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Service Area (ONB02US08)

1. Problem Statement

Identified User Roles

  • Utility Administrator: Responsible for configuring system settings to align with utility business processes
  • Asset Manager: Manages infrastructure assets and tracks lifecycle costs and performance

Pain Points by Role

Utility Administrator

  • Complex and lengthy hierarchy navigation from region > country > state > ... > premise
  • Unable to add tags to service areas for easy categorization and searching
  • No service area codes for quick reference and identification
  • Cannot visualize the service area hierarchy in an intuitive way

Asset Manager

  • Unable to see summary data (consumers, meters, etc.) for particular service areas
  • Difficult to organize and manage assets by service area due to complex hierarchy
  • Cannot efficiently track asset performance within specific service areas

Core Problem

The current service area management system has an overly complex hierarchy that hinders efficient navigation, lacks proper identification mechanisms (tags, codes), and fails to provide summary data, making it difficult for users to manage utility service areas effectively.

2. Who Are the Users Facing the Problem?

Utility Administrator

  • Configures system settings to align with utility business processes
  • Manages master data including service area definitions
  • Serves as liaison between department heads and IT for system requirements

Asset Manager

  • Develops and implements asset management strategies
  • Tracks lifecycle costs and performance of infrastructure
  • Coordinates condition assessments and maintenance planning

**Both roles require access to the Service Areas feature to effectively manage the utility's operational territories and related assets.

3. Jobs To Be Done

For Utility Administrator: When I need to configure and organize service areas in our utility system, But I struggle with navigating through an overly complex hierarchy and cannot easily identify or categorize service areas, Help me manage service areas with a simplified hierarchy and proper identification mechanisms, So that I can efficiently organize our utility's operational territories.

For Asset Manager: When I need to analyze asset performance across different service areas, But I cannot easily see summary data for specific service areas or organize assets effectively within the hierarchy, Help me access comprehensive summary data for each service area and navigate the hierarchy more intuitively, So that I can make informed decisions about asset management and resource allocation.

4. Solution

A redesigned Service Areas management interface with simplified hierarchy navigation, enhanced identification capabilities, and integrated summary data:

Key Capability Areas

  1. Simplified Hierarchy Navigation
    • Streamlined hierarchy from City > Zone > Division > Area > Subarea > Premise
    • Breadcrumb navigation showing current position in hierarchy
    • Quick-jump capabilities to any level of the hierarchy
  2. Service Area Identification
    • Unique service area codes for quick reference (e.g., SAV-C, SAV-W)
    • Tagging system to categorize service areas (e.g., Priority 1)
    • Creation and modification tracking with timestamps and user information
  3. Hierarchy Visualization
    • Hierarchical tree view showing the structure of service areas
    • Toggle between different view modes (grid, list, tree)
    • Expandable/collapsible nodes for easier navigation
  4. Summary Data Integration
    • Consumer count summaries for each service area
    • Meter statistics integrated into service area information
    • Performance metrics accessible from service area views
  5. Bulk Operations
    • Bulk upload functionality for service areas
    • Mass update capabilities for service area properties
    • Batch assignment of tags and attributes
  6. Service Area Management
    • Add new service areas (cities, zones, etc.) through intuitive interfaces
    • Edit existing service area properties and relationships
    • Delete or deactivate service areas when needed
  7. Export and Reporting
    • Export service area data in various formats
    • Generate hierarchy reports for planning
    • Create custom views of service area data

