As call centers become more sophisticated and require higher-powered
tools to exist on a day-to-day basis, developers are creating call and
customer tracking software packages to handle tasks that become more complicated.
Companies that develop these packages are aware of the current needs and
are integrating new services and features in their products, including
Web access and e-mail notification.
ServiceWise 1.1 by TechExcel is an integrated customer and incident tracking
software package for technical support groups. ServiceWise includes incident
tracking, customer management, knowledge management and e-mail notification
and reporting in one package. ServiceWise is easy to use and administer,
and has a large list of features needed for IT departments to remain current
and competitive.
Installation
We installed ServiceWise Server on our NT Server, and the client
software on a Windows 98 PC. Both were high-end models with large hard
drives and enough RAM to choke a horse. These PCs were put on the TMC
Labs network, which includes many other nodes, along with a Microsoft
Exchange Server.
As is usual, the software was an easy install off a CD-ROM. On both
PCs, we reformatted the hard drives and installed a new operating system
before installing ServieWise to avoid any legacy software that might interfere
with our testing. On the NT Server, we were required to install NT Service
Pack 4 and Microsoft IIS, which was required for the Web module of the
product. After rebooting, we installed two other NT-required components,
Microsoft Explorer Service Pack 1 and Microsoft Data Access Component
Service Pack 1.
After our operating system software installations, we installed the
ServiceWise 1.1 on our PCs. We in-stalled the server software first, on
the NT Box, and ran through the standard wizard. The only choice we encountered
during the install was the database we wanted to go with. Our choices
were MS Access, Sybase SQL Anywhere or Other Database. We chose MS Access
and proceeded with the install.
After completing the installation, we had a small problem (documented
below in the �Room For Improvement� section) because the files for the
application did not show up in the Program submenu under the Windows Start
menu. A quick call to technical support solved this problem (by opening
the program with Windows NT Explorer). Then we launched the program to
begin the testing phase.
In order to use some of the advanced features, we installed two optional
modules � ServiceWise Web and ServiceWise Mail Server Installation � on
the server. These are separate installs from the client/server software,
and are radio buttons on the main install window. This means that to install
all three components on the server, there has to be three installs and
three reboots. (See the �Room for Improvement� section below.)
Documentation
As is the trend in documentation lately, there are two sources of documentation
for TechExcel�s ServiceWise � the electronic copy and the hard copy. In
the past, the online help files were far different from the printed material
and were generally less helpful. Now, complete documentation is on the
installer CD-ROM (and on the hard drive once the program is installed)
and also available in hard-copy form.
The online help files are very good. They are typical Windows help files,
complete with a very good index, and have the bookmark, annotate and all
the other standard options of Windows help files format. There are enough
graphics to help, and the text is unclouded and easy to follow.
There are two hard-copy manuals � a Users� Guide and the Administrator�s
Guide. The User�s Guide is the larger of the two, over 350 pages, while
the Administrator�s Guide is much shorter, about 100 pages. Both are excellent,
very thorough with well-organized topics, examples and ample illustrations.
One strike against the User�s Guide is that each section has its own table
of contents, rather than a master table of contents at the front of the
book. This prevents a user from being able to look up a topic in a hurry.
(This strange occurrence is limited to the User�s Guide � the Administrator�s
Guide has a standard table of contents in the front.) Another minor problem
is that neither book contains an index in the back. Other than these small
complaints, the hard-copy documentation for ServiceWise is above average.
Features
ServiceWise is a fairly complicated customer and incident tracking
software product. Because of the high level of sophistication, the product
is feature-rich. These features include:
- Incident tracking and management, with definable workflow and knowledge
base management.
- Customer and sales access to incident submission, modification, status
checking and knowledge base searching via the Web.
- Interactive Web conversations be-tween customers and the sales and
support team.
- Automatic e-mail notifications for any support team member or customer
when selected events occur, based on detailed customizable criteria.
- Easy reassignment of incidents to other support team members, and
escalation to higher-level support staff, development or management.
- Supports Netscape Navigator 3.01 and above and Internet Explorer
4.0 and above for Web interaction.
The ServiceWise database server supports several types of databases:
MS SQL, Sybase, Oracle and any ODBC-compliant database server.
Operational Testing
We launched ServiceWise and logged in. The GUI is cleanly laid out, uncluttered
and easy to navigate. All of the views (except for the Report View) have
several fields, which are laid out nicely and make it easy to see exactly
where you are in the project. (See Figure 1). There are several items
to consider when starting a new project: The title of the project, who
it is assigned to, status of the incident (whether it�s open, closed,
in progress or several other options), products involved, problem area,
which database it is connected to, and many other variables.
We tested all the parts of ServiceWise and all the affiliated modules.
Since there are several parts to the product, we went through them one
at a time.
- Customer And Contact Management
We created a new customer record for our test. This was an easy,
data-entry-type task, with no hidden surprises or problems. The difficulty
level was about equal to entering data in a well-created flat-file
database, such as Filemaker Pro. After we created our new customer
and filled out the required fields, we assigned a salesperson and
engineer to the customer, after creating accounts for these users.
We then created incidents and service calls for the customer. Working
in ServiceWise is easy and extremely intuitive. A user well versed
in data entry would have no trouble dealing with ServiceWise.
