PGE
Web Case Study
The
web is an incredible opportunity for PGE to dramatically reduce
calls to the call center.
PGE's
web site has won numerous awards (Oregon Columbia International
Association of Business Communicators, Award of Excellence and Energy
E-Comm, Ranked 3rd of 100 top electric utility web sites) and is
considered best-in-class (E-Source, June 2002). This is no accident.
PGE used a number of usability techniques throughout the lifecycle
for each web project including structured interviews, card sorts,
heuristic reviews, and usability tests. Additionally, PGE has developed
style guides that contain specific rules and guidelines for effective
web site design.
PGE
is constantly improving and testing their web site. By performing
routine usability tests they have established benchmarks for key
tasks. For example, in testing the web redesign with customers,
average task times were 30% faster:
| Task |
Jan
2000 |
Nov
2001 |
| Start
Service |
13:11 |
9:04 |
| Account
Balance |
9:33 |
3:17 |
| PowerCheck
Enroll |
2:48 |
3:06 |
| Select
Pay Plans |
2:28 |
2:17 |
| Update
Acct Info |
3:15
|
2:22 |
| Stop
Service |
2:04 |
2:43 |
| Reserve
Campsite |
8:41 |
6:54 |
| Total |
42:00 |
29:44 |
Task
time comparison (web vs. call center). In many cases, average task
times are faster on the web than by calling in and have a higher
availability (24 X7).
| Task |
By
Phone* |
On
the Web |
| Stop
Service |
3:00 |
2:04 |
| Account
Balance |
4:11 |
3:17 |
| Select
Pay Plan |
2:26 |
2:17 |
| Update
Acct Info |
2:01 |
2:22 |
*Phone
average times do not include time spent on hold.
©2002 Usability Concepts, LLC
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