5. Major Steps Involved

For Utility Administrator

  1. Accessing Service Area Management
    • Navigate to the Service Areas section from the main menu
    • View the "Service Area Hierarchy" panel displaying the streamlined hierarchy
  2. Navigating the Hierarchy
    • Click on hierarchy levels (City > Zone > Division > Area > Subarea > Premise) to drill down
    • Use breadcrumb navigation to track position in the hierarchy
    • Jump directly to specific levels using the navigation buttons
  3. Viewing Service Areas
    • See the list of service areas at the current hierarchy level (e.g., Cities)
    • Toggle between different view modes (grid, list, tree) using the view buttons
    • View important information at a glance: codes, tags, creation details
  4. Adding a New Service Area
    • Click the "Add City" button to open the creation form
    • Enter required details: name, code, parent relationship
    • Add optional tags for categorization (e.g., Priority 1)
    • Submit to create the new service area
  5. Editing Service Areas
    • Click the edit icon next to a service area to modify its properties
    • Update any relevant fields (name, code, tags, parent relationships)
    • Save changes to update the service area
  6. Managing Tags
    • Add tags to service areas for categorization (e.g., Priority 1)
    • Use tags for filtering and searching service areas
    • Manage tag categories and values through the admin interface
  7. Exporting Data
    • Click the "Export" button to download service area data
    • Select desired format and data fields
    • Use exported data for reporting or integration with other systems

For Asset Manager

  1. Accessing Service Area Summary Data
    • Navigate to the Service Areas section from the main menu
    • View the list of service areas with summary indicators (e.g., 2 zones)
  2. Analyzing Service Area Details
    • Click on a specific service area (e.g., Savaii Central)
    • View detailed summary data: consumer counts, meter statistics, etc.
    • Analyze performance metrics for the selected service area
  3. Navigating Between Related Areas
    • Use parent/child relationships to move between hierarchy levels
    • View parent information (e.g., Parent: Savaii)
    • Explore child entities (e.g., 2 zones under Savaii Central)
  4. Filtering and Searching
    • Use tags and codes to quickly find specific service areas
    • Filter service areas based on various criteria
    • Search for service areas by name, code, or other attributes
  5. Exporting Analysis Data
    • Generate reports on service area performance
    • Export summary data for further analysis
    • Share service area information with other stakeholders

6. Flow Diagram

image.png

7. Business Rules

General Rules

  1. Service area hierarchy must follow the structure: City > Zone > Division > Area > Subarea > Premise
  2. Each service area must have a unique name within its parent level
  3. Service area codes must be unique across the entire system
  4. All service areas must have a parent relationship (except for the top level)
  5. Creation and modification information must be tracked (user, timestamp)
  6. Service areas cannot be deleted if they have child elements or associated assets
  7. Service area names must be between 2-50 characters
  8. Service area codes must follow the pattern of uppercase letters and numbersnumbers, First 3 letters of the service area then "-" and then number with 3 digits.
  9. Service area code should be autogenerated and can be editable
  10. Each form must provide an auto-generate option for service area codes
  11. Tags are optional for all service area levels
  12. All service area forms must have Cancel and Save buttons

Service Area Level-Specific Rules

City Level

  1. City creation requires City Name and City Code fields
  2. City tags are entered in the "Enter tag for this city" field
  3. Cities are the top level of the hierarchy with no parent selection required

Zone Level

  1. Zone creation requires selecting a parent City
  2. Zone Name and Zone Code are required fields
  3. Zone tags are entered in the "Enter tag for this zone" field

Division Level

  1. Division creation requires selecting a parent Zone
  2. Division Name and Division Code are required fields
  3. Division tags are entered in the "Enter tag for this division" field

Area Level

  1. Area creation requires selecting a parent Division
  2. Division selection must display Division code along with name (e.g., SAV-C)"S16-Gataiivai BH (DIV001)")
  3. Area Name and Area Code are required fields
  4. Area tags are entered in the "Enter tag for this area" field

Subarea Level

  1. Subarea creation requires selecting a parent Area
  2. Subarea Name and Subarea Code are required fields
  3. Subarea tags are entered in the "Enter tag for this subarea" field

Premise Level

  1. Premise creation requires selecting a parent Subarea
  2. Premise Name and Premise Code are required fields
  3. Total Units field must be numeric
  4. Premise tags are entered in the "Enter tag for this premise" field

Summary Data Rules

  1. Service Area Summary must be searchable by partial name
  2. Search results must display service area level, code, and any tags
  3. Summary view must include active and total counts for:
    • Consumers - active consumer and total consumers
    • Meters - assigned meters and total meters
    • Assets - Active assets and total assets
    • Technicians - On work technicians and total technicians
  4. Summary data must be specific to the selected service area level

