In software development, rapid prototyping practice of rapidly creating functional prototypes of an application for a variety of purposes, from testing ideas and/or hypotheses to gathering user feedback and even validating the actual requirements of the solution being designed.
Rapid Prototyping is recently finding a new ally: the no-code approach. And when Rapid Prototyping is used with an no-code application development platform , a new and interesting business scenario opens up to explore. In fact, functional prototypes created with Rapid Prototyping can, thanks to no-code, become working prototypes . Prototypes that can even go into production AS IS and then be refined through subsequent tuning. It's easy to imagine that, with this approach, companies seeking to be increasingly agile, efficient, and innovative can find a satisfying solution.
Let's try to give an example of the value hidden behind this possibility.
We know that when developing a new software solution, the most delicate and sometimes most expensive part is analyzing , gathering, sharing, and validating requirements. In a traditional approach, the deliverable produced by analysts is a user requirements document that, once shared with the various stakeholders, must be validated by them.
Let's try to imagine what would happen if our stakeholders, instead of having a document to study, directly had a prototype to use and validate !
It's also worth considering that distributing a solution to key users created with no-code rapid prototyping is only slightly more expensive than creating a requirements analysis document. However, it's certainly much simpler, more intuitive, faster, and more enjoyable for key users to validate requirements through a working prototype rather than by reading a document. Furthermore, validating requirements by key users in this way greatly reduces the risk of misunderstanding : to validate, the key user is invited to interact with an implemented requirement and not just with its description, which can sometimes be unclear and/or a source of misunderstanding.
It is therefore easy to understand how this valuable alliance allows us to obtain:
- Accelerated Time-to-Market : Applications can be developed and released more quickly than with traditional software development approaches;
- Greater Stakeholder Involvement : Stakeholders can be involved from the beginning of the development process, improving understanding of requirements and reducing the risk of misunderstandings;
- Greater Agility : Rapid Prototyping and no-code enable the fast and flexible iteration that allows organizations to quickly adapt to market changes and user needs;
- Reduced Costs and Resources : By eliminating the need for complex custom code development, you can reduce the costs and resources required for software development.
What then are the best use cases for applying no-code Rapid Prototyping?
An example could be the implementation of customized approval processes and workflows where an organization uses an ERP to manage standard business processes but needs to customize workflows and approval processes to adapt to specific industry needs. This allows the company to quickly test without having to make direct changes to the ERP, involving key stakeholders in the decision-making process from the initial stages.
The implemented processes can then either go into production AS IS or serve as the validated analysis for their subsequent implementation in the ERP.
Another example: suppose we have an existing software application for which new features need to be implemented. Before embarking on costly analysis, testing, and traditional development, creating no-code prototypes of these new features allows us to test them with users before proceeding with their traditional, full implementation. This offers significant savings in requirements validation and reduces potential rework .
Another example, very typical in startups and/or the launch of new initiatives within an established company: the processes supporting the business model may not be fully defined or even nonexistent. With no-code Rapid Prototyping, you can set them up, even in a less refined form, but one that allows you to work and adapt them over time as the process gradually matures.
This means rapid prototyping, but also continuous improvement, adaptation, and extreme customization based on the client's use cases.
Last noteworthy use case: No-code Rapid Prototyping in research projects: it can be extremely beneficial and can significantly contribute to the success and productivity of the research itself.
We have highlighted how in some cases the final result is itself achieved using no-code , but in many other cases, no-code is an intermediate tool supporting a final result that can also be achieved using a traditional approach.
And in any case the advantage of the approach is interesting and consists of a multitude of points:
- Rapid Exploration of Concepts and Hypotheses : Rapid prototyping allows researchers to quickly explore new ideas, concepts, and hypotheses. Creating functional prototypes of devices, systems, or software allows researchers to test their hypotheses in a tangible way and obtain timely feedback.
- Iteration and Continuous Improvement : Thanks to the iterative nature of rapid prototyping, researchers can quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of their prototypes and make changes based on the results. This allows for continuous improvement of the proposed solutions.
- Stakeholder Engagement : Functional prototypes can be used to engage key stakeholders, such as other researchers, funders, or potential end users. This early engagement can help validate ideas and adapt research projects based on feedback received.
- Support for Communication and Presentation of Results : Working prototypes can be used to effectively communicate research findings to various stakeholders. Visualizing and demonstrating concrete results obtained through prototypes can make the research work more accessible and understandable.
