Defining Holistic CX Strategy at a Data Infrastructure Organization

The Company

OSIsoft is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of application software for real-time data management. Their product, the PI system, is used by organizations all over the world, across every industry. 

The Problem Space

OSIsoft is not able to deliver a holistic experience across its business and its product. Their inability to do so is preventing their customers from going through a Digital Transformation. 

The Project

A 2-month project to articulate the customer journey more holistically, and identify a strategy and a roadmap toward a future in which customers have a clear and consistent relationship with the organization. Our project would:

• Explore the customer space, to understand the role of real-time data and relationship with OSIsoft in customer’s maturation.

• Lay the foundation for OSIsoft’s own organizational transformation and ensure its ability to act on the customer insights we delivered.

My Role

I was part of a 2-person team that did all of the research, strategy, and client management. 

1. Many different types of individual customers
OSIsoft engaged with customers at many levels, from a field operator to a CEO, thus our personas had to cover users, influencers, and buyers.

2. Individuals act their within the context of their organization
The Customer as an Individual is distinct but influenced by the Customer as an organization.

3. An organization’s needs change based on the locus of its data infrastructure power (IT or Ops). 
An organization’s locus of data infrastructure / PI is a reflection of its goals.  Is PI/data engagement led by Operations as a process improvement tool? Is PI/data engagement led by IT and executives as an integration, standardization, or strategic tool?

4. An organization’s journey through Digital Transformation causes the relationship between IT and Ops to change over time.
Organizations oscillate between cycles of standardization and process improvement in their journey of Digital Transformation and growth. This path affects their engagement with data, PI, and OSIsoft. 

Persona Synthesis

Using a Persona Worksheet I created during our Synthesis process, we were able to determine that personas were differentiated based on:

• Frequency of PI use

• Innovative use of PI

• Personal relationship with OSIsoft

• Influence within their own organization

• Resource Limitations

Using this, we were able to create 7 different personas. 

Organizational Archetype Synthesis

By using the  Organizational Archetype Worksheet I created, we were able to see key patterns amongst customer organizations regarding:

• Industry

• Size

• Business needs being driven by data

• Organizational needs being driven by data

• Fragmentation of PI implementation

• Level of innovation

• Intimacy with OSIsoft

With this exercise, we were able to come up with Organizational Archetypes that depict an organization's goals, pain points, and corresponding personas.

1. Charted Organizational Archetypes

Research Finding

A Customer Organization's needs change based on its Digital Transformation journey and the evolving locus of data infrastructure power between Ops and IT.

Implication

We plotted our organization archetypes on the Margins (Ops) vs. Center (IT/Executive) locus of PI/data infrastructure axis, charting three key elements:

• Current location of relationship with PI/data infrastructure

• Origin of relationship with PI/data infrastructure

• Future trajectories

1. Identify Boundaries of Org Zones and Digital Transformation

Insight

Mapping the organization’s trajectories revealed 7 zones that organizations can operate within.

Insight

Digital Transformation occurs as organizations move through the zones.

Start Points

Ops Initiative - Someone like a plant manager is bringing data infrastructure in for process imporovement

Executive Initiative - An executive seeks to use data for management intelligence. 

Two Stable End States

Flock - An organization's main focus is still optimizing for efficient operational practices throughout the organization through balanced IT and Ops power. 

Empire - An organization's main value of data infrastructure is for larger strategic decisions rather than operational optimization. Standardization and IT consolidation reigns supreme.

We positioned Organizational Archetypes within the Digital Transformation Map, and personas as employees of those organization. This full story help create successful holistic customer experience solutions because now it is easy to consider:

• Where the customer organization is

• Where it is trying to go

• Who to empower within the organization