ppt.gc.ca. In this article, based on my personal experience, I will point out some of the tasks the FTS model helps to solve best and what you should know about the FTS model to help your agency reach its goals. However, it may be one of the most potent benefits for your business. Major lessons learned in the study that could improve FTS from their experience include: It was also observed that hand-offs between different sites were especially difficult in the weekends. Now, what does this look like in action? The various composition features of this PowerPoint image like the design, color, text, etc. @|Q%q_2.gINPQ1Aq!>(ob@d9I8j3.a(fdb@n@8nZk;aza azv(;@ r endstream endobj 129 0 obj <>>>/Metadata 126 0 R/Outlines 108 0 R/PageLayout/SinglePage/Pages 123 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 130 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/Properties<>/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/Tabs/W/Thumb 109 0 R/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 612.0 792.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 131 0 obj [/ICCBased 142 0 R] endobj 132 0 obj <> endobj 133 0 obj <>stream Shifting to a remote-based model streamlined our FTS approach with the ability to provide client services without opening an office location first. Figure 6: Five essentials for applying the FTS model in practice. If a system goes down or a major bug cripples workflows, employee productivity and customer experiences can plummet quickly., More than ever, customers expect instant action and response when they experience a technical problem with a product theyre using. Open Scholars Know How to License Their Work for Maximum Impact<br /> 29. There exist several case and field studies over the years, which resulted in challenges and best practices of FTS. The three teams consist of 2 micro-teams (composite persona [17]), with at least one person from each location. The. As illustrated in Fig. The tools you use should emphasize team collaboration and the automation of reporting, scheduling, planning, and progress tracking. She is a leading digital transformation evangelist for the pharma and life sciences industries. This infrastructure must always be available on demand and accessible. Teams must be able to define what work has been done and what work is expected next in the process. Self-service is often the best place to start when building out global support, but some companies overlook self-service because it feels like there arent enough resources to build out a nice-looking repository of help articles. For some companies, it means providing anytime, anywhere, 24/7/365 supportthe original definition of the follow-the-sun model. A key observation from this study is that even after decade long progress of FTS, its challenges are not overcome yet and it may be relevant to notice that there are no substantial benefits to FTS, thus FTS achievability is an empirical question for which a necessary first step is a consistent definition. Follow-the-sun schedule - The follow-the-sun schedule is used by teams that may work internationally in different time zones, and ensures full 24/7 coverage. It is always noon somewhere, right? hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(53, '12501f7c-8e26-4e3c-9642-7afbe078156a', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); The follow the sun customer support model is designed to address customer needs without regard to geographic location or current time. In Global Software Engineering (ICGSE), 2010 5th IEEE International Conference on, pages 165174. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They meet their global support goals with these two teams working together, giving them 18 hours a day of coverage without having to staff up aggressively. A typical ITSM process can involve something as simple as an employee asking for a new laptop. However, since we are talking about the FTS model, we already imply that our teams are most likely disproportionate and may need to be more interchangeable regarding specific tasks. Pearson Education India, 1995. The ability of project management tools to integrate with development tools can help reduce the duration of project cycles in FTS. [13] Alex Cameron. Regardless of where the bulk of customers are located, if you know that youre receiving a lot of tickets outside of your standard support hours, then its time to start thinking about a rotational support model. What in the world is the "Follow-the-Sun" support model? Federal Republic of Germany, 2017. This can be achieved in a variety of ways. Your team needs to deploy a brand-new, process-defining software to all the computers and devices on your companys networks. 0000064464 00000 n 128 0 obj <> endobj xref 128 43 0000000016 00000 n Research in Follow-the-Sun software development has been done since 1990. 0000065768 00000 n ppt.gc.ca. They do it by starting a team in Colorado at 8am (MST). HubSpot uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. Why 2023 Gold House A100 List Has Starbucks CEO But No Michelle Yeoh, Parent PowerED: Parents Powering Solutions In Education, Conversations Across Generations: Shawn Dove And Peter Storey, Empowering Young Adults Through Tech With Sandee Kastrul Of i.c. It is quite possible that hundreds of software developers and testers can be working on a project in cycles. Stars, 16 Agency Leaders Explore The SEO Trends Impacting Their Work In 2023, 15 Smart Ways To Address High Employee Turnover, How Vietnam's Entertainment Industry Can Increase Its Global Reach, 6 Best Practices For CEOs And Professional Leaders Using LinkedIn. IEEE, 2014. [18] Josiane Kroll, Rafael Prikladnicki, Jorge LN Audy, Erran Carmel, and JudeFernandez. 