- Exploring New Technologies and Methodologies : No-code rapid prototyping allows researchers to quickly explore new technologies, methodologies, and approaches in their field of study. This flexibility and agility can be particularly valuable in highly innovative and rapidly evolving research fields.
- Reduce Risk and Costs : Testing ideas and solutions with functional prototypes allows researchers to reduce the risks associated with research projects. Identifying problems or limitations early in the process can help avoid costly mistakes or failures later in the research process.
In conclusion, the topic is certainly worth considering for the numerous advantages it brings, but it should not be overlooked that there are also challenges to be faced.
For example, the complexity of some more advanced applications may not be compatible with this approach, as is the urgent need to integrate prototypes with existing systems. The discipline is certainly evolving, and it's worth exploring future trends and the prospects they will open up. And questions are already beginning to be raised about the impact of artificial intelligence and automation on software design and development using no-code rapid prototyping: an even greater reminder to not be caught off guard.
Extend processes beyond your organization. Third example: complaint management.
We have already introduced the topic of extended or inter-company , that is, those processes that extend beyond the boundaries of the organization (magazine no. 43 and 45) .
These processes, we recall, can include collaboration and information exchange between companies or entities to create value for all involved. We can identify them, for example, in supply chain management involving suppliers , but also in customer relationship management, commercial partnerships ( with partners or agents), intercompany collaboration , shared logistics , project coordination recruiting activities .
Effective management of these processes is achieved by using appropriate tools that allow you to govern and monitor the entire business flow, avoiding multiple systems and information redundancy.
We have previously talked about the use case of quote management and customer request management , today we will look at the use case of complaints management where the external actors are customers or intermediaries who open complaints on behalf of customers .
CASE 3 – Complaints Management
Company areas involved: transversal to the areas
Organizational needs
In a manufacturing business context, as in other sectors, a customer may need to file a complaint . This situation can also arise if the transaction isn't conducted directly, but through an intermediary such as an agent or reseller. In this case, this person can act as a facilitator in filing the complaint, taking on the burden of managing this process, maintaining direct contact with the customer and the manufacturer.
Once a complaint reaches the organization, a management process is typically initiated. This process may vary slightly from organization to organization, but generally includes the following steps, in addition to the initial complaint submission process:
- Submitting a complaint : The complaint is usually sent via email by the customer/agent/reseller.
- Complaint Recording : The complaint is recorded by the organization, either on paper or in a computer system, collecting detailed information about the complaint itself, such as the customer's name and the nature of the complaint.
- Complaint Evaluation : The complaint is evaluated. During this phase, it may be necessary to gather additional information or even determine that it is not a complaint at all.
- Complaint Assignment : The complaint is assigned to the area/person in the organization who has the expertise to handle it based on criteria known to the validator.
- Investigation : A process is initiated to identify the causes of the complaint and find an appropriate solution. This may include communicating with the person who initiated the complaint and involving other areas or stakeholders within the organization, including to authorize a possible return or refund.
- Resolution: The outcome of the investigation and the company's decision are communicated via email.
This process, although quite structured in its steps , is in many cases managed with individual productivity tools , such as email and Excel spreadsheets and sees the operator interface as necessary with the various company systems on which specific documents or data are collected that need to be consulted such as: personal data, orders, invoices, transport documents, etc.
In this situation, the final return management result is still achieved, but with inefficiencies and delays that could generate customer dissatisfaction as well as high management costs , which sometimes far exceed the value of the item being complained about.
Instead, it would be more appropriate to understand and monitor the cost of processing a request and, after a certain amount of monitoring, arrive at a more efficient process, identifying cases in which it can be managed more streamlined and quickly, thus reducing the activities, times, and costs.
The solution
By orchestrating this end-to-end process, from request entry to resolution communication, with a no-code process automation like Jamio, an organization can reap a range of benefits, including improved operational efficiency, improved customer satisfaction, greater visibility and traceability of complaints, and a solid foundation for continuous improvement and cost reduction .
The flow, although not varying much in its structure, is made more efficient as follows:
- Complaint submission : The complaint is submitted using a predefined, guided form. Appropriate pre-validation questions, presented by the system to the applicant, reduce subsequent processing times, even eliminating them in some cases, with the report automatically closed and the applicant notified via email.
- Complaint Evaluation : The complaint is evaluated before any further processing is carried out. The complaint will be filed if the requirements are met. The validator also has the right to decide whether to reduce the complaint evaluation steps and immediately resolve the complaint.
