How to solve the next 6 seconds problem in 4 steps

Back in 1992, two very exciting things happened in my life. Firstly, my second child and

eldest daughter was born. Then secondly, I received my NASA manned space flight launch room

certifications to as a certified Ground Launch Sequencer (GLS) programmer with the

responsibility of programing and overseeing the GLS math model that runs the shuttle

countdown from T-9 through liftoff. I realize the birth of my daughter is much easier to grasp

than all of that space gibberish, but to my 28-year-old self they were both crowning

achievements. The way I was supporting my little family was by ensuring that the lines of code I

edited, created, and complied, resulted in a safe and successful launch of the Space Shuttle.

The GLS is an amazing piece of software that originated in the late 1970s and was first

used in 1981 to launch STS-1, Columbia with Bob Young and Bob Crippen onboard for the first

flight of the space shuttle program. The next 134 launches depended on the GLS interrogating
over 75,000 functional designators some sampling at 1,000 samples/sec to decide if it was safe to

move the launch countdown forward. Each mission changed the flight dynamics of the vehicle,

so each mission required updates and changes to the GLS tapestry of code so its generic set of

business rules could be modified successfully to accommodate the particular nuances of the

next STS mission profile. Understanding that at exactly at T-2m, 55sec its time to pressurize the

146,181 gallons of liquid oxygen, not before then, not after then is the very nature of the GLS

design. If you do this too soon, or too late well, lets just say that very bad things can happen.

The GLS system was one part code, and one part Launch Control Room Certified GLS operators

whos job it was to learn and improve the GLS code for the next launch think Human

Learning.

Of course in this blog the question looms, what does being a GLS programmer have to do

with Customer Experience and the Machine Learning AI bots being deployed to control your

companies every CX touch-point? Well, I submit that everything is connected by these 4 steps:

1) BRAND - Focus on your Brand

Why: As GLS programmers our brand promise was to safely deliver astronauts and

cargo into low earth orbit.

2) JOURNEY - Understand the Journey

When: We safely navigated a sequence of events that led to a successful outcome, and

constantly monitored for known and un-known pain points.

3) DATA - Measure what you manage, Manage what you measure

What: By measuring all forms of structured, unstructured, activities, and outcomes

we could leverage the Launch Processing System multiple data sets and created a

data lake.
 4) INTERACTION - Every interaction matters

How: Each interaction is an opportunity to learn and improve the next interaction.

The Ground Launch Sequencer engine learned and improved the safety and

predictability of each subsequent launch by closely facilitating the next right step.

Each of these steps ties closely to creating a successful machine learning AI bot that can trusted

to operate your companies CX touch points successfully.

WHY | BRAND

The first step deconstructs your Brand into distinct, and tangible elements. You have to

ask yourself what exactly is your companys promise, and how can you quantify those qualities?

Boiling everything down into a math equation, so that the machine learning/AI bot can create a

business rule that will instruct its next action.

Lets consider Southwest Airlines brand promise: We exist to connect people to whats

important in their lives. Their brand promise centers on 5 key characteristics: friendly,

reliable, low-cost, above & beyond, and hungry & humble. These are all great ideas, but

how does a company measure friendly or hungry & humble? Over the past 10 years, it has

become easier than ever to measure things causing many companies to drown in data. The

key to measuring exactly what you want, like being friendly, is to measure and listen for the right

signals at the right time. Start by drawing a 2x2 box and brainstorming Structured vs.

Unstructured data, along with Activities/Events vs. Outcomes.

So, focusing on the brand promise of Friendly and how to measure it:

Unstructured Structured

Staff interactions with passengers at Complaints logged

Activities gate & onboard Number of alcoholic drinks ordered
In seat survey- open text comments on Number of sleeping passengers
 the quality of boarding process Number of forced checked bags
Volume of laughs from pre-flight safety
banter.
Conversation noise level on the
Pictures posted facial recognition of
flight and voice tone
happy, calm, stressed, unhappy
New frequent flyer program
Video feeds of boarding/un-boarding
Outcomes acquisition post flight
activities
Number of frequent flyers on the
Travel site reviews/yelp
flight plus count of the ones flying
Heart rates monitored through seats
on points
By breaking every aspect down we are able to capture the data needed to establish the

mathematical baselines and norms that can be used to inform our machine learning AI bots.

WHEN | JOURNEY

In the second step focuses the customer journey and asks the question What does a

successful customer look like and how will you recognize them needs to be answered.

Understanding what a successful customer life cycle looks like will help you tailor your AI when

creating successful interactions. Just like plotting a course cross-country, think about the

waypoints that customers need to pass through to tell if they are on track to success. Waypoints

can be anything from hitting like on Facebook to completing a shopping cart, and the hundreds

of other ways customers grow close to the brands they love. To discover the key waypoints, we

need to focus on the six individual sections of the life cycle, and determine the key data points

needed to measure waypoint navigational success.

WHAT | DATA

Now that we understand the Why and the When we need to focus now on the What. In

this step, we work to connect the right data puddles a company creates in their marketing, sales,

service, product development departments as well as other data streams outside of the company
across different market sectors that can be brought together to create one massive data lake.

Mapping the potential data sources from the key performance indicators captured in Steps 1 and

2 will connect all the required data tributaries to your data lake in order to teach and inform your

machine learning. Last blog I talked about how Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence can

only learn based on what data is given to them. When pulling from small data puddles built by

different sections of a company, AI can get an incomplete picture of what your brand promise is,

or what a successful customer looks like. Finding the connections between the relevant data

puddles and giving the machines a larger pool to learn from is going to result in more successful

bots. This will provide the foundation needed to focus on the next 6 seconds problem.

HOW | INTERACTIONS

The last step asks, In the next 6 seconds - what is the next Best step for our customer

to take, so that they feel our brand promises, as they successfully complete their interaction,

while moving towards the next customer lifecycle waypoint? By pulling from all the activities

and outcomes captured in steps 1 and 2, an AI bot learns from the data lake and can then decide

what the best next step for a customer, even if it means handing over control to a customer

experience representative.

When launching a space shuttle the code has to understand the micro-interactions of the

main engine start at T-6.8 seconds, and verify successful ignition & thrust before T-0.

Understanding that the last 6 seconds of launch are built on top of a launch countdown that

started over 42 hours ago (as well as the previous 100+ missions) is key to appreciating how

important interaction design and monitoring are when crafting a world class AI bot. There may

be a high impact issue that only a human can resolve for the customer and bots should be able to

make that transition smoothly based on machine learning validated business rules.
 Just like with parenting, teaching an AI enabled customer experience compels us to start

with our heart, being mindful of the stages through childhood, observing the signs of progress

and being present as much as possible all the key events that make up the life of a young adult. If

your lucky, like my younger self back in 1992, you will find yourself 25 years later with a

daughter who is finishing her masters degree in writing, while planning her wedding for next

year. Brand/Heart, Journey/Mind, Data/Awareness, and Interaction/Moments these are the

right four steps to first focus on when starting down the path of automating your customer

experience.