing returns, or are they more complex technical issues requiring more resources? Although the advantages presented above could take your business to the next level, adopting a follow the sun model comes with its own set of challenges and disadvantages. [8] Christian Doerr. We operate a 24/7 global support team - Microsoft Community uyLY@= Some key assumptions in deriving the above principles are listed below: Follow the sun approach involves daily handoff of the work which suggests that there will be some reduction in the project duration. That being said, we have a few tips for you if you decide to implement this model: Now, before you jump into a follow the sun customer support model, let's determine if it's necessary for your company. Lastly, we showed that there was a study which researched hand-offs management. If youre using a customer service platform with great analytics, youll be able to make data-driven decisions about the right time to expand globally. A customer service platform with mobile access might allow you to stagger your shifts between home and work, and to cover different time zones, without having to hire a remote representative. Understand and optimize your cloud infrastructure today with Lucidscale. y&[vx_TsrbV_[tQoMPDv2[%Xq?>R ,&$[f5_vv=EW\p6{`A7ejw@aAs]9#~;.#%hw AVC$+p( As illustrated in Fig. 128 0 obj <> endobj xref 128 43 0000000016 00000 n This efficiency further increases with the number of locations and shifts. This way, the problem remains a priority and is worked on until the customer is satisfied. Theoretically speaking, if n sites are working on this scheme, their development speed could be increased dramatically by systematically organizing the work tasks sequentially on a daily basis and optimizing the coordination costs [1]. 0000010855 00000 n One key benefit of a follow the sun model is high uptime. And due to these restraints, teams may have a tough time truly collaborating. Fourth IEEE International Conference FtVz:-zn>\M~J/CeTb{POj"}"yX-hD]0)u&Z?C4SX0;53mHp 8Q[M#A.l{ GrhhXE3rVY)^a. + endstream endobj 135 0 obj <>stream This process could take weeks if only one team in one time zone is working on the project. It is used mainly for school presentations and businesses. Many companies. Health Program Analyst Skills For Your Resume And Career - Zippia Opinions expressed are those of the author. Shifting to a remote-based model streamlined our FTS approach with the ability to provide client services without opening an office location first. Follow the Sun is a support model which works best for service desks that work around the clock, i.e 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. As described by Carmel [1], the agile methodology is best suited for FTS. Determine when your customers need you the most so you can define your goals around their needs. In addition to verbal communication, teams can also use visual documentation, such as flowcharts, kanban boards, and Gantt charts as part of their daily hand-offs. The University of Dar es Salaam Computing Centre is going to offer you in-class facilitation of all of the openEd 2.0 course modules against a moderate fee.<br /> 28. Oops! To this end, the FTS research needs to be done comprehensively, so that companies start adopting it in real-time projects. Presentation Mode allows you to show off the specific parts of your design that stakeholders care about most., There you have it. Because they have sites spread across the world, companies using the follow the sun model will find it difficult for everybody to be in the same room at the same time. Mechanisms for transferring work in progress to the next site is the core idea of FTS. IBM in 1990s was probably one of the first companies to record the implementation of FTS in its software development teams globally [1]. For example, you may need skilled bilingual managers and associates to help with international communications. The handoff process can become the weakest point in your model due to technical, cultural, and communication style differences across each team., This is where Lucid can really help you shine. Follow-the-sun paradigm background reading. Now, what does this look like in action? This means that efficiency in task hand-off is of paramount importance to the success of the FTS approach. Your plan needs to include specific roles, processes, and training necessary to meet customer expectations. And when the shifts switch, you'll have each site hand off work to the next shift. I understand I may unsubscribe at any time. The main criteria to go for FTS is the reduction in the development time or time-to-market. Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. We've got a true, "follow the sun" model, allowing access to support engineers [.] Having multiple subteams on deck to keep a project moving along 24 hours a day empowers your entire IT department to set realistic short-term deadlines, avoid working overtime, and complete roadmaps more efficiently., Think about what your IT team is really trying to accomplish on your roadmap for the next year. User interface data decision support system model with arrows and icons. [5] Amar Gupta. [14] Josiane Kroll, Sajid Ibrahim Hashmi, Ita Richardson, and Jorge LN Audy. The success cases in the Industry using FTS are rare, in part due to the lack of well-founded knowledge on applying FTS [9]. Follow the Sun is a customer support method that focuses on providing consistent customer support without regard for geographic location or time restraints. When compared to traditional global software development, FTS workflow is more difficult to achieve. A clear path will help your troubleshooting teams and engineers coordinate and get to the bottom of the issue faster., Mastering the handoff process (moving project tasks from one team to the next) is probably the hardest, but most crucial, element of successfully implementing a follow the sun model. The ability of project management tools to integrate with development tools can help reduce the duration of project cycles in FTS. The various agile methodologies such as Scrum, Lean, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), DSDM etc., share much of the same characteristics and practices and are widely practiced in Globally Distributed Software Development. Teams must be able to define what work has been done and what work is expected next in the process. In 0000006358 00000 n Slide 1 of 2. Business and operational support model. 