Start Where We Actually Are

• Briefly describe the billing inquiry you want to pilot (e.g., late charges, disputed credits, pro-rata adjustments) and share a short customer story that represents a typical case.
• How often does this billing inquiry occur and roughly what percent of your total contacts does it represent? Options: <1%, 1–5%, 5–10%, 10–25%, 25–50%, >50%
• Which channels do customers most commonly use for these inquiries? Options: Voice/phone, Chat, Email, Social, IVR, SMS
• Who currently handles these calls—your in-house team, a BPO partner, a hybrid model, or automated self-service? Options: In-house agents, Outsourced BPO, Hybrid / mix, Automated self-service only, Other
• Tell us about a recent interaction on this issue that felt especially positive or especially frustrating—what happened and why?
• How would you summarize leadership’s tolerance for this issue in one sentence (e.g., 'board concern', 'watchlist', 'operational nuisance')? Options: High tolerance — not urgent, Moderate — watchlist, Low — board-level concern, Critical — immediate action required

Is This The Cost You’re Willing To Live With?

• What if every billing call that waits over 10 minutes is quietly costing you a percent of churn—how would that change priorities?
• During peak campaigns (holidays, promotions), what percentage of callers experience hold times over 10 minutes? Options: <5%, 5–15%, 15–30%, 30–50%, >50%
• When your center is under stress, which metric tends to degrade first? Options: First Contact Resolution (FCR), Average Handle Time (AHT), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), Cost-per-contact, Other
• What do customers complain about most in these scenarios—slow speed, transfers, agent knowledge, billing accuracy, or something else? Options: Long wait times, Transfers/hand-offs, Agent knowledge gaps, Billing inaccuracies, System errors, Other
• How has agent attrition trended over the last 12 months and what portion of that do you attribute to repetitive billing work? Options: Improved, Stable, Worsened 10–20% increase, Worsened 20–40% increase, Worsened >40% increase, Unsure
• If we could reduce peak hold times by half, what tangible outcome (revenue saved, churn prevented, cost reduced) would make that change non-optional for you?

What’s Really Breaking First Contact?

• Why do so many billing issues still need a second touch—are we missing a single source of truth, the right permissions, or the right workflow?
• Which root causes most often drive repeat contacts today? (select all that apply) Options: Incomplete agent desktop data, Lack of write-access to billing system, Insufficient agent training, No clear escalation path, Systems latency or errors, Poor self‑service deflection, Policy complexity, Other
• Which two backend systems do agents need most to resolve these inquiries? Options: Billing / provisioning, CRM / customer profile, Network diagnostics, Payment gateway, Order management, Knowledge base, Other
• Describe a recent interaction where an agent could not resolve billing on first contact—what missing permission, data, or step would have changed the outcome?
• How consistent is the agent desktop experience across channels and locations today? Options: Highly consistent, Mostly consistent with gaps, Fragmented by channel/location, Completely inconsistent
• How do you currently capture customer intent and root cause during interactions (tags, QA notes, speech analytics, other)? Options: Manual tags by agent, Quality assurance sampling, Speech/text analytics, Automated routing by intent, Rarely captured, Other

Who’s Holding The Keys?

• If the pilot needs a fast permission or a systems change, who is the single person who can say yes today—and who is the person most likely to say no?
• Who are the executive sponsors (names/titles) and their expected level of involvement for a pilot like this?
• Which teams must be actively involved to run this pilot successfully? (select all that apply) Options: Customer Operations / Contact Center, IT / Integrations, Security / Compliance, Billing / Finance, Product / Engineering, HR / Training, Legal / Contracts, Other
• What procurement or contracting constraints usually slow pilots (procurement windows, PO limits, vendor clauses)?
• Which compliance or security standards must this pilot meet? Options: SOC2, PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, Internal security standards, None / Not applicable, Other
• Who will be the day-to-day owner on your side for pilot execution and decisioning (name/title)?

If Metrics Could Talk, What Would They Say?