Bulk Upload Rules

  1. The system must support bulk upload of service areas at all hierarchy levels (Cities, Zones, Divisions, Areas, Subareas, Premises)
  2. Users must select the type of service area to upload by choosing the appropriate radio button
  3. Service areas must be uploaded in CSV format with proper column headers
  4. For all service areas except Cities, users must select a parent entity from the dropdown
  5. The first line of CSV data must contain column headers
  6. Each line after the header represents a new service area entity
  7. Data must be comma-separated values (CSV)
  8. Values with commas must be enclosed in quotes
  9. For all service areas, the format must include:
    • Name field (required)
    • Code field (optional) - will be auto-generated if not provided
    • Tag field (optional)
  10. For premises level, additional fields are required:
    • Total Units field (optional) - representing the number of units
  11. The system must provide a "Validate & Preview Data" function before final upload
  12. The preview must show the parsed data in a tabular format with only first 5 rows
  13. The system must show a success message when preview is generated successfully
  14. Users must be able to proceed with bulk upload only after successful validation
  15. The system must provide format guidelines through a collapsible section
  16. Users must have the option to either paste data directly or upload a CSV file
  17. Preview must show number of rows showing out of total


Error Handling

  1. If a service area code already exists, the system must show an error message: "Service area code already in use"
  2. If mandatory fields are missing, highlight the fields and prevent submission
  3. If hierarchy relationships would be broken by an edit, warn the user and require confirmation
  4. If a bulk upload contains errors, provide a detailed error report without processing any records
  5. If export fails, retry automatically once before showing an error message

8. Sample Data

Cities

Name

Code

Parent

Tags

Created By

Created Date

Zones

Savaii Central

SAV-C

Savaii

Priority 1

John Doe

04/25/2025

2

Savaii West

SAV-W

Savaii

-

John Doe

04/25/2025

0

Upolu East

UPL-E

Upolu

Priority 2

Jane Smith

04/24/2025

3

Zones (for Savaii Central)

Name

Code

Parent

Tags

Created By

Created Date

Divisions

Coastal Zone

SAV-C-CZ

Savaii Central

Residential

John Doe

04/25/2025

4

Inland Zone

SAV-C-IZ

Savaii Central

Commercial

John Doe

04/25/2025

2

Summary Data

Service Area

Consumers

Meters

Active Meters

Water Quality Index

Maintenance Tickets

Savaii Central

15,428

12,356

11,982

96.3%

47

Savaii West

8,769

7,234

7,012

94.8%

23

Upolu East

22,145

18,732

18,145

97.1%

38

9. Acceptance Criteria

  1. The system must display the service area hierarchy as City > Zone > Division > Area > Subarea > Premise
  2. The system must allow users to navigate the hierarchy by clicking on each level
  3. The system must provide breadcrumb navigation showing the current position in the hierarchy
  4. The system must display a list of service areas at the selected hierarchy level
  5. The system must show service area codes for all service areas
  6. The system must allow adding tags to service areas for categorization
  7. The system must track and display creation information (user, timestamp) for each service area
  8. The system must provide an "Add" button for creating new service areas at each level
  9. The system must validate that service area codes are unique
  10. The system must enforce parent-child relationships in the hierarchy
  11. The system must show summary data (consumers, meters) for each service area when available
  12. The system must provide multiple view options (grid, list, tree) for the service areas
  13. The system must include an export function for service area data
  14. The system must support bulk upload of service areas for all hierarchy levels
  15. The system must prevent deletion of service areas with child elements
  16. The system must allow editing of service area properties (name, code, tags)
  17. The system must provide filtering capabilities based on service area properties
  18. The system must search across service areas by name, code, or tags
  19. The system must maintain data integrity when service areas are modified
  20. The system must generate appropriate error messages for validation failures
  21. The system must provide format guidelines for bulk upload CSV data
  22. The system must allow users to either paste CSV data or upload a CSV file
  23. The system must require selection of a parent entity for non-City level uploads
  24. The system must validate and preview bulk upload data before final submission
  25. The system must display a preview of parsed data in a tabular format
  26. The system must provide a success message after successful data validation
  27. The system must highlight specific errors in bulk upload data for correction
  28. The system must allow auto-generation of codes if not provided in bulk upload
  29. The system must support optional tags in bulk upload data
  30. The system must require additional fields for premise level uploads which are optional