- Complaint registration : The complaint is recorded in the computer system semi-automatically; much information is taken from the report and copied into the system, while other information is entered by the operator.
- Complaint assignment : The complaint is assigned to the organization's designated area/person with the expertise to manage it automatically, based on the business channel and complaint type. This is because during system configuration, various processing flows can be mapped and associated with specific characteristics (complaint type, business channel, other).
- Investigation : The process of identifying the causes of the complaint and identifying an appropriate solution always involves the various actors involved in the process, automatically based on a predefined flow.
- Resolution: The outcome of the investigation and the company's decision are automatically communicated.
Additionally, alert and notification systems keep stakeholders informed. It's also possible to integrate with company ERP systems to facilitate access to information stored in other systems (customer or product records, invoices, orders, and delivery notes).
All those human activities that involve a waste of time and margins of error are thus delegated to an IT system , such as collecting requests and filling out complaints, sending emails, sorting activities based on predefined rules, and direct access to information from different systems.
Furthermore, external stakeholders, such as customers or intermediaries, actively participate in the process , as they input their requests in a guided manner. The data does not need to be rewritten, and the system can intelligently close the request, avoiding the need for an operator. The misuse of complaint reports to initiate other procedures, such as returns management,
Below is a list of action points:
- Complaints Centralization : All customer/agent/reseller inquiries are collected in a centralized system, divided by business channel. Requests are entered directly by the requesters in a guided manner. This helps keep track of all requests and avoids copying data.
- Status Tracking : Each complaint is automatically tracked, with the ability to monitor the resolution process. This helps keep requesters and internal stakeholders informed about the status of their requests and significantly improves the organization's image.
- Process Automation : The system is pre-trained to automatically assign complaints based on their characteristics. The long-term goal, after an observation period, could be to manage those “standardized” complaints completely automatically.
- Management of shortened flows : The system allows you to bypass all the various process steps based on the characteristics of the complaint, reducing resolution times.
- Stakeholder communication: An automatic notification system keeps stakeholders informed of the progress of requests.
- Performance Monitoring : The system provides tools to monitor complaint management performance, including handling and resolution times, and calculate related costs. This data can be used to identify areas for improvement and optimize processes.
- Reporting and analysisA reporting system allows you to analyze process performance, identify trends or key issues or areas of concern, and make informed decisions to improve overall efficiency.
- Integration with other systems : The system integrates with other company systems, for quick access to information to support complaint resolution.
The advantages
- Reduced go-live times and speed and flexibility of the solution in adapting to process optimization following monitoring, thanks to the no-code approach
- Improving operational efficiency
- Cost reduction
- Reduction of resolution times
- Improving stakeholder satisfaction
- Traceability and visibility of request status
- Data analysis and continuous improvement
- Centralization of information in a single integrated system, also open to users outside the organization
- Containing the anomalous use of complaint reporting
Digital Document: Jamio Openwork among the sponsors of the conference organized by SOIEL International
“Documento Digitale ” is a format organized by SOIEL International dedicated to the topics of document dematerialization and digital process management.
Milan event Openwork will also participate in as a sponsor , had 254 registered professionals and 108 in attendance in the last edition. This year, it will take place at the Talent Garden Calabiana on May 16, 2024 (9:00 am – 4:30 pm) together with several speakers from the ICT scene, including Martin Arborea, Sales & Marketing Director of Openwork.
Jamio openwork 's no-code approach document and process management solutions that are implicitly compliant and secure, without writing programming code, but through visual languages and use case modeling.
For more information on the SOIEL International , visit the following link:
https://www.soiel.it/eventi/documento-digitale-2024-mi/
Help Desk Services Update: When and What Changes?
With the goal of making support request services increasingly efficient and effective, Jamio openwork
platform Help Desk system will be updated on Thursday, April 4, 2024. The update, which will make the Help Desk active again starting at 9:00 AM on Friday, April 5, 2024 , will affect only a small portion of the platform; therefore, all other PaaS services will continue to be available regardless of this update.
WHAT'S NEW?
Speed in opening a ticket
Now you enter less information to open a ticket, thus speeding up the process of sending a support request
More visibility to work updates
With communications at hand it becomes easier to follow the updates of open tickets
Improved user experience
The new graphical interface allows for faster reading and filling in of information, as well as a better user experience for ticket management
