The client needed to move away from their current platform as there were flaws in the system resulting in regulatory breaches and customer remediation. Due to the complex and bespoke nature of the underlying algorithms, it had been determined, through an external consultant, that there were no “off the shelf” products which were suitable and that a new system was required.
The Transformation Lead had been told by the Senior Stakeholder that “there is only one analyst who can design this system and he is not available”. The business was also looking to implement the solution through an Agile project, which was new for them and therefore they were in the process of engaging an external consultancy to provide a Scrum Team.
I had limited knowledge of Discretionary Portfolio management and zero understanding of the underlying algorithms.

I was asked to prove to the Senior Stakeholder and SMEs that robust analysis techniques could be used to define the business requirements for the system. I was given 4 weeks to design an analysis framework which would then be suitable to roll into the Discovery Phase of an Agile project, working alongside the Scrum team.

I worked with the business to gain a rapid understanding of the breadth (scope) and the depth (complexity) of the solution. I then played back this initial understanding through a series of domain diagrams. I emphasised that at this point we were not looking for 100% agreement but just a general approval. I then identified the thinnest slice of functionality where I could produce the full set of analysis deliverables and held workshops with the business to drill down into this specific detail. The documents I produced included:

• Domain Diagrams
• Business Flow (Swim Lane) diagrams
• Use Case documents
• Business Rules

I also saw the need to model the algorithms which were at the core of the solution, this was where the greatest degree of complexity was found and would help to validate and prove the business rules.

The result from the 4 weeks activity was agreement from the Portfolio Managers that the set of analysis documents covered the breadth and depth of the solution and enabled them to fully engage in the analysis process. The  diagrams were particularly useful as they allowed the business to visualise the flow of their algorithm logic and ensure that all scenarios were covered.

The business were particularly enthusiastic about the modelling spreadsheets and, what was originally intended just to be a cross-check against the rules, quickly became an integral part of the analysis deliverables. These “illustrators” even allowed the business to review their own modelling strategies, discover flaws and correct them and hence drive this through into the business rules.

Once the Scrum Team were engaged, they also fully appreciated the benefits of the analysis approach and incorporated them into their Agile style. They also saw the benefit of the Illustrators and between us we amended them slightly so as to form the basis of the automated Algorithm tests.

• agile transformation
• business analysis
• requirement analysis
• stakeholder management

• Digital Enablement