BigPond Movies: the Collaborative Filter Software - Research Paper Example

A proposal on Improving the Quality of Customer Service through the Collaborative Filter Software Proposed By: COPY TO: Abstract BigPond Movies is one of Australia’s leading online movies and TV show, lending companies. The company was initiated in February 2006 as one of Telstra’s affiliate companies. Since its inception, the company has been successful in providing various movies and TV shows to customers through the T-Box which is a type of high definition digital video recorder that allows customers to watch and rent movies and TV shows through the internet. The demand for rental videos and TV show services has been increasing rapidly, as consumer preferences continue to change. As a result there is need for the company to satisfy this demand effectively. The objective of this project is to develop a software that can make the search for movies easier by matching the titles of the movies to the tastes of the consumers. The software is referred to as the collaborative filter software. The expected outcome of the new software is to enhance quality customer service by making the search for movies easier and meeting the preferences of consumers. In addition the project will give the company a sustainable competitive advantage since quality customer service is one of the driving forces to a successful business venture. The limitation of the project is that the new software will require a lot of monitoring and organization in order to ensure that that project works effectively. This is basically because classifying customers according to their tastes involves monitoring trends among the various existing consumers and the new consumers. The data collected is also supposed to be personalized according to the experiences of the consumers. This will therefore involve creating a customer rating section in the website in order to identify the preferences of the consumers. All this implies that that company will incur additional costs in terms of manpower and web development. It is however essential to take note of the fact that developing a unique online brand begins with providing exceptional value and also good brands are usually developed by customer experience. The methodology and the approach will be draw around project management tools which are highlighted in the appendix. This include the; market competition, Scope creep, Product safety Budget over runs and software failure are the probable sources of risk for this particular project. A risk analysis will be undertaken to highlight how various risks can be reduced or eliminated. Contents page Abstract 2 1.0 Background 5 2.0 Overall Aim and Purpose 7 2.1 Broad outline 2.2 scope of the project 3.0 Objectives 8 4.0 Outcomes 9 4.1 measurements of success 4.2 outcomes to be achieved 5.0 Approach and Methodology 10 6.0 Resources 12-13 6.1 Human Resources 6.2 Facilities 6.3 Suppliers 7.0 Risk 13-15 8.0 Recommendations and Conclusion 16 Reference list 17 Appendix 1- Risk Plan 18-19 Appendix 2 – Schedule 21 Appendix 3-Budget plan 22 1.0 Background This project is geared towards building an online customer service that will improve the quality of customer service and also satisfy the tastes of the customers. The development of the new software will transform BigPond Movies; this is because as Burton, (2007) argues, if customer’s needs are well met then the company will attain its objectives. In an interview with the Sydney morning Gerald (2012), one of the customers of BigPond Movies expressed the fact that searching for movies using the T-box is an activity that is very cumbersome. The customer raised complains that the T-box only allows for searching for movies using actor’s name which makes the search difficult. For instance the name Sherlock Holmes is one of the names that is featured on new releases, the search for the abbreviations ‘’sher’’ is quite difficult. This is because the T- box only offers limited movies; only three actors have such a name therefore only three movies can be selected by the customers. According to the customer, the search for movies using the actor search, is actually a hit and miss. BigPond Movies provides a reputable service for downloading movies; the T-box also provides a quality playback for movies. Furthermore the prices offered to customers are cheaper as compared to other companies. However, it is essential to note that creating a great brand online involves providing exceptional services to the customers (Wysocki, 2010). The expectations of the customers or subscribers when they access a site to search for movies include; Ability to get what they want Huge selection Ease of use and convenience Fair price How the new software (the collaborative filter software) in order to ensure that customers can easily access movies; Application of prediction algorithms in order to give users the products they need according to their tastes A customer rating system is made available to get customer preference A software classification is undertaken which monitors the trends for both new and existing customers Data is personalized according to the experiences of customers Customers can now easily access the movies they want. The online software will therefore be beneficial to the company in terms of improving customer search and also meeting their preferences. 2.0 Overall Aim and Purpose 2.1 Broad Outline The project is intended to develop and online software that will assist customers in searching for movies easily. The software is also beneficial because it will assist the company in meeting the preferences of consumers. The final outcome of the new software is to have a website that is easy to access in terms of getting the product that one requires. Also the customer does not have to waste a lot of time searching for moving using the names of the actors they can just log in to their preferential movies and get what they want. 2.2 Scope of the project The overall objective of the project is to enhance the quality of services offered to the customers this will therefore enhance customer satisfaction. The limitation of the project is that the new software will require a lot of monitoring and organization in order to ensure that that project works effectively. This therefore implies that implies that that company will incur additional costs in terms of manpower and web development. The estimated total budge is about $3,000,000. However additional costs such as market research will be incurred as the project progresses. Another limitation of the project is that chances of imitation by other online movie lending business are also higher. The project is however not going to recommend that the prices of the products are increased. The company should just maintain its low prices although the implementing the project will be costly. 3. 0 Objectives The project has three major objectives that are bound to change customer experiences by improving the quality of services offered to customers and also ensuring that they are satisfied. BigPond Movies is also bound to derive huge benefits from the project. One of the major objective of the project is to ensure that the categorization of movies in the companies website is well organized this will therefore ensure that all customers can easily access the movies and TV shows they require. Another objective is that the number of customers will increase. Basically if the company offers reduced prices, its movie downloads are faster and searching for movies and TVs shows in the website becomes easier, then the number of customers is bound to increase. Another objective is that the project will give the company a chance to evaluate how improved technology can assist in improvising the business strategies of a firm and also reinforce its competitive advantage over other firms operating in the same business venture. 