• What if your KPIs are measuring how well agents game the system rather than true customer outcomes—what would you want us to watch for?
• Which KPI is the single highest priority for this pilot? Options: FCR (First Contact Resolution), AHT (Average Handle Time), CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), Cost per contact, Self-service deflection, Other
• Please provide your current baseline for FCR, AHT, and CSAT (numeric values or ranges).
• What target improvements would you require to consider the pilot successful (e.g., +X% FCR, -Y seconds AHT, +Z CSAT)?
• How do you currently measure and report these KPIs (tools and cadence)? Options: Real-time dashboards, Daily reports, Weekly analytics, Quarterly review, Ad-hoc analysis, Other
• How will improved FCR/AHT/CSAT translate into business outcomes you care about (revenue, churn reduction, cost savings)—be specific if possible.

What Would Success Feel Like On Day 1?

• Imagine the pilot ends tomorrow and everything you hoped for was delivered—what one sentence would your CEO say about the outcome?
• Beyond KPI deltas, what qualitative signs will convince you the pilot worked (fewer complaint tweets, higher agent morale, fewer escalations)? Options: Reduced complaints on social, Higher agent NPS / morale, Fewer escalations, Cleaner billing adjustments, Improved QA scores, Other
• Who needs to sign off on pilot success and what acceptance criteria will each require?
• How would you like customer feedback captured during the pilot (post-call surveys, in-call CSAT, follow-up interviews)? Options: Post-call CSAT, In-call surveys, Follow-up qualitative interviews, SMS surveys, Social listening, Other
• If KPI targets are met but customer sentiment is mixed, which would you weigh more heavily in your decision to scale? Options: Hard KPIs (FCR/AHT), Customer sentiment (CSAT/NPS), Both equally, Depends on stakeholder
• What timeline for go/no‑go and scale decisions would work for you after pilot completion? Options: Immediately upon metrics availability, 1–2 weeks after, 1 month after, Quarterly review

What Would Have To Change To Make A Pilot Worthwhile?

• What is something you would refuse to accept from a pilot no matter how promising the results look?
• What minimum pilot scope would prove value while limiting risk (agents, channels, geographies)? Options: Single channel, single site, Single channel, multi-site, Multi-channel, single site, Multi-channel, multi-site, Other
• Which integrations are MUST-HAVES for the pilot? (select all that apply) Options: Billing system write-access, CRM read/write, Network diagnostics API, Workforce management, Agent desktop integration, Speech / text analytics, Other
• Which responsibilities must the Host (managed operation) take on, and which must remain with you during the pilot?
• What SLA targets should we agree to for response time, resolution time, and escalation turnaround during the pilot?
• What rollback triggers or safety gates would make you comfortable running the pilot (missed KPIs, complaint spikes, security events)? Options: Miss KPI by specified %, Spike in customer complaints, Security or privacy incident, Agent error rate above threshold, Other

Are You Ready — And What Could Stop Us?

• If you were to bet $1M on this pilot, what single risk keeps you awake at night?
• Which practical barriers could derail a pilot in the first 8 weeks? Options: Data access delays, Legal / contracting, Integration complexity, Change management / training, Agent union / HR constraints, Other
• How mature are your data feeds and are they accessible for near real-time analytics? Options: Production, real-time, Production, batch, Partial / fragmented, Not ready, Unsure
• What level of access or sandboxing would you allow our ops team to ensure quality while protecting customer data? Options: Full sandbox access, Read-only production data, Masked/PII-scrubbed data, No access — only synthetic test data, Other
• What training cadence and time-per-agent is realistic for ramp during the 8–16 week window? Options: 1-day training, 3-day training + shadowing, 1 week with shadowing, Ongoing microlearning, Other
• If we agree to proceed, who should be our next contact to advance technical kick-off and approvals (name/title/contact)?

