Siebel Mobile - The Trials and Tribulations of going mobile...

Siebel Mobile - The Trials and Tribulations of going mobile...

In the last blog, we took a look at the Siebel Open UI and asked what was the business case. There were some interesting comments left on the blog, as well as on the LinkedIn Siebel/Fusion group that I posted it to.

I'm still waiting for that killer reason to switch to Open UI, so feel free to go back and take a read and let me know your thoughts…

Today I'm going to focus on Siebel Mobile (AKA Siebel Open UI for Mobile) 

Some key information:

• Part of the Siebel Open UI 'framework'
• Officially called Siebel Mobile Connected and Siebel Mobile Disconnected.  (not to be confused with Siebel Wireless, Siebel Handheld or Siebel Mobile Web client !)
• Siebel Mobile Connected is available in 8.1.1.10 for new installs (or if you were quick off the mark with 8.1.1.9 to try out Open UI then you will need to install the Fix Pack to take it up to 8.1.1.10)
• Siebel Mobile Disconnected, whilst described in the various Siebel documentation, this is not yet available and I've not been able to get any dates on when it might be released.
• Siebel Mobile (Both versions) are browser based "WebApp" solutions, with a 'native look and feel' - but they are not native apps.
• The Multi Device - HTML5 based UI is rendered by Oracle's jQuery Mobile, so that's a new tool for the IT team to get to grips with.
• It is a separate licensable product from Oracle, so whilst Open UI is a free upgrade, Siebel Mobile (though based on the Open UI Framework) is not.  Prices look to be $575 per named user, but time to speak with your Oracle Rep! 

Siebel Mobile - Accounts page on the iPad

Mobile is such a large focus for many organisations at the moment, with it seems budget, to focus on new mobile solutions for Sales and Service.  

Why ?  I've asked that question to all of the Siebel customers who have approached us, and I normally get one of the following answers;

• "We want to have a 'one-visit' Quote or Order"  
• "We need to increase sales/service teams' productivity"
• "We need an easy-to-use app with a seamless process."
• "We need GPS/Camera/Maps/Voice-Recording/eMail/Phone/SMS* integration"   (*Delete as appropriate!)

Based on this, the requirements are normally along these lines..., 

• Mobile App with 'Disconnected' functionality, to enable the Sales/Service Rep to work in area's with no Wifi/3G  or were restrictions exist.
• Streamlining the processes and focusing on key aspect of usability and UX, whilst giving the user control of the UI.
• Providing mash-up capabilities, pulling data and information from disparate corporate systems and services.

So where does that leave Siebel Mobile ?  I don't want to be too controversial but I see a few issues.

1. The only version available is Siebel Mobile Connected, so straightaway there is an issue for customers that want/need to implement a disconnected solution
2. Its Siebel centric, meaning that positioning it as way to consolidate a number of systems and provide a common front-end isn't going to work – The data is going to have to be in Siebel (or through Siebel).
3. The User has no way to control or prioritise what they see on the UI.  Users will always needs a degree of personalisation to improve the User Experience and increase the adoption rates.
4. You have to be on Siebel 8.1.1.10, and having done this internally ourselves, this is not a trivial matter – it is pretty much a full scale upgrade, with Schema changes and new functionality to implement and test  – An  x.x.x.1 version increase doesn't quite convey the scope of the upgrade, it's not to be taken lightly!  
5. Though many Siebel Admin's are keen to try out Siebel Mobile, it is not free and has to be licensed from Oracle, so additional licenses and an increase in Annual Maintenance fees will be on the cards.
6. Siebel Mobile Disconnected is architected to be a browser-based "WebApp".  As a result, all the offline data will be stored using browser-based local storage. Browser-based storage on iOS is currently limited to 5MB per domain (Other browsers vary).  For many CRM users who would like to access thousands of accounts, contacts, leads, activities, etc., this amount of storage is just not enough.

If you are going down this path please let us know your experiences, and feel free to correct me on any of the above points !

Read more about our Mobility Platform on our website.

If you want to discuss your mobile requirements and how we can provide a solution for you then please get in touch.  david.moorman@crmantra.com  www.CRMantra.com

Open UI Opens Doors

Siebel Open UI – Making the Business Case

In the last few years, no functionality has excited the Siebel install base as much as the Siebel Open UI.  It has been a long wait to get here.  The Open UI has now been available in GA form in Siebel 8.1.1.9 for over 6 months.   We have had access to this functionality for almost a year and have spoken with a number of our customers who have expressed interest in it. 