0000009498 00000 n Let your superior service and personalized support work as a marketing advantage to find new leads and sales. Regardless of where the bulk of customers are located, if you know that youre receiving a lot of tickets outside of your standard support hours, then its time to start thinking about a rotational support model. Follow the Sun The "follow-the-sun" model is about providing the support that clients and customers need by way of a global workflow that literally follows the sun. Presenting support model PPT slide template. FTS has many challenges associated with it and it also faces same challenges of GSD as it is a part of GSD. [17] Amar Gupta, Rajdeep Bondade, and Nathan Denny. Agile stresses on the importance of automated testing to reduce time. One of the important concepts evolved in the past decade or so is the Follow the sun (FTS) software development. The term calendar efficiency helps in understanding the analysis further. 0000013504 00000 n 0000063342 00000 n @|Q%q_2.gINPQ1Aq!>(ob@d9I8j3.a(fdb@n@8nZk;aza azv(;@ r endstream endobj 129 0 obj <>>>/Metadata 126 0 R/Outlines 108 0 R/PageLayout/SinglePage/Pages 123 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 130 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/Properties<>/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/Tabs/W/Thumb 109 0 R/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 612.0 792.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 131 0 obj [/ICCBased 142 0 R] endobj 132 0 obj <> endobj 133 0 obj <>stream In this post, we'll learn what the follow the sun customer support model is, the benefits, best practices, and how you can decide if it's the right model for your business. Initial handoffs mainly consisted of daily work summaries, which were later augmented by knowledge transfer activities. Essentially, it's 24/7 support, no matter where the sun is up, without needing any customer service department to work late shifts. With so many architecture models out there for you to base your system designs on, what makes a follow the sun model stand out? This schedule is determined by global stock exchange hours. Please select this checkbox if you do not wish to receive marketing communications from Zendesk. Powerpoint is an application developed by Microsoft which allows users to create slides of important information to present. [18] Josiane Kroll, Rafael Prikladnicki, Jorge LN Audy, Erran Carmel, and JudeFernandez. Its also a great record to have on hand to show various stakeholders just how much your department can accomplish in any given window of time., Visualizing your cloud infrastructure in a centralized location that is accessible to all global team members will create an accurate and consistent picture of your follow the sun model from day one. Follow-the-Sun Strategy: A Process for Global Software Development But these steps will add to the increase in cost due to burnout and fatigue [2]. However, one slight difference is that Agile stresses on face to face communication, whereas in FTS inter-site communication between production sites is maintained at the bare minimum by using automated tools. In Global Software Engineering, 2009. If not, determine what you are able to provide customers right now as you work toward your long-term 24-hour service. The first one involved a software development project consisting of teams in the United States and Australia and met with high degree of success. Agile places a lot of emphasis on continuous integration (using automation) encouraging every team to maintain an updated and testable version of the code which can be used by the next production site. [10] Eoin Conchir, Helena Holmstrom Olsson, Par J Agerfalk, and Brian Fitzgerald. Plus, with a follow the sun model established, your company will be better prepared to support customers around the world, allowing your business to branch into new markets. For others, keeping all major communication and production processes in a single office or at least legislation may make more sense. [3] Frederick P Brooks Jr. In Management of Engineering and Technology, Portland International Center for, pages 24582466. This is very important especially for industries whose products become outdated in a very short time (e.g. If the sun is shining over a region, be it San Francisco, Paris, Hong Kong, or Sydney, business is being conducted there. 0000001156 00000 n Outline your company's customer journey and experience with these 7 free customer journey map templates. PjYIh$ 3lKPt[?7\p rNt[n@rS +@G9z|t- ]P$>(h)tQ c5+${._~;i$ X~,h XOjcL^W? Consider these basic steps and questions you need to ask before diving into a follow the sun methodology. For example, our customer and partner Zuora offers 24/7/365 support coverage. A survey of major approaches for accelerating new product development. Project handoffs are done on a daily basis at the end of each shift. In addition, there is research about location selection and the effect of the number of selected locations. This will help avoid any confusion on who ultimately owns the process., Take stock of all the team members available to maintain your IT architecture. ITSM Support Model | Why is the ITSM support model so important? - ITarian There are numerous advantages if the FTS implementation is successful which are reduced time-to-market, reduced software costs, increased international relationships leading to better diversity among companies, etc. It is a model in which work from one site is handed over to another, which is many time zones away (for example, U.S.A to India), in order for the work to be advanced while one team rests for the night. We have discussed how technology tools and infrastructure play an important role in the successful implementation of FTS. The handoffs can be applied to any software development task. The second case study involved three distinct projects with development sites in the United States and India, and met with drastic failure. The number of sites had only a small impact on the accuracy. "Follow the Sun" Service Desk Model - Abhinav PMP For me, staying connected with clients in every corner of the globe was always important. For some, it may make more sense to have people in the office rather than working from home to expand and grow without opening an office first. The model you choose, develop, and refine should be the one that works best for you and your customers. Slide 1 of 2. The follow the sun model is certainly not a new concept - nor is it unique to corporate travel management or the travel industry. Another documented case of FTS application was by Infosys [20] in 2005 where FTS was applied to small subsets of the project cycle. One way to implement a follow the sun approach is to have customer support owned by one site at a time -- wherever the sun is up.