Social Science & Water Utilities

Adding the Human Dimension to Performance Reporting

Yeah, I agree, the social sciences are largely hokum.

Balinese Water Management

● Subaks (irrigation district)

● Water managed through engineering combined with religious practices

● Supported by economic theory

What is Social Science?

● Positivist– Physical sciences

methodology

– Objective?

● Interpretive– Humanities

methodology

– Subjective?Source: missfree.weebly.com

Water Utility Marketing

“Marketing is Customer Satisfaction Engineering”

Performance Monitoring

“What you measure is what you get”

Performance Monitoring

“Too often we measure everything and

understand nothing”

Performance Indicators

Any effectively generated system capable of measuring service quality cannot be both complete and consistent

KPI dashboards hide as much as they reveal.

What is Quality?

● Subjectivist– Eye of the beholder

● Objectivist– Independent of

experience

● Widgets

What is Quality?

● Interactionist– Value created in

interaction between object and subject

– Moment of Truth

Water utilities don't sell water, they sell experiences.

Safe Water & Good Water

Safe Water & Good Water

(Bio)chemistry

Physical

Explaining

Widgets

Intrinsic

Predictable

Intangible

Social Science

Experience

Understanding

Moment of Truth

Extrinsic

Unpredictable

Tangible

Service Quality Model

SCADALaboratory

SurveysComplaints

Taste Testing

Grade of ServiceFirst-Call

ResolutionTransfer Rate

SurveysComplaints

Mystery Shopping

Intrinsic Quality Extrinsic Quality

Co

re S

ervi

ceS

up

ple

men

tary

Ser

vice

External Influences on Quality

Human Dimension in Performance Measurement

Safe water is a necessary condition for good service quality, but not a sufficient condition