Ontario New Home Warranty Program:
Complaints
entry prototype
Business need
At the time of this project, 1987, Ontario New Home Warranty Program (ONHWP) logged over 16,000 new complaint files annually, containing over 100,000 complaint items. This information was recorded in an aging computer system that required much manual work and typing, and resulted in frequent errors and mis-coded items.
ONHWP required a simpler, quicker, more error-free system for entering the growing volume of complaints.
Alantext solution
I created a simple prototype of a new method of entering complaints data. In developing this, I created a new process as well as a mock-up of a possible tool.
My prototype employed a graphical user interface, in an era (1987) when this was uncommon in database entry. The interface enabled complaints clerks to enter information by selecting from "pick lists" and clicking buttons with a minimum of typing.
I designed the mock-up as much as a presentation/demonstration as a prototype, and it was demonstrated to staff of every ONHWP office. Staff response was overwhelmingly positive, and this new approach was endorsed. The prototype was demonstrated to the systems firm developing ONHWP's new system, to serve as a conceptual model.
I earned the annual Corporate Achievement Award for my work.