4.0. Outcomes The project will enable the organization to improve the quality of services it offers to clients. By the organization undertaking this project it will be using e-commerce to change its business model. 4.1 The measures of Success Include; Quality Time Resources Speed Cost 4.2 The Specific Outcomes that will benefit the organization include; Developing the software is bound to increase BigPond Movies market share by 40%. This is because the number of customers will increase. The company is also bound to gain a competitive advantage since other firms in Australia such as Quickfix have not yet adopted such a system. The image of the company is also bound to increase this is because if customers are satisfies with the services offered and prices are low the company will benefit in terms of image. In the long run profits are bound to increase due to an increase in the customer base. 5.0Approach and Methodology The project work will majorly be undertaken by a substantial professional who is will be in charge of the design and installation of the new software. Other project team members will be required to also be part of every stage of the project especially in the monitoring and evaluation of customer trends. In addition the team members will be required to perform frequent inspections on websites, in order to evaluate if the new system is assisting customers in accessing movies. Work Break down Structure Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Task 1- System Design Task 1- System Development Tasks 3-System Test and Evaluation Task 4- Small Market Research Task 5- Systems Integration Task 6-Monitoring and Control 6.0 Resources The project will require a variety of resources. Human Resources BigPond Movies has varies resources such IT specialists, software engineers, web designers who will contribute to the development and implementation of the new system. In a situation whereby, none of the IT staff in the organization is very well knowledgeable on the design and development of the new software, there is need to outsource a specialist with such skills. 6.2 Facilities The facilities required for software development do exist in the organization. This includes modeling languages, programming languages and the build automation tools. Bigpond as one of the affiliate companies of the largest telecommunication, can easily access facilities for developing the system. The testing of the initial prototype will be undertaken in the computer testing laboratory. If the new software works effectively in terms of improving customer search for movies and the categorization of customer preferences .Bigpond will therefore proceed to undertaking a short market research to evaluate the weather customers can identify the newly developed preferences in the company’s website. In addition the market research will evaluate whether the customers are satisfied with the quality of service derived from the new modifications. The small market research is estimated to cost $40,000. The benefit of undertaking the small market research is that it will ensure risks to the users is reduced and also the new software is of high quality. 6.3 Supplies Most of the supplies for the project exist within the organization, however incase an insufficiency of the supplies will occur them outsourcing of supplies will be undertaken. Risks Risks are always associated to any type of project. In the context of software projects a variety of risk can be experienced within the lifecycle of the project. The occurrence of the risk may have a negative or a positive implication on the project. Griffiths,( 2000) therefore recommends that it is essential manage risks at every stage of the project . In the context of a software project various risks can be identified at different levels of the project. Schedule Risks This occurs occur when the time allocated for the project is wrongly estimated , when the tracking of resources is not done properly, when the expectations of the project scope are not handle effectively and due to the lack of identification of complex functionalities. Budget Risks Budget risks do occur due to the expansion of the project scope, cost overruns and due to incorrect estimation of the budget. Operational Risks: These are risk associated to poor implementation of the process and system failure. Operational risks also occur due to failure to attend to priority conflicts, poor training, limited resources, poor communication among project team members and the inability to solve problems associated to responsibility. Technical risks: These are risks associated to the failure of performance and functionality . Technical risks are caused by; constant change of requirements, unavailability of advanced technology during the initial stage of the project, difficulty to implement the product and difficulty to integrate the modules of the project. Programmatic Risks Programmatic risks can be described as external risks that are usually beyond the limits of operation. They are basically uncertain and outside the programs control. They include aspects like change of customer preferences, government regulations, market development and insufficient funds( Griffiths,2000). In terms of the managing the above stated risks a comprehensive risk checklist should be developed in order to identify the potential risk that occur at every stage of the project. After the identification of the risks, there is need to assess the risk in order to evaluate the probability of reoccurrence of the same risk. Mitigation of the risk is therefore vital in order to lessen the impact of the existing risk. After mitigating the risk control and monitoring is essential in order to discover any sort of change in the risk. A comprehensive risk management plan is attached on the appendix. 9.Recommendation/Conclusion The basic importance of this project is to enhance the quality of customer for BigPond Movies.. This project is therefore intended to develop a software that will transform the search for movies by customers. The development of the software will also categorize customers according to their preferences which will improve customer satisfaction The benefits of this project can be derived from the notion that quality customer service is the foundation for success in business . This is because if customers are satisfied they will definitely be loyal to the company in an\addition the company will get more customers. The strategy applied in this project is to evaluate how technology can assist the company in developing a competitive advantage due to improvement of the quality of customer service. Based on the nature of the project the following recommendations should be reflected on: 1) Market research should be conducted in order to clearly outline the movie and TV show preferences of consumers 2) The Company should hire or outsource a web developer who can handle development of the new software 3) The marketing department should be ready in engaged in frequent monitoring of customer preferences 4) Evaluation of environmental factors especially competitors 5) Meeting the expectation of customers should be effective. References Burton, L, 2007, Quality Customer Service Rekindling the Art of Service to Customers,Lulu.com Griffiths, M, 2000,The Top Five Software Project Risks Martin, W, 2000, Quality customer service: how to win with the customer, Cengage Learning The Sydney morning Gerald,2012, Telstra T-Box: Bigpond Movies comes of age . Wysocki, 2010, Effective Software Project Management, John Wiley &sons. Appendix 1 Risk Plan Appendix 2 Schedule Step People Involved Timelines Step 1 System Designer Project Manager 4th March 2012 Step2 System Designer IT and Engineering Department Project Manager 20th March 2012 Step 3 Marketing Department IT and Engineering Department Project Manger 17th April 2012 Project End 30th June 2012 Appendix 3 Budget plan Expenditure Design $200,000 Testing $300,000 Production $1,800,000 Overheads $300,000 Marketing $800,000 Total $4,400,000 Expected Profit $50,000,000 Read More