- ServiceWise Knowledge Builder
ServiceWise gives users the opportunity to build a knowledge base
of existing documents, HTML links and knowledge topics from previously
solved cases. We created some knowledge topics and made some links
to other documents, cases and a few Web sites. To get up to speed
on this module of the program, we had to read the Knowledge View section
of the documentation. This was somewhat easy once we knew what we
were doing, but wasn�t nearly as intuitive as the earlier parts of
the program, and was more complicated than data entry and a few file
menu commands.
Once we had entered a few topics, made links and tested them, we
realized how potentially powerful this part of ServiceWise is. As
organizations and help desks become more and more complex, this Knowledge
Base will be more useful, as the same problems occur over and over
again within IT organizations.
- ServiceWise Reporting
Reports can be generated based on customer and incident, and the
software provides the ability to sort reports in many different
ways. We did several reports on specific clients, on all clients
and by support team representation. The format was good, and we
were able to easily use the graphs that gave the distribution by
status. However, we were not able to export the file or perform
a �save as� and possibly export it into a spreadsheet or desktop
publishing program. We were able to perform a copy using the file
menu � for some strange reason the Ctrl+C feature didn�t work on
the keyboard, although Ctrl+V worked in pasting the graph into a
new document. We had the option of bar graphs or pie charts on some
of the charts, and bar chart, stacked bar chart or line chart on
others. It was a better-than-average reporting function and was
easy to use.
In addition, there is also an Incident List report view, which
gives a text summary of the incidents entered in ServiceWise. This
has the ability to be produced in several ways, including by incident
ID, customer, current owner and problem area.
- Incident Tracking And Communication
We configured the ServiceWise Automatic Email Notification module,
which was a separate install. The feature creates and sends an e-mail
to any support team member, salesperson, manager or customer whenever
any new incidents, status changes, customers requests, etc., arise.
ServiceWise supports SMTP and POP3 protocols.
Configuring the Automatic Email Notification module was no more
difficult than setting up an e-mail account in any standard package,
such as Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes. This is something an experienced
administrator can handle, but more than the average user should be
asked to do. The e-mail can be triggered by several events, including
incident submission, the change of status of an incident, a customer
request, among others. These messages can be delivered to a number
of different groups, including the Customer Contacts Group and the
Primary Support Engineer Group.
- The Internet/Intranet Module (ServiceWise Web)
ServiceWise allows customers and support teams off-site to submit
new incidents, check the status of open cases, search the knowledge
base for solutions and more. As with Automatic Email Notification,
this is a separate install. (See the installation section for more
details.)
This module shares the same common database as the client/server
modules, therefore guaranteeing that there will always be complete
synchronization.
We logged on to the ServiceWise Web Server, both as a customer
and a service support team member and tested the Internet module.
Both instances were slightly different than working in ServiceWise
as a client, but the basic principles remained the same. The navigation
is not quite as intuitive as the client version, but it�s not difficult
to maneuver from within each screen.
There are security issues to configure beforehand with this module.
In the Web for Support Teams, there are four different access levels,
each with slightly different privileges. The Web fo Customers has
one level and, of course, the options for the customers are somewhat
limited, but they are still able to submit incidents, search the
knowledge base and engage in interactive Web chats with support
personnel.
All of our testing of the product, creating new customers and working
with the different views and modules of ServiceWise, revealed a solid
product, with no problems encountered during our tests. The data entry
and navigating the product is simple, and the configuration and creation/deletion
of accounts is slightly harder. The reporting portion of the ServiceWise
was excellent, with one minor exception (see below).
Room For Improvement
A large problem in installing ServiceWise is that the application icons
don�t show up in Program Files under the Start Menu. After installing
the software on both the NT box and the Windows 98 PC, the only files
that showed up in the submenu were Choose a DB server, Importing, Readme
Client and Readme Server. These are all text documents, and no files are
presented to launch the application. This is unclear and might confuse
an inexperienced user. To launch the software (or access the documentation),
we had to use Windows Explorer, an extra step we were not expecting. This
is definitely a process that can be improved upon and simplified.
Another minor problem occurred during the install of ServiceWise. There
is no differentiation between the server and the client install. We had
to confer with TechExcel�s technical support department, who fixed the
problem within seconds and really helped with this issue. Also, when we
opted to install all three modules of the software (ServiceWise Client/Server,
ServiceWise Web and ServiceWise Mail Server Installation) on our NT Server,
we had to perform three separate installs and three separate reboots.
There are no �Room for Improvement� issues in the GUI, data entry or
format of the product. All of our tests and entry resulted in excellent
outcome, and there were no problems with any of the customer or incident
files we created, modified or deleted. Our one issue related to the GUI
was in the reporting section. There is a choice between several standard
graph styles, bar charts, pie charts and line charts. However, these graphs
cannot be exported or saved as any type of format, as a graphic for use
in a company presentation or document. They can only be copied using the
copy icon on the bottom menu bar of the chart or using the standard menu
controls with the mouse. (The keyboard commands didn�t work, as explained
above.)
Finally, the minor issues regarding the hard copy documentation should
be mentioned here. Neither manual contains an index, and the User�s Guide
does not have a master table of contents in the front of the book. Instead,
each of the five sections has its own table of contents, which makes it
difficult to find a topic in a hurry.
Conclusion
TechExcel�s ServiceWise is a better-than-average product, fairly easy
to use and has an uncomplicated GUI. Overall, ServiceWise is an excellent
call center software package, giving the user everything needed for a
sophisticated customer and incident tracking software. Despite a few minor
setbacks encountered during our installation and testing phases, we found
ServiceWise to be a solid player in the integrated customer and tracking
software field, and award it our Editors� Choice Award.
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