• Current State & Consequence Alignment
• Billing Scenario Mapping Workshop
• Live Scenario Walkthroughs — Agent Desktop & AI in Context
• Metrics, SLA & Acceptance Criteria Calibration
• Pilot Confirmation & Next Steps (Decision Readiness)

• Establish reporting cadence and governance for pilot evaluation and escalation.
• Customer to validate the mapped scenarios with frontline supervisors and return feedback within agreed SLA.
• Schedule the Live Scenario Walkthroughs with identified sample cases and required system access.
• Brief Reaffirmation of Preconditions
• Demonstrate concrete, measurable changes to AHT and FCR for prioritized scenarios.
• Obtain explicit customer validation ('yes/no' acceptance) for each walkthrough as the canonical interpretation of requirements.
• Identify and document any technical, security, or process gaps that would prevent the future state.
• Provider to deliver recorded walkthrough videos, step‑by‑step evidence, and the estimated metric impact for each scenario.
• Customer to return scenario validation signoff or list of specific objections per scenario within 3 business days.
• Joint team to create a remediation plan for any gaps and assign owners with target completion dates.
• Review Demonstrated Metric Changes
• Agree exact KPI definitions, measurement windows, and data ownership for FCR, AHT, and CSAT.
• Set measurable SLA targets and explicit acceptance criteria for pilot success/rollback.
• Introductions & Meeting Objective
• Customer to grant access or provide exports of KPI data sources and historical dashboards needed to baseline and measure pilot impact.
• Provider to produce a measurement methodology doc and a dashboard template showing how pilot metrics will be reported.
• Joint team to lock pilot evaluation dates and the list of KPIs that will determine go/no‑go.
• Recap Validated Scenarios & Workflows
• Confirm pilot scope, validated scenarios, and that readiness gates are understood and assigned.
• Obtain an explicit readiness decision or a short, prioritized punch list to achieve readiness.
• Align on immediate next steps, owners, and schedule for Pre‑Deployment Readiness and Deployment Enablement stages.
• Customer to sign the pilot scope & readiness checklist or return an enumerated list of blockers with owners.
• Provider to produce the pilot runbook (roles, escalation paths, data capture points) and share within 48 hours.
• Schedule Pre‑Deployment Readiness meeting and assign training leads and data/integration owners.
• Achieve a single agreed sentence describing the current state.
• Document quantified consequences (dollars, handle time, CSAT impact) for executive urgency.
• Agree on a one‑sentence future state expressed as measurable outcomes (FCR/AHT/CSAT targets).
• Confirm the data samples, transcripts, system access, and SMEs needed for the Solution Experience.
• Customer to deliver anonymized sample billing inquiry transcripts (top 5 scenarios), call volumes by scenario, and 90‑day KPI baselines.
• Customer to provide quantified cost inputs (agent cost, escalations, refund/credit amounts) that demonstrate consequence.
• Provider to prepare a scenario mapping template and schedule the Billing Scenario Mapping Workshop.
• Recap Prework & Agreed States
• Complete detailed current and future workflow maps for the top billing scenarios.
• Identify and quantify the specific failure points that the experience must eliminate.
• Agree owners and SMEs for any integration, data, or policy gaps found during mapping.
• Provider to convert workshop outputs into diagrammed flows showing before/after steps and estimated AHT/FCR deltas.
• Inventory & Prioritization of Billing Scenarios
• Confirm Pilot Scope & Integrations
• Walkthrough — Scenario A (High‑Volume Billing Inquiry)
• One‑Sentence Current State
• Define Measurement Methodology
• Current Workflow Mapping (per scenario)
• Explicit Consequence (Costs & Risks)
• Readiness Gates & Risk Controls
• Set SLA Targets & Reporting Cadence
• Validation Checkpoint — Scenario A
• One‑Sentence Future State
• Owners, Timeline & Training Plan
• Walkthrough — Scenario B (Complex Credit/Adjustment)
• Acceptance Criteria & Decision Rules
• Failure Points & Consequence Mapping
• Decision & Next Steps
• Data & Prework Confirmation
• Validation Checkpoint — Scenario B
• Draft Future Workflow with Managed Ops + AI
• Escalation & Governance Model
• Validation & Owner Assignment
• Capture Gaps, Risks, and Workarounds
• Next Steps & Responsibilities

