Witnessing the chaos that has taken place over the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 over the last few days is a salient warning over the dangers of launching a new system, as we are preparing to do with iD-points.

The madness and confusion that has reigned at T5, due to issues with the baggage system, has been not only a PR disaster for British Airways and British Airports Authority, but also a financial disaster, potentially costing billions of pounds.

There are lessons that we can learn from the T5 meltdown, and we will be applying all of these as we look to roll-out the new version of iD-points.

1. Problems occur in unexpected ways

Launching a new system, like opening a new aiport terminal, is a complicated business. Problems will spring from unlikely sources. In the case of T5, who could have predicted that the lack of security guards admitting baggage handlers to their carpark would be one of the root causes? Small details can have a knock on butterfly effect, which in the case of T5 led to delays and confusion, then to flights departing with no baggage, and finally dozens of flights cancelled altogether.

No matter how elegant the grand plan, the devil is in the details.

2. Dont make a drama into a crisis

Once things started to go wrong, BA and BAA handled the situation terribly, creating more confusion, anger and resentment amongst passengers. Inevitably they have been blaming each other.

Customer service is always the key, no matter how good the product. As we have always said, you only really find out whether customer service is any good when there’s a problem.

Some of BA’s fall from grace may have had something to do with the overconfident tone set by BA’s and BAA’s marketing machine. Back in September 2007, Geoff Want, director of ground operations at British Airways, boasted:

“We’ve six months left before we start using this building and we can’t wait. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. In the next few months we are going to test every aspect of it so it will work perfectly from day one.”

Meanwhile the Terminal 5 website at features a rolling slideshow of the calming concourse, ‘effortless transfers’, 10-minute check-in, and a baggage system “ready for what’s ahead”.

This gulf between hype and reality is not only insulting but it is also an abuse of trust. It’s better to prove how good things are than boast how good they’re going to be.

3. Slow rollouts are preferable to big launches

Who knows why such a large number of BA flights were switched across to T5 at once, rather than a slow transition from one terminal to the other. Economic pressures mean that BA are looking to move all their flights across to T5 by April 30th – an aggressive schedule that leaves almost no margin for teething problems, let alone scenes of grand chaos central. But I suspect that there was also a desire to create a fanfare event, a grand spectacle. It was a risky decision which has backfired spectacularly.

4. Stress tests are essential

One has to doubt whether enough testing and training took place in T5. It would have been a good idea to run more ‘stress tests’, ie running the airport as if it were in operation, but with staff and ‘actors’ rather than fare-paying customers to make sure all parts of the process of check-in, departure and arrival were working smoothly.

The emergency services regularly stage mock incidents to test their procedures, skills and grace under pressure – this seems to have been lacking at T5. Likewise in web application development proper testing involves load testing the system with simulated traffic levels, dummy data, and live beta testing before being deployed to the actual user base.

The new version of iD-points is our T5. Let’s make sure it goes a lot smoother!

Anyone who has ever played Dungeons and Dragons will know that it comes with its own points based reward system. Players amass Experience Points for solving puzzles, rescuing dragons and slaying damsels, that sort of thing, in a Tolkienesque fantasy realm.

The promise of Experience Points, which allow players to go up levels and gain new abilities and powers, provide the incentive for players to perform heroic deeds and pursue picaresque adventures.

In memory of Gary Gygax, the inventor of D&D, who died last month, we have been thinking about whether a reward system is a form of game. The operator of the incentive is the Dungeon Master, who creates a scenario, ie sets up a number of situations, such as selling products, for which players – End Users – can earn points.

But to take this further, adding a game element to a incentive campaign is a great way to add interest and competition to the incentive, and provide a framework or theme for marketing and communication material.

In the past we have created bespoke games as part of incentive campaigns for clients, including ones based on the theme of the World Cup, and pop music Christmas Number 1. They are a great way to add interest and topicality to ongoing incentive campaigns.

If there is anyone who wants us to create a Dungeons & Dragons or World of Warcraft style incentive for them, then please get in touch.