0000002691 00000 n Beside this benefit, there are also other advantages as well which can be found on Fig. Are you using a tool that makes it easy to scale, and to quickly hand off support tickets? Another culture would not offer their help unless they were asked while the third considered that presenting the problem was a sufficient invitation for willing team members to jump in and help. IBM in 1990s was probably one of the first companies to record the implementation of FTS in its software development teams globally [1]. follow the sun workflow in global software development. User interface data decision support system model with arrows and icons. 0000065007 00000 n Essentially, it's 24/7 support, no matter where the sun is up, without needing any customer service department to work late shifts. Heavy overload still improves the efficiency by just 12% but it is not an effective long term strategy due to employee burnout. There are numerous advantages if the FTS implementation is successful which are reduced time-to-market, reduced software costs, increased international relationships leading to better diversity among companies, etc. Unpublished EDS working paper, 2004. Implementing follow the sun methods in your global organization can be challenging. That being said, we have a few tips for you if you decide to implement this model: Now, before you jump into a follow the sun customer support model, let's determine if it's necessary for your company. After considering your demographics and volume, could you make up some of the support volume by using a mobile app? Because of these reasons FTS is best suited for Agile. culture and language). Slide 1 of 5. December 20, 2021. Organization . Start off by asking key questions. Their teams are based in Honduras, Romania and the Philippines. 0000015792 00000 n In order to understand and use FTS, some key principles on which FTS is based are mentioned in this section. One of the important concepts evolved in the past decade or so is the " Follow the sun " (FTS) software development. To visualize, we created the diagram below: Global customer support might not be necessary for every company, but it's important to begin using a global customer service model if you have international customers who are submitting tickets while you're asleep. The purpose of this article was to present a comprehensive study on the FTS model for software development. Most agile practices emphasize face-to-face communication. Many factors influence the need to develop the products quickly such as avoiding contract creep, schedule slippages, budget overruns and other managerial reasons. Where are our customers primarily located? In theory, FTS can increase time to market by approximately 60%, which seems attractive. It is defined as the percentage of all of the calendar time (e.g., 24 * 7 = 168 hours available per week) that is used productively for work, so, a 40-hour workweek utilizes 23.8 percent of the calendar workweek, showing that there is a lot of room for calendar efficiency improvement. Try another search, and we'll give it our best shot. If you plan well and start slowly to see what works and what doesnt, you can more easily scale your efforts and ramp up services until you meet your goals and satisfy customer expectations. [10] Eoin Conchir, Helena Holmstrom Olsson, Par J Agerfalk, and Brian Fitzgerald. Carmel [6] argues that only the nature of some phases of the development cycle such as testing are well suited for FTS. Follow the sun: distributed extreme programming development. 0000003713 00000 n They also divide their support to cater to two groups of customers: participants (employees at companies) and client administrators (HR teams administering equity and compensation). Adopting a follow the sun support methodology can help you provide high-quality, on-time service and support when your internal and external customers need you.. Follow the sun is also used in software, technology, and other sectors as a customer service model. Based on the discussions in the Principles of FTS section which explains the minimum criteria for a work flow to be considered as a FTS approach, the following do not fit in this category [1]: Agile software development practice consists of a set of principles which advocate continuous improvement, adaptive planning, early delivery and flexibility in responding to change. Cloud support model with customer responsibility. By checking this box, I agree to Zendesk contacting me with marketing-related communications about Zendesk products, services, and events. The iteration period lasts for a short time period (between two to four weeks). It must also ensure that all the required information and reports to continue the work are visible and easily accessible. In addition, there is research about location selection and the effect of the number of selected locations. Companies large and small are able to provide 24-hour service without putting the burden on one site and requiring employees to work late shifts or overtime. In traditional software development, global teams are less dependent on one another and usually do not pass on the work (hand-off). Since the teams may have different tasks, it is important to ensure that each team has a common understanding of goals, methods and company policies. 