10. Process Changes

From (Current Process)

To (New Process)

Impact Analysis

Navigate through excessive hierarchy levels (region > country > state > ... > premise)

Navigate simplified hierarchy (city > zone > division > area > subarea > premise)

50% reduction in navigation steps for accessing lower-level service areas

No service area codes available

Each service area has a unique code (e.g., SAV-C)

40% improvement in service area identification efficiency

No tagging capability for service areas

Service areas can be tagged (e.g., Priority 1)

35% faster categorization and searching of service areas

Cannot see service area hierarchy visualization

Multiple view options (grid, list, tree) for hierarchy visualization

45% better understanding of organizational structure

No summary data available for service areas

Summary data (consumers, meters) integrated with service areas

60% improvement in data-driven decision making

Manual service area creation process

Streamlined creation with parent-child relationships

30% faster service area setup and configuration

Limited export capabilities

Enhanced export functionality with multiple formats

40% reduction in time spent preparing reports

No bulk operations for service areas

Bulk upload and modification capabilities

70% time savings for large-scale service area management

11. Impact from Solving This Problem

Metric

How It Improves

Service Area Configuration Time

✅ 45% reduction in time spent setting up and organizing service areas

Navigation Efficiency

✅ 50% fewer clicks to navigate between service areas

Asset Management Effectiveness

✅ 35% improvement in asset tracking and management by service area

Reporting Accuracy

✅ 40% more accurate reports due to proper service area organization

Decision Making Speed

✅ 30% faster operational decisions with integrated summary data

User Satisfaction

✅ Significant improvement in user experience with intuitive hierarchy

Data Quality

✅ 25% reduction in data errors through proper service area identification

Operational Planning

✅ 40% more effective resource allocation by service area

12. User Behavior Tracking

Utility Administrator

Event

Properties

Insights

Questions Answered

service_area_view

{level, view_type, filters_applied}

Understanding how administrators navigate the hierarchy

How do administrators typically navigate the service area hierarchy?

service_area_create

{level, parent_id, time_to_complete}

Measuring the efficiency of service area creation

How long does it take to create new service areas?

service_area_edit

{field_changed, original_value, new_value}

Tracking what properties are most commonly modified

What service area properties require the most maintenance?

service_area_tag

{tag_name, service_area_level}

Understanding tagging patterns

How are tags being used to organize service areas?

service_area_search

{search_term, filters_used, results_count}

Analyzing search behavior

What service area attributes are most commonly searched for?

service_area_export

{format, fields_included, hierarchy_level}

Tracking export usage

What service area data is most valuable for external reporting?

bulk_upload_attempt

{template_used, success_rate, error_count}

Measuring bulk operation efficiency

What are the common errors in bulk service area management?

Asset Manager

Event

Properties

Insights

Questions Answered

summary_data_view

{service_area_id, metrics_viewed, time_spent}

Understanding data consumption patterns

Which summary metrics are most valuable to asset managers?

hierarchy_navigation

{start_level, end_level, path_taken}

Analyzing navigation patterns

How do asset managers move through the service area hierarchy?

performance_metrics_view

{service_area_id, metric_type, comparison_made}

Tracking analytical behavior

What performance comparisons are most frequently made?

filter_application

{filter_type, filter_value, result_count}

Understanding filtering preferences

How do asset managers narrow down service areas for analysis?

export_summary_data

{metrics_included, format, frequency}

Measuring reporting needs

What summary data is most frequently exported for analysis?

tag_based_search

{tag_used, service_areas_found, action_taken}

Analyzing tag effectiveness

How effective are tags in helping asset managers find relevant service areas?

cross_area_comparison

{areas_compared, metrics_compared, time_spent}

Understanding comparative analysis

What types of cross-area comparisons are most valuable?

This tracking plan will help understand how users interact with the service area management system, identify potential improvements, and measure the effectiveness of the new features in addressing the identified pain points.

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