Perficient Bcbsf 2009 Portal Conference Presentaitonppt

®

IBM Portal Excellence Conference 2009San Diego, California - October 12 – 15, 2009

© IBM Corporation

Session S14

Zero to Production in Six MonthsA Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Portal Success Story

Speakers: Lisa Crawford, Blue Cross Blue Shield of FloridaGlenn Kline, Perficient, Inc. [email protected]

IBM Portal Excellence Conference 2009 – Americas

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Agenda

� Introduction and Overview

� The Challenge we Faced� Where we were

� Where we had to go quickly

� What did we do and what did we deliver

� The 5 Most Important Success Factors to us

� 5 Pitfalls we avoided


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Blue Cross Blue Shield of FL (BCBSF) Overview� Largest health insurance provider in FL with over 4 million members

� All lines of business serve almost 8 million members

� Offers a wide array of benefits�Health plans

�Life

�Dental

�Medicare

� Owns several subsidiaries�Availity, LLC

�Navigy, Inc

�Novitas Health


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The Challenge – Where we wereJune, 2008� Java servlet based site originally developed in 2002

� Function, but brittle platform�Business rules burned into code

�No content management

�One functional change could break some thing completely different

� Site was difficult for users to use

� Expensive and slow to make changes�Could not respond quickly enough to business needs

�Platform could not respond to business demands without major code deliverables


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The Challenge – Where we needed to go

By Early December, 2009� Needed to modernize the user interface

� Needed new “look and feel”� More importantly, needed a design centered around members

� Needed to deliver new capabilities� Personalized member dashboard on the home page� Targeted messages

� Integrated health statements� Business user friendly content management� Plus much more

� Needed to integrate with many internal services

� Needed to integrate with external vendors and partners

� The member constituency is the most important BCBSF group


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The Solution – WebSphere Portal

Early December, 2009� Scalable, robust, and reliable robust delivery platform

� Many industry solutions have been deployed on WebSphere Portal� Have the support of IBM and Perficient

� Out of the box capabilities facilitated speed to market� Lotus Web Content Management� Personalization Engine� Security� Navigation� UI customization

� Speed to market - provided a flexible delivery platform� Decoupled different systems from each other� Could deploy individual portlets separate from major releases� Can keep the portal up when dependent systems are unavailable


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Just Some of what BCBSF has Today� Claims

� Benefits

� HSA Balance from ACS Mellon

� Integrated Content Managed by LWCM� Plans and Products

� Forms� Glossary / FAQs� Much more

� Portal Personalization

� iLog Business Rules Driven Targeted Messages

� Secure Message Center

� Plan Shopping

� Member Emulation for� Customer Service Representatives

� Benefits Administrators

� Care Coordinators

� Care Programs Enrollment

� Single Sign On – Internal Systems

� Flexible Spending Account� Pay Bill

� Single Sign On – External Partners� Web MD� ACS Mellon

� Health Dialog� Prime Therapeutics

� Pharmacy Shopping Tool� Compare prices at multiple pharmacies

� Recommend generic and therapeutic alternatives

� Print and Request Benefit Booklet

� Print and Request ID Cards� Member Health Statements


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External Partner Integrations� Single Sign On (Dec 2008)

� Display HSA balance in MyBlueService using WebServicesfrom ACS Mellon (April 2009)

� Single Sign On (Dec 2008)

� Drug Pricing Tool using WebServices supplied by Prime Therapeutics (Dec 2008)

� Single Sign On (Dec 2008)

� Single Sign On (April 2009)

� Secure Messaging using WebMD Web Services (December 2009)


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Customer Testimonials and Adoption

Adoption and Usage� MyBlueService usage has increased over 30% since moving to portal

� The average day brings over 4,000 unique visitors with peak days over 8,000

� 85% customer satisfaction rate and rising

� Customers are using the portal and saving money

Customer Quotes� “The Pharmacy Shopping Tool saved me almost $200 on a prescription”

� “The new design is great! It is much easier to use.”

� “I saved over $2000 on my knee surgery with the CareComparison tool.


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And how we got there in 6 months


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Success Factor #1People, Processes and Technology - The Holistic Approach


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Secure Message Center

Accumulators from Benefits SystemRecent Claims from

Claims System

Personalized Offers from iLog and LWCM

Personalized Navigation

SiteMinder SSO and LDAP Consumer

Web Sales Shopping

Customer Information Database

WebTrends Tracking


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Success Factor #2

� Portal is all about integrating the many moving parts� Internal teams�External teams�Security� Infrastructure�Legal and Compliance�And more

� Must understand all the dependencies and get them aligned�Know the critical path dependencies and manage closely�Manage scope accordingly if dependencies slip

� At BCBSF to date�12 different internal teams have been involved�4 external partners have been involved

Dependency Management


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Success Factor #3

� You cannot create an exceptional user experience without involving the users

� Engage users early in the user experience (UX) design process

� Information Architecture� 3x3 paper prototyping� High fidelity design� High Fidelity Prototyping

� UEX Testing

� Engage the business� Solution must implement the business needs and objectives

� Engage the technical team early in the UX design process� Prevents UX from designing something which cannot be implemented� Allows UX team to understand capabilities they may not have known they

had

� This process does not end after the first release

Design with the Users for the Users


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Success Factor #3Design with and for the Users


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Success Factor #4

� Need to know how to navigate the people, processes, and technology

� Know the business� IT driven requirements never deliver what the business wants�Educate the business on the capabilities portal provides

� Know the technology�Understand what the technology can provide�Have all the roles covered

� Development� Infrastructure and Administration� Deployment� Security� Services� And more