0000063228 00000 n The FTS approach is based on the principle of handing-off unfinished work to the next location at the end of work day. 5 are applied in practice. on, pages 185194. ). working only during daylight hours. They meet their global support goals by working together, providing a combined 18 hours a day of coverage. Others, such as Gupta [5], also make similar observations and propose that FTS is very well suited to support core agile practices. The specifics of this model require team managers to have constant control over the workflow because delays may result in the poor coordination of teams. Then, use a calendar to map out how many employees will work each shift in each time zone and how many hours are worked each week all together. Learn how to use a follow the sun model for your IT and cloud teams. This is very important especially for industries whose products become outdated in a very short time (e.g. But other companies may determine that they can meet their global support needs with other tactics. Project handoffs are done on a daily basis at the end of each shift. Proceedings, pages 218{224. Please select this checkbox if you do not wish to receive marketing communications from Zendesk. A customer service platform with mobile access might allow you to stagger your shifts between home and work, and to cover different time zones, without having to hire a remote representative. Each production site works during the day as a subteam and it needs within-site coordination. But not every industry really requires that. That's why as the assets are transferred to the next team, you need to ensure that detailed workflow documentation and technical tasks do not require further clarification. Employees hand off work at the end of each shift to the next site that is beginning a new shift several time zones to the west. These difficulties prove that a systematic approach is needed in achieving a quick time-to-market strategy, which in turn leads to the Follow the Sun software development scheme. Sorry something went wrong, try again later? Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. 0000010855 00000 n Stand-up meetings: Hold stand-up meetings right when shifts are switching from one site to another, so your employees can give the new reps an overview of what's happened, and any outstanding issues that need to be addressed. One key benefit of a follow the sun model is high uptime. 0000063342 00000 n 0000068561 00000 n This is a BETA experience. Handing off work from site to site balances the workload and makes it easier for you to offer consistent levels of service at all times. F @_|Ln VY*ay Te2`nf [14] Josiane Kroll, Sajid Ibrahim Hashmi, Ita Richardson, and Jorge LN Audy. IBM Software Group IBM Software Group Rational software Click to edit Track Number on Title Master Reducing Time to Market Using Follow-the-Sun Techniques Alex Cameron EDS Alex.Cameron@eds.com. Your global customers will appreciate that bugs and other issues can be resolved quickly and that they dont have to wait for a team in a different time zone to fix the problem. Software developmentusing the 24-hour knowledge factory paradigm. With rising customer expectations around better service in todays macroeconomic environment, its important to lean on customer education programs to boost agent knowledge and productivityand to help your business retain customers. Finally, communication is a key component for successful follow the sun implementation. Theres no reason to leap forward with global support if most of your customers are in only one or two regions. The constant workflow increases response time and reduces time to market. Ultimately, this means better customer service and improved customer experiences. PowToon is a free . To get a proper picture of the background on FTS, there is a need to understand a development pace and its associated concept of time to market, which are the main drivers of the development of FTS. IEEE, 2009. Managing and continuing recruiting and growing regionally helped implement the FTS model for all departments and reinforced the ability to provide top-notch customer service. mobile handsets, firmware, e-commerce systems, and innovative supply chain management). Typical challenges such as coordination, communication and culture differences presents a bigger challenge to FTS than GSD, as FTS involves daily hand-offs. Formal systems such as discussion forums or internal Wiki sites may prove to be useful. The follow the sun model is a service and support method that is designed to address and satisfy customer needs without regard to geographic location or current time. We've got a true, "follow the sun" model, allowing access to support engineers [.] Keeps Support and the business informed so IC can focus on resolution. Document what has been accomplished so each site can avoid repeating work. -- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/ . You most likely wont need to open multiple offices, especially at first, but perhaps a small remote office or a representative located remotely in a key area or time zone may satisfy your customers needs. [3] Frederick P Brooks Jr. 2006. It is interesting to note that there have been very few documented cases of successful FTS application in the software industry. Managing international teams may be a challenge. Sign-up and get customer insights, trends, and more in your inbox. Additionally, you won't have to hire any customer service reps to work a night shift -- meaning you'll have happier employees who are working reasonable hours. When youve got teams working round the clock, your troubleshooting efforts become more efficient. CNSC released the formal follow-up report to Sun Media, with the un . Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. 0000007912 00000 n There is also research that studied the impact of the number of sites on working speed and accuracy in Follow-the-Sun software development [9]. The follow the sun model is certainly not a new concept - nor is it unique to corporate travel management or the travel industry. Believe it or not, the Covid-19 pandemic certainly influenced the decision to bring this powerful idea to life with local client support branches and personnel on every continent. Following the sun: Case studies in global software development. IBM Systems Journal 45.4 (2006): 773-783. time zone difference and hand offs management), communication and culture. [12] Miguel Jimnez, Mario Piattini, and Aurora Vizcano. These questions will help you determine if you have enough tickets coming in from each area in the world and if it's a standard practice to offer 24/7 support. trailer <]/Prev 478482>> startxref 0 %%EOF 170 0 obj <>stream Bugs and production problems are almost a certainty, this means companies need to organise resources and build capability to . 