Tuesday, November 3, 2015

All About SCRUM and How It Affects Your Life

Scrum is an iterative and incremental agile software development methodology for managing product development. It defines "a flexible, holistic product development strategy where a development team works as a unit to reach a common goal"[this quote needs a citation], challenges assumptions of the "traditional, sequential approach"[this quote needs a citation] to product development, and enables teams to self-organize by encouraging physical co-location or close online collaboration of all team members, as well as daily face-to-face communication among all team members and disciplines in the project.
 A key principle of scrum is its recognition that during production processes, the customers can change their minds about what they want and need (often called "requirements churn"), and that unpredicted challenges cannot be easily addressed in a traditional predictive or planned manner. As such, scrum adopts an empirical approach—accepting that the problem cannot be fully understood or defined, focusing instead on maximizing the team's ability to deliver quickly and respond to emerging requirements.

Scrum was first defined as "a flexible, holistic product development strategy where a development team works as a unit to reach a common goal" as opposed to a "traditional, sequential approach" in 1986 by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka in the New Product Development Game. Takeuchi and Nonaka later argued in The Knowledge Creating Company that it is a form of "organizational knowledge creation, especially good at bringing about innovation continuously, incrementally and spirally".

The authors described a new approach to commercial product development that would increase speed and flexibility, based on case studies from manufacturing firms in the automotive, photocopier and printer industries. They called this the holistic or rugby approach, as the whole process is performed by one cross-functional team across multiple overlapping phases, where the team "tries to go the distance as a unit, passing the ball back and forth". (In rugby football, a scrum refers to a tight-packed formation of players with their heads down who attempt to gain possession of the ball.)

In the early 1990s, Ken Schwaber used what would become scrum at his company, Advanced Development Methods, and Jeff Sutherland, with John Scumniotales and Jeff McKenna, developed a similar approach at Easel Corporation, and were the first to refer to it using the single word scrum. In 1995, Sutherland and Schwaber jointly presented a paper describing the scrum methodology at the Business Object Design and Implementation Workshop held as part of Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages & Applications '95 (OOPSLA '95) in Austin, Texas, its first public presentation. Schwaber and Sutherland collaborated during the following years to merge the above writings, their experiences, and industry best practices into what is now known as scrum.

In 2001, Schwaber worked with Mike Beedle to describe the method in the book Agile Software Development with Scrum. Its approach to planning and managing projects is to bring decision-making authority to the level of operation properties and certainties. Although the word is not an acronym, some companies implementing the process have been known to spell it with capital letters as SCRUM. This may be due to one of Ken Schwaber's early papers, which capitalized SCRUM in the title.

Later, Schwaber with others founded the Scrum Alliance and created the Certified Scrum Master programs and its derivatives. Schwaber left the Scrum Alliance in the fall of 2009, and founded Scrum.org with Alex Armstrong to further improve the quality and effectiveness of scrum.

If you’d like to know about SCRUM Certification, go to www.leapuniversity.biz for more info.

Leap University LLC
315 West Elliot Road
Tempe Arizona 85284


Friday, October 30, 2015

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software

Now is the time to best your competition and get the best in customer service software to protect your business. 

What is IT Service Management Software? Software that is a process-based and intended to align the delivery of information technology (IT) services with needs of the business, with emphasis on benefits to customers.

IT Service Management involves a paradigm shift from managing IT as stacks of individual hardware and software components to managing the delivery of support and customer retention services that help an organization achieve its marketing or information goals. The IT department in a large organization should create service level agreements so that services can be measured, justified and perhaps compared with those of third-party providers.

IT Service Management Software brings the benefits of cost savings, alignment with business, and operational efficiency and these benefits are encouraging more businesses to embrace ITIL service management practices. SMART Service Desk delivers IT service management (ITSM), business and workforce enablement with the goal of customer service excellence.

Increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. Our SMART Service Desk solutions can be adapted very quickly, easily and economically to meet your exact business needs. Achieve faster implementation, successful change management, and lower total cost of ownership with our 100% configurable, intuitive and affordable solutions.