• 24/7 Inbound Voice Billing Support
• AI-Assisted Agent Desktop (Real-time Suggestions)
• Live Billing Adjustments and Account Credits
• Real-Time Network and CPE Diagnostics Display
• Remote Firmware Push and Device Remediation
• Chat and Messaging Support (Web, SMS, App)
• End-to-End Email Inquiry Resolution
• Social Media Triage and Subscriber Response
• Tier-2 Escalation and Field Dispatch Initiation
• Outbound Proactive Outage and Recovery Calls
• Dedicated Experienced Agent Pool for Billing
• AI Self-Service Flows for Billing Transactions
• Secure In-Session Payment Processing
• Interaction Recording, Encryption, and Compliance Controls

24/7 Inbound Voice Billing Support

• What is your average inbound billing call volume per day? Options: Less than 100, 100-500, 500-2,000, More than 2,000
• What peak traffic multiplier should we plan for (holiday/promotions)? Options: 1-2x, 2-4x, 4-8x, Custom
• Which languages do callers need support in? Options: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Other
• What target SLA for answer time should be configured? Options: Answer <30s, Answer <60s, Answer <120s, Custom
• What routing model do you require (IVR, skill-based, VIP routing)? Options: IVR + menu, Skill-based routing, Direct to named queues, Hybrid / Custom

AI-Assisted Agent Desktop (Real-time Suggestions)

• Which agent desktop or CRM will the AI need to integrate with? Options: In-house desktop, Vendor CRM (specify), Unknown / need assessment
• Which types of real-time suggestions do you want (select all that apply)? Options: Knowledge articles, Next-best-action, Pre-filled responses/templates, Dynamic troubleshooting scripts
• What confidence threshold should trigger agent suggestions versus auto-responses? Options: High (≥90%), Medium (70-89%), Low (<70%), Undecided
• Are there specific data sources the AI must reference (billing DB, provisioning, NMS)? List systems.
• Do you require language localization, tone controls, or role-specific suggestion sets? Options: Yes, No

Live Billing Adjustments and Account Credits

• Which agent permission levels should be allowed to perform credits or adjustments? Options: Supervisor only, Senior agent tier, All agents with limits, API/automation only
• What maximum credit amount should be allowed without escalation? Options: Less than $25, $25-$100, $100-$500, Custom limit
• Do credits and adjustments require an approval workflow or dual control? Options: Yes - approval required, No - single-step, Conditional (based on amount)
• Which billing system must this integrate with? (name and API capability)
• How should credit activity be reconciled for finance (real-time journal, daily batch, other)? Options: Real-time posting, Daily batch export, Weekly summary, Other

Real-Time Network and CPE Diagnostics Display

• Which diagnostics/telemetry fields must be visible on the agent desktop? Options: Firmware version, Node utilization, Signal strength/SNR, Latency/packet loss, Provisioning status
• How frequently must diagnostics update (push vs poll)? Options: Real-time push, Every 1-5 minutes, Every 15 minutes, On-demand only
• Which backend systems need integration (NMS, provisioning, telemetry streams)? List names.
• What access controls should govern viewing/acting on diagnostics? Options: All agents, Tiered access (agent/tech/engineer), Engineers only, Custom roles
• Do you require links to run automated diagnostics or scripted tests from the desktop? Options: Yes, No

Remote Firmware Push and Device Remediation

• Which device families and vendors must be supported for remote pushes?
• Should firmware pushes be automated by rules or require manual agent/supervisor approval? Options: Automated by rules, Manual approval required, Hybrid (auto for known issues)
• When should remediation tasks be scheduled (immediate, maintenance windows, customer-approved)? Options: Immediate, Maintenance windows only, Customer-approved windows, Configurable per case
• Is rollback capability required if firmware push causes issues? Options: Yes, No
• What secure credentialing or channel (VPN, API token, vendor portal) is required to perform pushes?

