Operations Readiness Assessment

Mariner’s Operations Readiness Assessment answers the crucial question: Are you ready? It ensures that the network, people, systems and processes, and content are all ready to go so that your customer’s experience is exceptional.

In the Project Initiation phase Mariner recommends an Operations Impact Assessment. This outlines a detailed plan of how to get prepared, and where to focus. When this is complete, it’s time to stress test the operation.

• Deliver a formal review of the operations infrastructure.
• Conduct diagnostic tests on the network; head-end to the home.
• Document results.
• Identify risk areas and recommend fixes.
• Highlight critical Key Program Indicators.

In this phase Mariner “drinks our own beer” as we use our service assurance tools (xVu) to conduct performance tests of the service provider’s delivery network.

The IPTV Operations Manager should be all over this work. Prior to going to a market trial and certainly before launch, the Readiness Assessment offers a unique opportunity to:

• Sit in the customer’s chair and see how the service performs. Not just quality of video, but installation time, repair time, order time, channel change time, and the usability of the Program Guide.
• Assess the readiness of the Field Team.
• Assess the single points of failure.
• Evaluate the trouble escalation process and knowledge.
• Rally the organization around the need for high quality customer experience.

Now it’s time to take it for a test drive. Continue on to the Market Trial/Technical Tail module.