ConvergeOne’s WAVES Methodology for Collaboration

At ConvergeOne, WAVES is our proprietary Methodology that guides each and every one of our collaboration engagements. WAVES is an acronym, with each letter representing a specific phase of the methodology. Each phase provides a specific contribution to the final outcome, which is a recommended solution that is tailored to the customer’s business and technology needs. The WAVES phases, which must be executed in order, are:

• Workshop: identifies potential VALUE
• Assessment: substantiates BENEFITS and who will receive them
• Validation: confirms short-, medium-, and long-term RESULTS
• Enterprise (Architecture): commits the technical and business PLAN
• Solution: ASSURES the stated goals in terms of:
• Enterprise objectives
• Business metrics
• Utility and asset investments (costs)

The Customer Experience (CX) and Unified Communication (UC) version of the WAVES Methodology has adopted some specific naming conventions and processes to assure usability and applicability across multiple customer situations. For CX and UC, each phase consists of:

• ACTIVITIES: Every Activity has three major components
• OBJECTIVE: establishing the specific outcome to result from the Activity,
• TASKS: defining the actual work to be executed,
• DELIVERABLES: concrete, tangible work product(s) resulting from the tasks.

The CX and UC version of the methodology uses a discrete set of tools. The tools facilitate all aspects of our work and assure a product that is consistent across customer engagements, including:

• Process and the execution of the methodology’s Activities, Tasks, and Deliverables.
• Structure, look, feel, and format for all work and work product.

Let’s take a closer look at each phase and why they are important to businesses looking to adopt new collaboration technologies (and their management teams, in particular).

Workshop

The Workshop helps management determine if they are getting the appropriate benefits from their existing solution and identifies areas of opportunity to improve or expand capability and services.

For our CX and UC Workshops, we use a proprietary modeling tool developed by ConvergeOne. The tool enables management – representing IT/Telecom, Contact Center, and the business – to determine the value and benefit that the telecommunication infrastructure can offer to their operations. The model provides the option for the clients to consider either an Outside-In or Inside-Out view of their needs and opportunities.

• Inside-Out is appropriate for customers who are looking to improve their internal operational efficiency, productivity, or effectiveness while also possibly reducing costs.
• Outside-In is appropriate for customers who are looking to supply service in the manner that is most desired by their customers. This is often the first step toward understanding the customer journey and the development of their Customer Engagement capabilities.

Assessment

Assessment provides insight into the challenges the business user, call/contact center, and IT are experiencing. It reveals the unique – and common – issues and challenges that are being experienced across the different business units (e.g., Lines of Business (LOBs), operating companies, etc.).

Assessment provides business management the ability to understand the results they should expect with respect to the practical application of various technical, function, and operational capabilities.

The work results in a Current State/Impact Report, which establishes the Current State in the business’s voice. It states impact in terms relative to the customer’s desired capability and functionality, answering questions such as:

• “What do we need?”
• “Who needs it?”
• “What is the result of (not) providing it?”

Validation

Validation confirms and assures management’s buy-in of the need and capabilities required to solve their challenges. It confirms the accuracy of their expectations.

An Opportunity Guide is developed, enabling non-technical management to understand the relevance of technical capabilities via use cases. It also enables IT/Telecom management to quickly associate practical business needs with specific features and functions.

A Business Benefit Matrix is developed, providing explanations of the key LOB or department challenges, impacts, and recommended fixes. Benefits are stated in terms relative to the business and contact center (e.g., lower staffing costs, customer retention, cost per call, and increased revenue per order).

Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise Architecture proves “do-ability” to the management team.

It defines a clear path for the evolution from the existing state to the future state, utilizing guidelines that reflect the enterprise’s current foundation, projected expansion (or shrinkage), and expectations of the business, as well as technical resources (e.g., physical data center, staffing, in-house/external resources).

The recommended path includes:

• Architectural modeling and evaluation of the benefits and risks
• Recommendation of the single architecture that best fits the customer’s needs
• An outline of the necessary implementation phases to complement the customer’s business plans

Solution

The Solution provides management with the Total Value Equation (TVE), which is the framework for substantiating the value of the full solution over a well-defined time period (e.g. 60 months).

The TVE provides necessary business case data regarding:

• Direct Cost, with a comparison of today’s cost to an estimate of the future-state cost over an extended time period (e.g., 60 months).
• Savings or additional cost in real dollars.
• Business impact measurable in terms such as productivity, efficiency, or growth.
• Strategic value in terms such as scalability, competitiveness, or time to market.

Substantiation via a ConvergeOne Solution Architect and Design Engineer expertise with:

• Detailed designs demonstrating practicality and function.
• ConvergeOne and supplier product offerings as appropriate.
• Implementation project plans assuring execution.
• Support and training.
• Accurate pricing.

Each phase of the WAVES Methodology builds upon the preceding phase and contributes information important to the customer’s management team so they can fully understand and adopt a recommended solution. With the WAVES Methodology, customers can evaluate their investments holistically and prioritize accordingly – all while receiving critical insights that will allow them to make better business decisions.

DIVE DEEPER WITH A WAVES WORKSHOP

With ConvergeOne’s structured workshops, we take the time to identify the information we need to collect and assess to determine the most impactful items for your organization, make the right recommendations, and share them with you in a clear and concise, business-friendly report. Register today for a workshop to get started on the path to true digital transformation.