SMART Service Desk - IT Service Management Suite is a flexible and robust solution that can be deployed via Purchased On-Premise, Subscription On-Premise and Cloud Subscription, with the portability to switch between different solutions. It is simple, yet comprehensive; highly configurable ITSM Suite developed in alignment with the ITIL best practice framework to manage the entire service life-cycle across. We offer an integrated and modular solution that is designed to support multiple languages.

It should come as no surprise that nearly 90% of today's customers will stop doing business with any company based solely on a single bad customer experience. News of these negative experiences will spread rapidly through social media.

The challenge of effective IT Service management is to analyze the causes of incidents and permanently remove them by providing solutions for recurring incidents. Lack of effective problem management techniques can cause high costs and low motivation for both users and support staff, since similar incidents have to be resolved repeatedly without anyone able to provide permanent solution.

In order to help you and your business we need to open a dialog we can best understand how SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software can be your businesses’ solution. We look forward to meeting your business needs and providing cost effective solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Is Halloween Competing With Christmas?

Halloween is no longer just about costumes and candy. It's now the second-biggest decorating holiday of the year -- right behind Christmas. Halloween parties are getting bigger and more competitive every year. One-upsmanship seems to be the rule. 

Even the treats handed out are having their own wars.  To be the best house on the block, where all the kids make an extra effort to stop is a prize sought for by many homemakers. Handing out full sized candy bars seems to be the big step-up.

Is your business part of the Halloween craze? Do you offer treat or treats or Halloween specials? Even if you aren’t selling direct items are you trying to fit into the second biggest holiday?

Mother's Day, you're giving gifts. Christmas, you're giving gifts. Halloween, you're giving gifts to yourself. Shoppers seem to agree. They are speeding more and more every year.

Ghoulish Trend Goes National
Major retailers are putting out their Halloween-related merchandise earlier than ever. Wal-Mart rolled out its Halloween section, "Spooky Central," located in its garden centers, in mid-August.

Over Labor Day weekend, Target introduced its "Harvest Hollow," "Maple Manor" and "Creepy Cottage" collections, among others. Even home-improvement retailers are getting in on the act, with Home Depot adding Halloween decorations to its stores for the first time this year.

The boom in Halloween business is a trend analysts are seeing across the country. "Halloween spending is expected to grow to 5 billion this year. … That's up from about 3.3 billion last year," said Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation.

The average Halloween consumer will spend roughly $60 this year, as compared to $48 last year.

From Pirates to Princes
So what costumes have been big sellers this year? Star Wars is making a big comeback this year. Disney is always a popular group of gear for the younger set. Adult costums actually sell a greater dollar amount than children’s outfits. Since they cost 3 times as more or more the numbers are smaller but the dollars are greater.

What is your company doing this season?

Is your company looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is your answer. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

How Much Is Customer Service Worth To Your Company?

Many companies have chosen to outsource their customer service to vendors who sell their services as providing customer service at the lowest possible cost per call. In most cases that means the customer service is provided by another level of company in a part of the world where labor costs are also as low as possible.

If giving your customer the lowest priced service is how you feel they should be treated then that is your business decision. Would it be OK if we asked how your customer feel about the level of the customer service you provide? Do you know? Have you asked them?

In keeping with the Halloween time of year can we take the customer service question a step further and ask if the customer service your business provides is a trick or a treat? That really is a fair question you know.

Does your business have competitors? How well do they treat their customers and how much would they like to steal yours using better customer service? So just how good is your customer service?

How often does someone patronize a company specifically because of its over-the-top service? You can probably think of a few examples, such as the traveler who makes a point of returning to a hotel that has a particularly attentive staff. How about a restaurant? Isn’t it all about the food and only the quality of the fare? 

If you sell a product and your competitor sells the same product and at a very similar price what is the factor that makes a person buy from you? Location? Maybe. What else? Be fair… what else? Well? How they feel about buying from you. How well were they treated? What is the buzz on social media? 

Unless you are a utility company your customers almost always have a choice to do business with you or not. Will they choose your company? Well, will they?

How much is customer service worth to your company? How about nearly everything!

Is your company looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is your answer. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Monday, October 26, 2015

What Is Customer Service? Is It That Simple

If I said that customer service is the providing of service to customers before, during and after their purchase. Accordingly, it may vary by product, service, industry and the individual customer. Do you agree it is really that simple?

