The implementation and deployment of the Jeppesen crew and network operations solutions is critical in order to support our customers and their objectives. Recently, we sat down with one of our Project Managers, Luciana Dellasoppa, to learn more about how we approach each project to ensure customer success.
Luciana, you work at Jeppesen in the department for Customer Success - what does that entail? - We are responsible for the implementation of the Jeppesen crew management solutions for our airline customers. In order to effectively deliver a solution, it is not just about ‘going live’ and transitioning away from their previous solution – it is about creating value that is aligned with the customer’s priorities and setting them up for success.
What could that value be? - The primary objective is often to improve their crew planning results and the execution of those plans. Using leading optimization technology, we improve upon crew productivity and pairing and rostering quality aspects such as bids, as well as reducing real costs and fatigue risk while producing more robust plans. Often, it’s also about reducing lead-times and effort spent in their planning process, and making it more automated and less error-prone. An implementation project always starts by establishing the desired outcome and what success ‘looks like’, and then we work with quantified objectives throughout the project, together as one team with the customer.
Is this very different from what most other vendors do?
- I think it is. Our architecture allows for a very clear division between our core functionality, which is shared by all our customers, and the business logic for one specific customer. The business logic, rules and cost definitions, are implemented in RAVE and kept separate from the solution methodology. RAVE is a high-level language that's easy to learn and quick to recompile while supporting the performance needed for industry-strength optimizers.
In the implementation project we build this business logic specifically for the customer, often together with them, and at the end of the project they take over that code and further development of the 'configuration layer’. This means that the Jeppesen team does not only build a strong foundation for customer success from the onset, but empowers the customer to embrace and manage business changes in the future.
At the end of the project, they have gained the ability to modify the RAVE code independently. This framework also allows customers to produce 'what-if' scenarios, so that they can quickly evaluate the effect of rule changes, such as opening a crew base or the introduction of new regulations. I’m not aware of any other solution making this approach possible.
What project methodology do you employ?
- Nowadays it’s referred to as agile, but frankly we’ve been working in this way for over 20+ years. We work in short iterations, improving upon a start-installation that is a functional system from day one. We collaborate closely with the customer, working shoulder to shoulder, as one team, and minimize time spent on writing specifications or creating overhead.
RAVE is a specification by itself, defining the business logic clearly which cuts away an error-prone step by avoiding natural language specifications. We go straight to the point instead, and often cross-load crew plans between the old solution and our implementation, to eliminate any unwanted differences in the rules and definitions. It is very fast, effective and efficient. In fact, RAVE is so powerful and easy to use that many of our customers implement new planning areas, or entire operations for their subsidiaries, all by themselves.
Thank you. What part of an implementation project are you most excited about?
- The start-up phase is of course always exciting, getting to know and work with a new team of people and understanding their business and objectives. But the improvement-phase is even more so, culminating in our pairings and rosters being ‘flown’ and realizing the value we set out to create. Sometimes we see as much as 10% improvement in crew efficiency. Clear intentions and clear purpose begets clear results.
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Read more about Rave in this thought-provoking document.
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