Chat and Messaging Support (Web, SMS, App)

• Which messaging channels should be in scope? Options: Web chat, SMS, Mobile app in-app messaging, Messaging platforms (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger)
• What expected concurrent chat volume or concurrency per agent should we plan for? Options: Low (<100 concurrent), Medium (100-500), High (500+)
• What target SLA for initial chat response should be used? Options: Under 15s, Under 60s, Under 3 minutes, Custom
• What bot-to-agent handoff rules do you require (after N exchanges, low-confidence, transfer button)? Options: After X exchanges, Confidence threshold, Manual transfer, Custom rules
• Do chat channels need to support rich media, payment links, or attachments? Options: Yes, No

End-to-End Email Inquiry Resolution

• How should incoming billing emails be routed (shared inbox, automated classification, agent-assigned)? Options: Shared inbox, Automated routing/classification, Direct-to-agent assignment
• What is your average daily email volume for billing inquiries? Options: Less than 100, 100-500, 500-2,000, Over 2,000
• What SLA targets for first response and full resolution should be configured? Options: First response <4h / Resolve <24h, First response <24h / Resolve <72h, Custom
• Do you require templated responses, signature management, or exportable audit trails for emails? Options: Yes - templates, Yes - audit trails, No
• Are attachments, billing PDFs, or e-signature workflows required during email resolution? Options: Yes, No

Social Media Triage and Subscriber Response

• Which social platforms must be monitored and supported? Options: Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Other
• Do you require real-time triage (minutes) or periodic reviews (hourly/daily)? Options: Real-time (minutes), Hourly, Daily
• How should public posts vs DMs be handled (public reply first, DM follow-up, policy-driven)? Options: Public then DM, DM only, Policy-based routing
• Is escalation to legal/PR required for certain social cases? Options: Yes, No
• Do you want sentiment scoring and prioritization for high-impact posts? Options: Yes, No

Tier-2 Escalation and Field Dispatch Initiation

• What criteria qualify an interaction for tier-2 escalation or field dispatch?
• What SLA should apply to tier-2 responses after escalation? Options: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, Next business day
• Does dispatch need integration with field workforce / scheduling tools? Options: Yes, No
• Should dispatch be auto-scheduled based on rules or created manually by tier-2? Options: Auto-schedule, Manual creation, Hybrid
• Are customer appointment windows and technician ETA notifications required? Options: Yes, No

Outbound Proactive Outage and Recovery Calls

• What triggers should initiate outbound notifications (monitoring alerts, scheduled maintenance, major incidents)? Options: Monitoring alerts, Scheduled maintenance, Major incident, Other
• Which channels should outbound notifications use (voice, SMS, email, push)? Options: Voice, SMS, Email, Push notification
• Who should be targeted for notifications (all affected, high-value customers, samples)? Options: All affected, High-value only, Random sample, Custom lists
• What retry and escalation rules should apply for unanswered notifications? Options: One attempt, 3 attempts, 5 attempts, Custom schedule
• Do you have TCPA or other compliance constraints for outbound dialing we must enforce? Options: Yes, No

Dedicated Experienced Agent Pool for Billing

• What size of dedicated experienced agent pool do you require initially? Options: Small (5-20), Medium (21-100), Large (100+)
• What hours and shift coverage are required (business hours, extended, 24/7)? Options: Business hours, Extended hours, 24/7
• What minimum experience or certification should agents have (years, product knowledge)?
• What quality monitoring, coaching cadence, and KPIs should govern this pool? Options: Weekly coaching, Bi-weekly, Monthly, Custom
• What level of backend system access should dedicated agents have (full transact, limited, read-only)? Options: Full access (transact), Limited access, Read-only

