Study Notes on Waste Services Group Case Management System Development

Project Overview

  • The project involves the development of a case management system for Waste Services Group (WSG), a significant waste management organization in Australia.
  • The key objective is to ensure the effective management of waste service accounts and customer interactions.

Understanding of the Processes

  • Mukesh has gone through the discussed processes and has gained insights into the project operations.

Key Entities in the System

  1. Accounts
    • Managing organizations or businesses that utilize WSG’s services.
    • These accounts may have details about contracts for waste collection services.
  2. Contacts
    • Individuals working for each account, allowing customer service interactions to be personalized and effective.
  3. Services
    • Represents the specific waste management services provided to each account (e.g., bin size, type, and frequency of pickups).
  4. Schedule
    • Indicates the frequency and specific days on which services like trash pickups are scheduled.
  5. Bookings
    • Related to field service bookings reflecting when services are scheduled to take place (e.g., specific dates for trash pickup).
  6. Invoice Header
    • Contains payment-related information pertinent to the services rendered to the client.
  7. Credit Position
    • Displays financial data related to charges and payments; it is primarily fetched and displayed without significant processing.
  8. Cases
    • Customer service cases generated when customers reach out for assistance or inquiries.
  9. Activities or Tasks
    • Includes logs of emails or actions taken regarding accounts, enhancing service tracking.

Waste Services Overview

  • Services Provided
    • WSG manages waste for different clients, including businesses and hotels, requiring periodic trash pickups.
  • Types of Waste
    • Solid waste, liquid waste, and controlled substances like asbestos, which require special handling.
  • Services can be scheduled on various frequencies, such as:
    • Weekly
    • Bi-weekly
    • Daily
    • Fortnightly

Process Workflow

  • Customer calls or emails for services can lead to:
    1. Creation of Cases
    • The customer service agent generates a case for the requisition.
    1. Service Requests
    • Upon analyzing the call, agents can create bookings associated with the customers’ needs.

Case Handling Example

  • An ad-hoc pickup request results in:
    • Creating a case of type "Booking" with a subtype "Standard Booking".
    • Filling necessary fields for the service request.
    • Booking created within the Dynamics system, potentially via a manual or automated process.
    • The system will also interface with the external Wastage system via an API to handle logistics, such as dispatching a truck for the booking.

Integration Challenges

  • Major complexity lies in the integration between systems, especially with external systems like Wastage.
  • Ensuring accurate synchronization of booking information is critical:
    • A scheduler can be set to sync data every 15 minutes or on demand, allowing customer service agents to access current data.
    • Users can manually refresh bookings to ensure they have the most recent information.

Case Management Structure

  • Identifying the various case types and their corresponding workflows:
    1. Booking Creation
      • Manual creation, schedule adjustments, new bookings requests are handled via cases and can involve integration with external systems.
    2. Booking Cancellations
      • Similar process through case types regarding cancellations where customers might need to stop service temporarily or permanently.
    3. Issues or Complaints
      • Different scenarios where clients raise concerns about service, billing errors, or driver behavior.
      • Such cases are routed to specific teams within WSG for resolution.

Sales Segment and Process Integration

  • Involves creating new accounts, contacts, and enabling services through Dynamics.
  • Cases and workflows do not require integration when performed separately, handling on an administrative level.
  • Significant data fields exist in the account model, with various integrations needed for effective management, including synchronization of account and contact data across platforms.

Development Considerations

  • The development team must start implementing entities once clarity is achieved on data structure and requirements.
  • Mukesh's responsibilities include creating necessary account fields in the Dynamics system, ensuring alignment with specified data dictionaries while maintaining oversight on the integration processes and accuracies.
  • Monitoring for new developments or alterations to requests is essential to ensure project timelines remain on track.