TeliaSonera has gradually since 2003 implemented Alpha, a new system which aims at assisting operators working in customer service at TeliaSonera. Alpha falls in the category of standard systems, purchased from Oracle and modified by TietoEnator. A standard system implies certain constrains both regarding the implementation process as well as on the organization. Today operators working in customer service complain about Alpha: they feel that the system is hard to use. This thesis contains a usability study of Alpha. It discusses the usability issues considering both the conditions of customer service and the boundaries of standard systems. It also discusses possible aids for improvement. An alternative help system is one solution to ease the operators’ situation. Making the system more consistent by performing small changes in the user interface is another. A flash prototype was developed to demonstrate the suggested improvements to the existing help function. The prototype has a more active character than the existing help function in Alpha. It is brought closer to the application resulting in easier access, which may lead to increased usability. In addition to the improved accessibility it offers several possibilities for searching help which all leads to the same goal of finding correct information fast. A consequence of this will be satisfied customers. This thesis concludes that the general standard system design means usability tradeoffs. It is hard to completely satisfy all users because of their varying area of use. The thesis also concludes that some of these usability issues can be bypassed by having a supporting help system. It is not possible to change Alpha to fit the users’ needs completely: it is too expensive and takes time. Instead a suitable help system can be developed as a complement to the main system.

Validerat; 20101217 (root)