Use an Experienced Core Team


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Success Factor #5

� Experience� Demonstrated they have done it before under pressure� References

� Need a strong working relationship� Being able to work within your culture and processes� Blended client / customer teams are your best chance of success� Cater responsibilities to individual strengths� Clearly define roles and responsibilities� Partner to the end solution

� Portal Methodology� Understands the holistic approach you must take with portal solutions� Sample effective artifacts and deliverables

� Need someone who understands the technology� Understand all the capabilities portal provides to architect and implement the right

solution� Has done it before

Pick the Right Portal Partner


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Pitfall #1

� Portal capabilities may not be perfect for your needs but they are usually better than building it yourself� Personalization

� Web Content Management� Web Application Integrator� Collaboration

� If you try to change how portal fundamentally works, you will struggle� Themes and skins are meant to be customized

� The WCM authoring portlet is not

� BCBSF Example – how we avoided � Did not use Stellent and chose LWCM� Leveraged the Personalization engine extension points for navigation and portlet

visibility� Used the Web Application Integrator to increase speed to market

You do not Leverage Capabilities the Portal Technology Provides


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Pitfall #2

� Team leads need decision making authority� Don’t have a meeting to just decide you need to have a meeting� If leaders “in the trenches” need to escalate to manager or director level with each

decision, nothing will ever get done on time

� Technical development team must have access to environments� WAS/Portal administrators are never 100% dedicated� They usually don’t know how the application really works� A development team waiting around for a simple task to be completed wastes time and

$$$$

� BCBSF Example – how we avoided � Perficient produced a recommended set of privileges for lead portal developers and why

they needed it� Portal delivery leadership met with infrastructure and negotiated a middle ground that

granted access in lower environments while protecting the integrity of stage and production environments.

Failure to Empower the Team


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Pitfall #3

How to fail when managing a portal project� My job definition is to get a report and summarize it in another report

� My job is to make a list of all the risks and put them on a piece of paper

� My job is to make a list of issues and put them on a piece of paper

� My job is to hold a weekly meeting and present my pieces of paper

� My job is to have a developer tell me of an issue on Thursday and assign someone to address it when I create my status report on Monday

� I’m a Project Manager, it’s the process rather than the end goal or the technology that’s important

Aside from some spiffy PM tools and a cool certificate on the wall, a good admin could do my job………………………..

Lack of Solid Technical Project Management for Portal


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Pitfall #3

� A good project manager is worth his or her weight in gold: pay accordingly� A good project manager

� Sits with architects and developers over lunch� Understands the technology well enough to understand the dependencies

� Can you create a page on the portal?� Can you set security?� Can you place portlets?� Do you know the general approach to integration?� Do you know the general approach to content management?

� Acts immediately on issues with dependencies� Is forward looking and ensures deliverables and key technology is ready before

developers start working on them.� Can translate a developer issue to a business language� Isn’t afraid to act like a Business Analyst if the need is there� Uses the collaboration tools, project spaces, etc. to their best advantage

� BCBSF Example – how we avoided � We ran into this problem and were not afraid to make a resource change

Lack of Solid Technical Project Management for Portal


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Pitfall #4

� This is what we’ve always done and what we know, so try to use it

� This is what everyone else is using�While it is usually best to follow industry trends, your needs may differ

�JSF vs Struts vs Spring MVC for user interfaces

� Trying to make portal fit into your existing technologies and processes without adapting them

� BCBSF Example – how we avoided �Chose to use LWCM for web content even though Stellent was in house

�Did a 180 switch and chose Spring MVC after starting with JSF and experiencing great pain

Choosing the Wrong Implementation Technologies


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Pitfall #5� Enough time is not left for performance testing

� 6-8 weeks for first round of performance testing� Long term soak tests� Performance Tuning� LWCM and PZN optimizing� Limit the calls on the main page

� Do not have experienced portal administrators� Developers should not have to tell administrators how to perform tasks� Administrators should be able to troubleshoot and resolve problems

� Underestimating production support� Production support is time consuming and can have a negative perception� Developers should not also be the frontline for production support

� Release management is complex� Build and deploy process is complex� Must coordinate content, services, security, infrastructure, and portal simultaneously

� BCBSF Example – how we avoided � Went through an extensive load testing and performance tuning process� Brought in highly skilled dedicated portal administrators at critical times� Adapted to the processes� Very committed blended team

Underestimating the People, Processes and Technology


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Summary

Success Factors

� People, Processes and Technology -The Holistic Approach

� Design with the Users for the Users

� Dependency Management

� Use an Experienced Core Team

� Pick the Right Portal Partner

Pitfalls

� You do not Leverage what the Portal Technology Provides

� Failure to Empower the Team

� Lack of solid technical project management for portal

� Choosing the Wrong Implementation Technologies

� Underestimating the People, Processes and Technology


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Additional Information and Resources

Corporate Site - http://www.bcbsfl.com

My Blue Service - https://mwe.bcbsfl.com/wps/portal/mbs/

Corporate Site - http://www.perficient.com

Portal Blog - http://blogs.perficient.com/portals/


About Perficient

Leading Technology Consulting & Solutions Firm� Founded in 1997; Publicly traded.� $231MM+ in annualized 2008 Revenue� Over 1,400 highly-experienced Consultants� 18 Locations across North America� 80+% of Revenue from recurring Clients� Served over 400 Clients in past 12 months

Software Solutions Expertise, including:� Enterprise Portals & Content Management� SOA, EAI and BPM� e-Commerce and Product Information Mgmt� Business Intelligence/ETL� Customer Relationship Management/CDI� User Experience/UCD

Key Differentiators� Focused expertise, lower cost, faster time-to-value� IT Solutions with Business Focus� National consultants overlay Local delivery model� Mature, proven Project Methodology� Global Development Centers in China & Europe� IBM’s largest Software Services Partner in U.S.

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