AI Self-Service Flows for Billing Transactions

• Which billing transactions should the self-service flows cover initially? Options: Balance inquiry, Make a payment, Apply credit, Plan changes, Other
• Which channels should support self-service (IVR, web, app, SMS)? Options: IVR, Web, Mobile app, SMS
• What authentication methods are acceptable for sensitive transactions? Options: Account PIN, SSN last4, OAuth/SAML, Tokenized session
• What escalation triggers should route users to live agents (failed flow, low confidence, user request)? Options: Failed completion, Low confidence, User request, Custom
• Do you need analytics to surface drop-off points and transaction completion rates? Options: Yes, No

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Commercial & Pricing Schedule
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Security & Compliance Addendum
• Pilot Readiness & Go/No-Go Criteria
• Systems Access & Integration Authorization
• Implementation Schedule & Milestones
• Change Order & Scope Modification
• Termination, Exit & Rollback Plan

• Success Review & KPI Validation
• Scale Decision & Commercial Alignment
• Lessons Learned & Continuous Improvement
• Operational Handoff, Governance & Monitoring
• Product Feedback, Roadmap & Shared Channel Setup

• Create a phased scale plan with milestones, resource needs, and target go-live dates.
• Validate that KPI calculations are accurate, auditable, and comparable to the customer's baseline.
• Agree whether measured outcomes meet the pre-defined acceptance criteria for scale or require remediation.
• Surface and document any data gaps or anomalies that could change the decision or require further analysis.
• Publish a validated KPI dashboard with data sources, methodology, and confidence intervals.
• Produce a short decision memo summarizing whether criteria were met and open data concerns.
• Assign owner to investigate any data anomalies and deliver findings within 5 business days.
• Recap of Validated Outcomes
• Reach a documented decision on whether to scale, with selected scale option and timeline.
• Agree required commercial/legal changes and owners responsible for executing them.
• Define immediate execution milestones and gating criteria for phased scale.
• Draft and circulate SOW amendment or contract change request reflecting the agreed scale option.
• What Worked Well
• Assign legal, procurement, and security owners to clear required reviews within the agreed timeline.
• Capture & Categorize Feedback
• Create a prioritized product backlog with owners and timeline linked to KPI impact.
• Establish a shared communication channel and triage workflow for timely issue resolution.
• Agree verification criteria to confirm that releases deliver the intended KPI improvements.
• Open prioritized backlog epics in the tracking system and assign engineering/product owners.
• Create the shared channel (Slack/Teams) and invite required stakeholders with documented triage rules.
• Define and schedule post-release KPI verification tasks for each major enhancement.
• Generate a prioritized list of operational and product improvements required before or during scale.
• Assign owners and timelines for playbook updates and training changes.
• Capture measurable success criteria for each improvement to validate effectiveness post-implementation.
• Publish an updated runbook and agent playbooks incorporating agreed changes.
• Create prioritized Jira/issue tickets for top defects and enhancements tied to KPI impact.
• Schedule follow-up training refresh and coaching sessions with owners and dates.
• Handover Checklist & Owners
• Confirm clear operational ownership and the handover completion criteria.
• Put in place monitoring and alerting that proactively surfaces SLA drift.
• Agree a governance cadence and incident escalation protocol for scaled operations.
• Deliver an operational handoff document with owner contacts, access lists, and runbooks.
• Build and share live dashboards and automated alert subscriptions with stakeholders.
• Document rollback and escalation playbooks and run a tabletop walkthrough with owners.
• Executive Summary
• Scale Options & Impact
• KPI Deep-Dive
• SLA Targets & Alerting
• Root Cause Review of Failures
• Impact Mapping to KPIs
• Financial Model & Cost Implications
• Process & Playbook Updates
• Data Validation & Anomalies
• Escalation Paths & RACI
• Prioritization & Roadmap
• Commercial & Legal Requirements
• Shared Channel & Triage Workflow
• Reporting Cadence & Review Forums
• Qualitative Feedback
• Training & Change Adoption Plan
• Decision Framing & Next Steps
• Risk Controls & Rollback Triggers
• Decision & Owner Commitments
• Validation & Post-Release Verification
• Prioritization of Improvements