What factors are contributing to the sudden 30% rise in customer support calls related to Tandem Diabetes Care's Control-IQ technology in the last month?

Introduction

The sudden 30% rise in customer support calls related to Tandem Diabetes Care's Control-IQ technology in the last month is a critical issue that demands immediate attention. This analysis will systematically identify, validate, and address the root cause while considering both short-term and long-term implications for the product and company.

I'll approach this problem by first clarifying key details, ruling out external factors, and then diving deep into product understanding, metric breakdown, and data analysis. From there, I'll form hypotheses, conduct root cause analysis, and propose validation methods and solutions.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Looking at the timing, I'm thinking there might have been a recent update. Has there been any software or firmware update to Control-IQ in the past 1-2 months?

Why it matters: Recent updates often correlate with support call spikes. Expected answer: Yes, a minor update was released 6 weeks ago. Impact on approach: If true, I'd focus on changes in that update.

• Given the specificity of the 30% increase, I'm curious about our baseline. What's the typical volume of support calls related to Control-IQ in a month?

Why it matters: Establishes the scale of the problem and helps identify if this is unprecedented. Expected answer: Around 1000 calls per month. Impact on approach: A larger baseline would suggest a more systemic issue.

• Considering user segments, I'm wondering if this affects all users equally. Are we seeing any patterns in terms of user demographics or diabetes types more affected?

Why it matters: Helps narrow down if it's a universal issue or specific to certain user groups. Expected answer: Slightly higher increase among Type 1 diabetics under 30. Impact on approach: Would focus on features or usage patterns common to that demographic.

• Thinking about the nature of support calls, I'm curious about the main issues reported. What are the top 3 reasons for these increased support calls?

Why it matters: Identifies specific areas of the product causing issues. Expected answer: Alarm fatigue, glucose reading inaccuracies, and app connectivity issues. Impact on approach: Would prioritize investigating these specific features or components.