AWWA ACE61752

The AWWA Research Foundation (AwwaRF) has conducted an extensive research project that explores how to effectively select, acquire, and implement a new Customer Information System (CIS). Led by EMA, Inc., the project was sponsored by the City of Cleveland's Division of Water and co-sponsored by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Ten other utilities participated in the research project which surveyed more than 350 utilities, seeking feedback on best practices associated with successful CIS implementations. A number of case studies were conducted to further define effective practices. The focus of this research was to identify those effective business practices that can enhance the utility's odds of success as it moves through the project lifecycle. The objectives of this project were to: research the current status of CIS in water utilities (current and planned); identify and document critical success factors related to successful CIS implementations; identify and document potential barriers to success with tips on how to address them; identify and document successful CIS implementation case studies; and, provide a road map for utilities to select and implement CIS technologies. This project incorporates input from water utilities and others in the industry including: review of appropriate literature and industry proceedings; survey of North America's 387 largest water utilities (State of the Industry Survey); survey of respondents with highly successful or very negative CIS experiences (Benchmarking Practices Survey); on-site case studies of selected benchmarking practices; active participation by 12 utilities and four Project Advisory Committee utilities; vendor input; and, summary of effective practices, lessons learned, and a road map for success. Includes figures.