Industry overview
What is shaping telecommunications
Telecom operators compete on network experience, price and service across consumer and enterprise markets. Retail and distribution still matter in a digital-first world.
- Network experience drives churn and loyalty
- Data plans and bundles are compared constantly
- Enterprise connectivity needs consultative selling
Client background
A fibre broadband provider, working in Australia. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A fibre broadband provider
- Sector
- Telecommunications
- Team engaged
- IT & Development
- Services
- Mobile app development, Custom business applications, Data analytics & dashboards
Client challenge
Installation appointments were often missed, and technicians lacked job information. Customers had to take time off work for installation appointments, so missed or late visits caused strong frustration and complaints. Technicians received job details by phone and text, often missing information, which led to repeat visits and frustrated customers.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: a field app for fibre installation teams.
- Design around the real needs of technicians.
- Define requirements and success criteria the solution would be tested against.
- Deliver a reliable, secure solution the team can run and extend.
Target audience
The work focused on 500 technicians.
- technicians500
Audiences we typically reach in telecommunications
Mobile and broadband subscribersRetailers and distributorsEnterprise IT buyersChurned customersTower and infrastructure partners
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Australia. Market: Australia.
- Australia
Research methodology
An iterative delivery approach: discovery, design, build and test in short cycles, with the client reviewing each step.
- 1Brief
- 2Process mapping
- 3Field app
- 4Insight
We built a field app with job details, photos, customer updates and completion checklists. We interviewed technicians and dispatch staff, then built an app showing job details, access notes, photos of previous visits and checklists, with automatic SMS updates to customers when technicians were on their way. The app worked offline in new estates with limited coverage and synchronised photos when back online.
Mobile app developmentCustom business applicationsData analytics & dashboards
Sampling strategy
- technicians
- 500
- Users and stakeholders from every affected team took part in discovery workshops and acceptance testing.
Data collection
- Requirements were gathered through workshops, process walk-throughs and a review of existing systems and data.
Data quality & validation
- Peer code review on every change
- Automated and manual testing
- User-acceptance testing with the client
- Release checklist and rollback plan
Data analysis
- Usage and performance monitoring after launch
- Defect and support-ticket trends
- Process time before and after
Key findings
- Missed appointments fell, and customers received arrival notifications.
Better information for technicians improved customer experience.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: better information for technicians improved customer experience.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: missed appointments fell, and customers received arrival notifications.
Business impact
- First-visit completion rates improved, and repeat visits for incomplete installations declined.
- Customer complaints about installations dropped, and dispatchers could rebalance work during the day.
Deliverables & next steps
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Interactive dashboard
- Deployed solution with documentation and handover
- Support and maintenance plan
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: how effective is the retail channel?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.