0000069194 00000 n Several workflows seem to be using the FTS model, but in reality this is not always the case. IEEE, 2007. I am talking about the follow-the-sun model, or FTS for short. Initial handoffs mainly consisted of daily work summaries, which were later augmented by knowledge transfer activities. Some companies go with the more traditional application of follow the sun: which means providing anytime, anywhere, 24/7/365 support. Modes of communication in FTS approach may be asynchronous or synchronous. The traditional "follow the sun" model is a type of global workflow in which issues can be handled by and passed between offices in different time zones, increasing responsiveness and reducing delays. We showed that there are three main research themes, namely challenges and best practices, location selection and hand-offs management. Its a great way to optimize your support. This is a highly collaborative, communicative approach to customer service, and it's a delicate line to balance. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. We have underlined some of the essential concepts of FTS such as use of Agile for FTS, tools required and learnings from past experiences for the efficient implementation of FTS. However, manually building the documentation from scratch could be a daysor even weekslong processan unnecessary burden when youre trying to implement a new model., We can help you visualize your cloud infrastructure in just a few seconds. Another documented case of FTS application was by Infosys [20] in 2005 where FTS was applied to small subsets of the project cycle. You will want to standardize on the technology and tools you use to support your agile methodologies and implement, monitor, revise, and manage your follow the sun model. 42nd Hawaii International Conference on. Note that it will only suit some business models. Because it is always daytime somewhere in the world, you need a way to support customers around the globe no matter what time zone they are in and without too much delay. As described by Carmel [1], the agile methodology is best suited for FTS. Research concluded that nine aspects of management are important for improving hand-offs efficiency [16]: improving communication quality, ensure knowledge transfer between team members and production sites, management of hand-offs information, developing teams trust before and along the project, ensure compliance of deadlines, establishing time rules, providing proper technology and tools, delegating responsibility and coordination of task allocation. Here are some major challenges that management should anticipate: FTS is much more complex than the shift method since the teams working on the project are normally disproportionate. If youre using a customer service platform with great analytics, youll be able to make data-driven decisions about the right time to expand globally. 0000005432 00000 n Several reasons such as misinterpretation of specifications, multiple rework cycles, lack of proper coordination and communication between teams, time zone issues and cultural differences were attributed to the projects failure. Well explain how to calculate and reduce turnover in your organization. A part of this may be attributed to the availability of efficient tools and enabling technologies for implementing the FTS model. 0000067800 00000 n It was developed so companies can provide round-the-clock customer service, literally following the sun around the globe. Though the teams faced initial setbacks due to cultural differences and technical glitches, by re-orienting their thinking they could successfully implement agile practices across all locations on a single working codebase. Within the FTS approach, one of the teams always plays a leading role, being responsible for strategic planning, quality assessment and much more. In Global Software Engineering Workshops (ICGSEW), 2013 IEEE 8th International Conference on, pages 1823. To help decide whats best for you, your team, and your customers, ask the following questions: When youre small, youre actively jumping to meet the needs of customers. And customers in one location do not get preferential or more support than any other location. Project collaboration becomes immensely easier when the status of each task (and the progress made on the task) is clearly documented. Two case studies reported on the application of FTS in software development is elaborated below. Mechanisms for transferring work in progress to the next site is the core idea of FTS. Agile methodologies fit well with follow the sun models because all work is completed within set iteration cycles. Handoffs management in follow-the-sun software projects: a case study. 0000009498 00000 n As a result, the benefits of FTS tend to be concentrated around isolated phases rather than having an overall impact on the development cycle. 0000065082 00000 n Adding more man power to the project is not of much interest in software development, because of the wisdom gained long ago from the seminal Brooks law adding manpower to a late software project makes it later [3]. It is commonly used and regarded as the "gold standard" in the field of presentation applications. Software tools used for actual FTS implementation must include both managerial and technical aspects, to adapt to the changing requirements of the software development process. If youre a small company looking to provide global support, consider what steps you can take now to achieve your longer-term support goals. 