Open UI opens doors

With Open UI, one can circumvent the closed system under SWE (Siebel Web Engine).  Users are now free of the yoke of Internet Explorer and Windows platform.  Developers can now invoke Siebel capabilities through alternate UI languages (Javascript, HTML/HTML5, Java, Flex, etc.).  One can design alternate UI paradigms without being constrained by the traditional Siebel Screen-view-applet format.

What’s the verdict so far – many presentations and conversations, no real action.  Customers haven’t yet taken the plunge and rolled it out to their users.  We sense a lot of hesitation and caution on part of customers.  Why?

Here are some of the challenges that we have seen:

What's the Difference – Looks like old Siebel. 

Looks are an issue.  Open UI based Siebel looks hardly any different from regular Siebel.  We have had to demo Open UI to customers using a Mac to highlight the difference!

 

Siebel Quotes in Open UI

While familiarity is very helpful in reducing the change management required in rolling out a new UI paradigm, this very factor is working against it.  Users are asking, so what’s new?

Given the breadth and diversity of Siebel install base, Oracle has the unenviable challenge of creating new UI designs and flows with the “difference” users are looking for.  Perhaps, the current approach of releasing the Open UI as a toolkit and letting customers exercise their imagination is the most pragmatic solution.

What Users Want. 

Our interactions with customers on this subject have led us to ask, so why was everyone waiting so expectantly for this functionality? We discovered that users were really yearning for a fix to the usability and user adoption issues with the Siebel application.  Replicating the old Siebel UI using the latest technology does not address the underlying usability issues.

So Many Views, Where Do We Start? 

If merely exposing the Open UI and letting the users loose on it is not enough to address usability, then what is?  Does it make sense to redesign and rebuilt the views now that Open UI toolkit provides one with that freedom?  Based on the work we have done in Siebel Usage Analyses with customers (see this blog entry - our our website) , this is a monumental task.  There are well over 5000 views available in Siebel!  This could be a never-ending project with questionable ROI. 

Making the Business Case – The 5 Point Plan

1. Know your Customer (i.e., the User)
2. Start Small, Think Big
3. Its about Flows, Not Fancy Forms and Views
4. Estimate the Cost of Pain and Benefits of Gain
5. Staff with Right Skills

Read more about CADD and our approach to Open UI Projects.

Your questions and comments are very welcome

david.moorman@crmantra.com

Siebel CRM - Open UI Post OOW Update

Well I promised I would report back after Oracle Openworld and here I am.

It has to be said that Siebel OpenUI was received with great applause (litterally!) at OOW.  It has to be the only session I've ever attended that had people applauding !!

So what was all the excitement about?  Well, for most it was the removal of the dependency on Internet Explorer for High Interactivity (HI) Mode.   This will make it accessible across browsers and devices and now finally on my Mac - (That will be my test number 1)!

After speaking to a number of Siebel customers, what comes next is the ability to switch on OpenUI and quickly provide a 'fresh' UI to the end user - though I would suggest it's not something you would do at 9am on a Monday morning to give your end-users a nice surprise to start their week!  It may be easier on the eye, but its not going to be life-changing...yet.

I see the OpenUI Framework more as a tool to make some dramatic changes to the way you can develop the UI that will have a major effect on how users interact with Siebel.

- Improving process flows
- removing clutter
- consolidating views
- CSS based views can be easily branded for customer/partner sites.

Though, what it also gives is carte-blanche for endless development cycles to get the colours right, the logo in the right place, the text in Helvetica 12, and probably the most dangerous...UI scripting !

Yep, so this now means that no need to write a new business rule in Siebel, update the srf and server - no, we can just write a bit of script put it in the HTML page and hey presto new business rule is in production!  That is going to be sooooooo tempting, and it is going to have to be resisted at all cost !


More OOW Info..

• It's still planned to be in IP 2012, which my sources are telling me is likely to be December (Oh the problems of giving a release the name of a year!) 
• Existing Task UI will work without changes, the SWE engine will render it correctly.
• Siebel Configurator runs, without changes based on the existing product model meta data. - BUT a developer will not yet be able to change this UI through the same means (i.e HTML/CSS)

Siebel Open UI for Configurator (Screenshot above)

• Siebel Order Management - Edit Promotions View - Hasn't been included.
• The standard Open UI is not linked to a Licence, but OpenUI for Mobile will have a licence and fee attached. No details yet as to the cost/metrics, though credit will be give for customers with existing Siebel 'Mobile' licences.
• OpenUI and HI UI can't run in the same OM. Maybe not a big issue but if there are non-standard UI templates that OpenUI may not be able to render then those will not be accessible to the user.
• Any non-standard UI templates will need to be cleaned up, with the removal of 'structual' information as the server is no longer dictating the UI - This is now set by HTML/CSS.  That mean's replacing all "table' definitions with DIV elements.

