HIMSIG20081204
Liberty Alliance Project
VPI SIG
Teleconference Meeting Notes
December 4, 2008
12:00pm-1:07pm EST
Author: Kurt Kolok
Attendance:
Iain Henderson, Mydex
Doug Serles, Berkman Center at Harvard
Eve Maler, Sun
Bill Washburn, OpenID
Dean Landsman, Project VRM/Landsman Communications Group
Brett McDowell, Liberty Staff
Joni Brennan, Liberty Staff
Kurt Kolok, Liberty Staff
Agenda:
Discuss use cases and documentation format
--'vacation buying' scenario (Bill)
--‘car buying’ scenario (Iain)
What did people think of the use case document sent out by Iain?
Eve: it was very helpful in providing some framework.
It was helpful having the buying process(individual) set alongside the sales process (organization). Both go through different processes until they engage in a relationship. Matrix (document in current state). The idea is to be filled out/checked off. “Guess work & waste” will have an appeal to those in the bottom line department.
Bill provided the group with his ‘vacation buying’ use case/experience:
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Getting to an airline is a major process and transfers are particularly difficult. The scenario begins with an idea to see a specific location, then we looked at travel options, then other travel location possibilities. The decision is made to fly direct or indirect, then decide where to fly to (specific airport locations). Since it was a vacation there was some flexibility, yet we did not want to get up for a 4am flight to begin a vacation. We looked at preferences first and price second. The goal from the user side was to find different ways to get to the location in a way that the user wanted to get there (meet specific criteria). In Bill’s case he had a layover in Dublin that was 8 hours long but otherwise arrived in Venice as planned/desired.
Are we starting with articulating a need? What about establishing your intention? Do you begin with a general idea and narrow down/finalize your intention as you go through the process?
Bill spent a month exploring in a general sense what the overall outlay of funds would look like, options of getting there, where to stay, etc… You can always change your mind as you go through the process. Guesswork would capture some of that.
At any moment you should be able to rescind your request. It is a discovery process, you may not want to engage until discovery has been completed. Until you hand over the money you should always be able to change your mind, other instances may have a deposit (refundable or non-refundable).
Bill: We confirmed in the end of the discovery process many of the general conclusions/pieces.
How could things have been different? It would have been interesting to have an idea that we could put some thoughts together and give some general information to airlines, car rental agencies, possibly hotels, etc… Hotels think about attracting a consumer through some variable value (for some it will be price, for others it will be quality, etc…).
Eve: How can they do more commerce capture?
On the CRM side, in case of specific travel or a new car all the repeat data is unsolicited. For example, once you’ve bought a car you’re not in the market for a new car, so car marketing/targeting to you makes no sense. This is a benefit to CRM: to change the relationship between the seller and the buyer. The buyer potentially becomes someone who provides positive feedback (engagement vs. barrage).
Bill: There was a combination of what we can learn on the web and having the business guide us. The process limits the information available to you. Expert systems or peer groups play an important part. Had to re-enter data to search for alternative options which was very inconvenient. We spent Dec. & Jan. doing research and by Feb. had established a plan. By April in advance of deposits we confirmed what we selected was what we wanted and confirmed with hotels etc…, then by May we made sure the hotels had our information and our room was reserved.
Would you have considered using a travel agent? We were being frugal so we may/may not have. We were pleased with our selections. Would have avoided certain places if we had more information. Would have jumped at the chance to confer with a travel agent on the customer side. It was a pretty good process spread over a long period of time so it did not take up a huge amount of time all at once.
Iain provided the group with his ‘car buying’ use case/experience:
After looking at various dealers I went back to a car salesman with whom I had a history. After I took possession of the car I had to deal with the paperwork side. In London we have congestion charges to allow you to drive around so you have to register your car with the congestion zone, as well as with the local council for parking and thirdly with the licensing agency. You only have one copy of each document and yet all three agencies ask for the same documentation. This was the most painful part of the experience.
Could you have been helped? It was an identity issue.
Action 20081204-01: Eve will fill out some scenarios prior to our next call re: a grocery shopping list scenario.
Guesswork vs. actual knowledge
Populations vs. individuals
The point behind advertising is to create demand where none existed before. We as individuals know that we want a particular thing or kind of thing; it is about matching what we want with what is out there. This dovetails with having a meeting re: who would be invited to the meeting and how a VRM would be helpful (a VRM would certainly be an asset). Ongoing we will identify the win-wins from the use cases we build.
Agreed: we will have our next call in two weeks (December 18).
Meeting Adjourned
