Article

Library of 'best practices' this month

The SSKA will release 10 documents written by industry experts.

June 30, 2008

Travis Kircher is the editor of the Self-Service & Kiosk Association's Web site, SelfService.org, and a reporter for ATM Marketplace.

 

The self-service industry soon will have a library of documents to guide manufacturers and deployers toward higher-quality kiosk deployments.

 

In July, the Self-Service & Kiosk Association expects to release 10 best practices, each focusing on a facet of self-service design or deployment. Those documents will be available to association members for free download from SelfService.org.

 

The best practices cover topics related to the self-service industry, ranging from enclosures to system security.

 

The release marks the culmination of more than a year's worth of research and discussion among members of the SSKA's Best-Practices Committee, chaired by David Oles, senior vice president of research and development for Dai Nippon Photo Imaging America Corp.

 

The SSKA Best Practices Library:

Best Practices for Kiosk Enclosures Best Practices for Photo Kiosks Best Practices for Power Protection of Electronic Kiosks Best Practices for Remote Monitoring Best Practices for Digital Media Rollout Best Practices for Touchscreen Selection Best Practices: Top Mistakes of Kiosk Deployment Best Practices: Self-Service Customer Experience Best Practices: Kiosk Acceptance and Managing Change Best Practices for System Security

Oles says the committee, formed in late 2006, was established to create guidelines for quality control in the self-service industry — guidelines that could be continuously updated as technology changes.

 

Oles and fellow committee member Mike Honkomp, director of new market development for Electronic Systems Protection Inc., agreed to pen the first two documents. Other SSKA members have been solicited to write the rest.

 

"We started soliciting member companies based on their area of expertise," Oles said. "For example, when we wanted something about kiosk enclosures, we looked to the membership to see who was in the business of designing and manufacturing enclosures. We took that approach for each of the topics we had."

 

A deployer's perspective

 

Oles says the documents can benefit anyone in the industry, but should be of particular interest to deployers.

 

"If I'm looking to deploy a kiosk solution, this is information that I can review and that I can use as somewhat of a checklist to make sure that my supplier — whether the supplier is already chosen or whether they're at the bid process — is making a solution that is really following best-practices in an industry," he said.

 

 

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At the same time, Oles says manufacturers can use the best practices as guidelines to managing total product quality.

 

The information included in each of the documents provides specific actions the manufacturer and deployer can take to improve the quality of their deployment, says Frank Olea, vice president of Olea Exhibits and Displays Inc. For instance, the "Best-Practices for Kiosk Enclosures" provides guidance for choosing enclosures with the appropriate materials, packaging and safety and Americans with Disabilities Act certifications.

 

"No matter what the kiosk design looks like, those particular items need to be in there," Olea said.

 

Living, breathing documents

 

The best-practices guidelines have been queried several companies, giving each topic thought and vetting, Oles says.

 

With the release of the first 10 best-practices documents, Oles says the association is putting a "stake in the ground" toward its commitment to continuous improvement in the self-service industry. He expects the publications to generate some debate.

 

"We fully understand that, once we publish these documents, we're going to receive feedback," he said. "There's probably going to be some things that are incomplete and we may have some areas where people are going to think that we overreached in terms of best practices. So our idea is to have these be living, breathing documents."

 

Oles says plans are underway to create an e-mail address where readers can suggest changes or provide additional insight. More importantly, he hopes more SSKA members will step forward with ideas for additional best-practices documents after the first 10 are published.

 

"I think we're going to do another set of brainstorming discussions to try to expand on our topic list," Oles said. "We just want to get to where we feel like we've got a complete set that covers what really will provide a benefit to our members."

 

David Drain, executive director of the association, expressed his approval.

 

"I really appreciate the diligence that David and Mike have had to accomplish our goal of publishing 10 best practices documents," Drain said. "I think these documents are going to be particularly helpful to someone starting out and will be another important reason to be an SSKA member."