Open UI for Mobile

• Available sometime in 2013 and Version1 will only be available in connected mode
• Comes with new web templates for a native app look and feel.
• Built using ADF Mobile Framework
• Task Based UI will also work, but no mobile templates provided OOTB for this.
• It is Safari browser based, not a native app.
• It will use another, new Object Manager (/salesm_enu iirc)
• Views will be in Siebel tools, but it not clear yet how a developer would make use of the native functions and gestures.
• And probably most important It's going to be a new licensable product from Oracle.

So where do Siebel customers go from here?   I've said it before in a previous post, but improving usability isn't just about a new veneer on top of Siebel - Careful consideration is needed to ensure the experience is a positive one for the end-user.   And every time I would recommend a Siebel Usage Analysis   to kick off any UI/UX project.

Get in touch if you have any further questions/comments/queries.
David

david.moorman@crmantra.com  www.crmantra.com

Siebel Open UI - Update

So, we've just got back from the Oracle training event for Siebel Open UI.  There are definitely a number of rumours that can be quashed !


First a nice big screenshot to give you some idea of how Open UI is rendering the Siebel Views OOTB.

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So what have we heard ?

• RUMOUR: It will be available for all of Siebel.
• FACT: It will only be available for Sales and Service - No full details of what that exactly covers, but it's by no means all of Siebel.  We can then assume it doesn't cover Siebel Order Management, Agreements and other more obscure areas of Siebel (Including all the admin views)   UPDATE! : Oracle have confirmed that Siebel Order Management is included- see a new screen shot below

Siebel Open UI - Siebel Order Management on Chrome Browser

• RUMOUR: It will be release at OOW 2012
• FACT: It will be available with Siebel 8.1.1.9 and the 2012 IP (Innovation Pack) but that is now looking to be GA in Jan 2013.

• RUMOUR: There will be a price tag attached to Open  UI
• FACT: There is no licence fee associated with Open UI, but obviously Oracle is looking to use this as a stimulus for additional user licences and extending the Siebel footprint into new areas and new channels.
• There will be Native Mobile apps, but these are looking to be more involved to produce and deploy.

• RUMOUR: Open UI will be a seperate set of views in Siebel Tools
• FACT: The Open UI views will be rendered by the SWE engine at runtime, converting the views in Siebel Tools repository into HTML views for displaying through any browser.

• RUMOUR: Deployment will be long and complex!
• FACT: Deployment will be simple.. 
• Create a new Object Manager (OM) 
• Set the Open UI flag on the new OM
• Create a new URL to point to the new OM
• Login in and you're ready to rock... 
• I personally can't wait to have it running on my MacBook... oh but I need Quotes and Orders so there goes that idea..

Some other things we need to have confirmed include;

• How does it handle a process where some UI may not be in Open UI - for example a process that goes from Sales Opportunity to Quote or Order.
• How will it handle Siebel browser script in either the browser version or on a Native Mobile App
• What happens with customised views ? - Will they need to be tested or is there high confidence that these will work as before ?
• Now that it will be available across platforms, across browsers how will that complexity of options be tested and supported - as there is an almost constant stream of browsers upgrades.
• How can new and enhanced HTML views be developed and deployed ?

Siebel Open UI now adds a lot of potential, to both improved Siebel  usability within an Organisation - as well as for unscrupulous SI's to start pushing the customer into unnecessary and cost UI Upgrade projects - so beware!   There's nothing that extends a UI design project more than teams disagreeing on the shade of blue/red/green to be used !!

At CRMantra we still firmly believe it should be seen as an additional weapon in the UX arsenal, but an upgrade to Open UI without careful consideration of the costs and benefits is likely to bring little advantage to the business.

We recommend a Fact-Based determination of the scope of any CX/UX project and implementing Open UI is no different. For that we routinely use our Siebel Usage Analysis - see this blog for more details  - Siebel Usage Analysis

And as with all CX/UX projects and probably more importantly for Siebel Open UI, you need to ensure that the resulting UI is not just a set of views slapped together in a newer technology!  You need to pay close attention to the business process and clickstreams on the UI and drive process design based on facts instead of conjectures.  The Siebel Usage Analyses will provide this critical information.

We still have more questions than answers, so I'll try to update this as we hear back from Oracle on the items I've mentioned.

NEW: Post OOW update here http://crmux.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/siebel-crm-open-ui-post-oow-update.html


As always if you have any questions or comments please get in touch.
david.moorman@crmantra.com  www.crmantra.com