2. There are claims that FTS is being used at General Motors and at OfficeTiger [4] [5]. If your business proceeds with follow the sun, managers should do their best to schedule meetings when its most convenient for both locations, and IT should adopt video conferencing and cloud-based solutions for everyone to work together. The Follow the Sun model allows brands to spread customer support over multiple time zones, which provides the necessary support that customers might need at odd hours of the night, or if they themselves are living in a different time zone. The follow the sun model is based on the following principles: When a follow the sun method is implemented correctly, it will reap the following advantages for you and your business. The focus is on using automated tools which simplify the repetitive tasks. These are reactive in nature. Free and premium plans. The most popular online Visio alternative, Lucidchart is utilized in over 180 countries by millions of users, from sales managers mapping out target organizations to IT directors visualizing their network infrastructure. Lucidchart is the intelligent diagramming application that empowers teams to clarify complexity, align their insights, and build the futurefaster. Your plan needs to include specific roles, processes, and training necessary to meet customer expectations. Improving global software development project performance using simulation. Start small so that you dont overpromise what you can actually deliver. 0000006358 00000 n Since these aspects above are reported to increase efficiency, it was also concluded that when these aspects are taken into account the duration of the project is reduced. At the same time, I can attest that it takes considerable investment, time and human resources. Presenting support model PPT slide template. Understand and optimize your cloud infrastructure today with Lucidscale. Follow the Sun is a support model which works best for service desks that work around the clock, i.e 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. A feasibility study of follow-the-sun software development for gsd projects. They are required to fill in a request form through a portal. A handoff from one site to the other can be occasionally empty due to public holidays or emergencies. This theme is specifically for location selection and the impact of it. In California, teams start in waves at 7am, 8am, and 9am (PST). uyLY@= 2013. Its also important to have daily stand-up meetings. Zuora also employs a daily handoff model, in which open and pending matters are passed along to the next team when one goes off duty. It can also be achieved in a variety of ways. Figure 2: Calendar Efficiency in different Working Modes [1]. 0000016106 00000 n Are the majority simple, transactional issues like password changes and processing returns, or are they more complex technical issues requiring more resources? This facilitates easy job hand-offs and fits nicely within the FTS model. Stats around ticket volume by time of day will be your new best friend. By submitting my personal information, I consent to Zendesk collecting, processing, and storing my information in accordance with the, By submitting my personal data, I consent to Zendesk collecting, processing, and storing my information in accordance with the, The value of agent education and training during economic slowdowns, What is employee turnover? The model you choose, develop, and refine should be the one that works best for you and your customers. Let's review the diagram below. Having multiple subteams on deck to keep a project moving along 24 hours a day empowers your entire IT department to set realistic short-term deadlines, avoid working overtime, and complete roadmaps more efficiently., Think about what your IT team is really trying to accomplish on your roadmap for the next year. To this end, the FTS research needs to be done comprehensively, so that companies start adopting it in real-time projects. The term calendar efficiency helps in understanding the analysis further. In addition, team members in the Beijing office start at 7am, 9am, 1pm, and 2pm CST (China Standard Time). In the gaming and retail industries, for example, 24/7/365 support might be pretty standard. No one prepared us for the pandemic, but it changed the world and how we look at work tremendously. A systematic literature review of best practices and challenges in follow-the-sun software development. However, FTS is not. This process could take weeks if only one team in one time zone is working on the project. For example, another Zendesk customer, Prezi, has teams in two locationsone in San Francisco and one in Budapest. The efficiency of the number of hours per day spent on actual development is much higher in the FTS model when compared with traditional software development [1]. Free and premium plans, Content management software. Read world-renowned marketing content to help grow your audience, Read best practices and examples of how to sell smarter, Read expert tips on how to build a customer-first organization, Read tips and tutorials on how to build better websites, Get the latest business and tech news in five minutes or less, Learn everything you need to know about HubSpot and our products, Stay on top of the latest marketing trends and tips, Join us as we brainstorm new business ideas based on current market trends. Although this seems like such an intuitive idea to work with, it is not practiced widely, misunderstood often and has had few documented industry success cases. There is only one site that owns the product at any point in time. Figure 1: Follow the Sun approach follows a 24h task hand-off based approach to software development. And due to these restraints, teams may have a tough time truly collaborating. Prashanth G.L, Santosh Malagi, Laurens Van Den Bercken, Ade Setyawan Sajim and Bernd Kreynen are the authors of this blog. The implementation of FTS, if not practiced correctly, may result in failures and projects going over budget [10].
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