Customer Identification Project for

Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority

Team Members and Program

George Mason University’s B.S. I.T. Senior Capstone Projects (IT 492-493)“…[skilled Senior IT students] work in teams for two semesters on real IT projects for local companies and nonprofits” (Mason Gazette)

Our team: “P&R Solutions”– Selamawit Befekadu– Bob Chan– Eric Church– Daniel Estrada– Brandon Farewell– Elizabeth Fraser, Team Leader– Ryan Johnson– Quoc Ngo– Rahat Sultan

Point of Contact: Elizabeth, mfraser@gmu.edu

Targeted Patron Information for NVRPA Our Goal

Customer Identification – Retention & Satisfaction– Improved Market Targeting– Improved Services– Park Improvement– Registration, E-mails, and zip codes – Better knowledge of cross-Park users

Business Process Problems

Snapshot 11/1/06

Consequences of Manual Survey Process: Comparison to Online

One Operations Manager, 8 hours, “ballpark expense”: $20 X 8 = $160– Observes: *maybe* 30-50 Sticker Observations;

capturing about 20 emails (more resistance to provide them face-to-face)

Subscription Web Survey, Annually about $100

Consequences: Volume of Information

• Data captured online (assuming continuously posted and receiving about 200 hits per day): comes to about 25 emails.– Manual effort collects fewer, ~15-20 (more

resistance to provide them face-to-face)– Cost per day100 / 365 = 0.27397 = $0.27– Cost per 8 hrs. 8 × .01 = $0.08– $160 / 0.08 = 2000 Web Survey is 2000 times

cheaper

Option One: Survey as Web-VB-Access Implementation

Can be implemented on any reasonable PC with MS IIS (possible at HQ, not needing a big server etc.)

With reference to the next two screen shots:

*(Graphics courtesy of Willetts, NVRPA Web Host)

Option Two: Subscribed Web-Form Service Implementation, with Analysis Can be implemented with standard Internet connection and minimal or free

subscription

Insert screenshot from Eric’s

Subscription Web-Form, continued (Analysis Available)

Option Three: Web-Javascript, eMail collection IT staff manageable Javascript Form; email response collection

Screenshot from Elizabeth’s

NVRPA’s Improvements to Process

Cross-Park Information Consolidation

Loyalty Program, SPS MSG– Easy data collection for mail-out’s & marketing

Data Upload from Web Collection (Willetts)– Get formatted supplemental data from Web

contacts to add to SPS collection

Facilities Reservation Online

Delay in Web Development Approaches– Great complexity of websites: Choose one for

“Guinea pig” testing (put response form link on it)

Other Recommendations– Broadband Internet for any larger Park HQ that

does not yet have it (DSL has become relatively inexpensive)

Feedback from Mr. McCray

Notes: [record notes:(live feedback remarks from Mr. McCray])