Perhaps it is time to step back and re-examine or re-think your provision of service to your customers. And may I say while you still have them.

Customer support is a range of customer services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product. It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, trouble shooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product. These services even may be done at customer's side where he/she uses the product or service. In this case it is called "at home customer services" or "at home customer support". Regarding technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical goods, it is termed technical support.

Recently, many organizations have implemented feedback loops that allow them to capture feedback at the point of experience. For example, many companies have invited customers to send text messages while making purchases and using services. This has been shown to be useful, as it allows companies to improve their customer service before the customer defects, thus making it far more likely that the customer will return next time. Technology (think software) has made it increasingly easier for companies to obtain feedback from their customers. Community blogs and forums give customers the ability to give detailed explanations of both negative as well as positive experiences with a company or organization.

Some customers have expressed that the quality and level of customer service has decreased in recent years, and that this can be attributed to a lack of support or understanding at the executive and middle management levels of a corporation and/or a customer service policy. To address this argument, many organizations have employed a variety of methods to improve their customer satisfaction levels, and other key performance indicators.

How is your business doing and may I ask are you sure? SMART Service can help all you have to do is ask us how!

Is your company looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is your answer. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Friday, October 23, 2015

Learn To Put All Customers First!

Before you start thinking that customer service is isolated to one department within your company, allow me broaden your view of customer service. 



If customer service is merely isolated to the people answering your calls, emails and chats, you will miss the mark you are striving for 100%. Caring customer service must permeate the entire organization, inside and out and from top to bottom.  Here are seven characteristics that are essential to caring customer service…

Never Let Red Tape Get in the Way
Never use a policy excuse to side step your customer’s needs or finding a true solution that corrects a problem.

Check in With Your Customers
Following up with new customers can be a great help for navigating the onboarding process.

Send Them a Thank You Note
A handwritten note makes it so memorable. Writing an amazing thank you note doesn’t take long at all, but the impact that it has is huge in today’s digital world.

Personalize Your Service
A local restaurant takes time to ask customers a little bit about themselves before serving them. They then prepare a custom dessert plate based off of the customer’s interests or anything notable about them.

Really Sweat the Small Stuff
Nordstrom’s stellar service reputation is one case study where the reality lives up to the hype. From their infamous employee handbook to the celebrated tales of the staff’s service overtures, it is clear that Nordstrom is a company that prides itself on loving customers.

Seize Unique Opportunities
This might seem like strange advice at first, but when it comes to building reciprocity with customers and a reputation for exceptional customer service around your business, the key element is surprise.


Always Make Things Right
The common theme in these memorable customer service stories is businesses that go above and beyond to make a difficult situation right for a customer.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Is Social Media Customer Service Scary?

Is the thought of starting a social media based customer service add-on program giving you scary nightmares

Do you take another Xanax every time you read a new statistic about the necessity of social media based customer service, secretly covering yourself in busywork just to put it off a little bit longer? 

You do remember that Psychology 101 specifically states that you must not avoid things you’re afraid of. You must learn to face your fear. And once you do, you’ll find that it wasn’t so scary after all. Really!

Are these images still haunting you?

Your customers like to call you whenever they have a question – it’s more human, right?

You still can’t get your head around social media for customer service – why would people want to contact you on Facebook or Twitter? It’s for selfies, #random #hashtags and ice bucket challenges, right?

You know you have one or two (or five hundred) customers contacting you via social media, but you were kinda hoping they’d go away and call you instead.

You let your marketing department handle all the social media inquiries – you don’t know exactly what they do on there, but they seem to be good at it, so why not answer a few questions while they’re at it?

You feel overwhelmed at the thought of dealing with customer service on social media. What happens when the floodgates open and you can’t handle all of the inquiries? Disaster!

But it doesn’t have to be that scary and I will tell you why.

Make sure you’re set up correctly and prepared. Computer on. Your software solution up and running, Knowledge Base, Facebook, Email and any other system you might need for the team you’re on ahead of your shift. Then, if you do have any issues there is always someone else on to cover you.

The real key is the right software solutions. Like SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software

Is your company looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is your answer. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com