by Matt Avery | Dec 4, 2024 | Case Studies
Analysis of Stakeholder Use and Needs for New and Legacy Technologies to Develop Optimal Go Forward Plan
A large federated financial institution comprised of separate legal entities, each with unique governance and fiduciary responsibilities, sought to optimize its Project Portfolio Management (PPM) and Project Accounting systems. The client wanted to create a seamless PPM and Project Accounting process through enhanced technology, process improvements and comprehensive training.
The Challenge
A complex PPM and Project Accounting system with various levels of technology adoption across functional units and uneven usage of system tools was creating challenges such as project delays, cost overruns and reduced productivity. An independent assessment of the current state was needed to understand the Problem Space and create a future roadmap.
A multifaceted approach identified Stakeholder needs across business units that were then mapped to two distinctly different technologies that have overlapping functionalities. The challenge was to create a plan that optimally leveraged both tools’ features and functionalities while meeting the diverse needs of Stakeholders. Stakeholder empathy maps, an analysis of the features and functionalities of both technologies and a roadmap including use of specific technology capabilities were developed.
The Change
A focused Problem Space Assessment from Stakeholder interviews analyzed the various business units’ PPM and Accounting Management functions and identified local and system-wide Stakeholder needs. More than 60 Stakeholders representing CIOs, executives, managers and practitioners across multiple business units were interviewed to understand pain points, tool and technology usage, challenges, behaviors and future needs. Identified areas of improvement included:
- Patchwork systems with many manual steps
- Lack of standardization in process and tool usage
- A wide range of Agile maturity and practice across business units
- Primary, legacy ERP technology with limited functionality
- Reporting functionality that did not address critical needs
- Limited integration
- Limited knowledge of available PPM technology
- No common taxonomy
- Limited ability to collaborate between interconnected business units
While feedback on the current state varied, there was collective agreement on the primary issues that Stakeholders want to see addressed in a future state.
The Results
Using findings from the Stakeholder assessment, xScion conducted a comprehensive, impartial analysis of the feasibility and features of the legacy financial enterprise planning technology and the new PPM and Enterprise Agile suite to get a true view of the features and functionalities of both. Using Lean and SAFe Scale Agile methodologies, a weighted system of identifying needs, comparing the technologies and analyzing the alternatives was created to analyze the individual elements of each technology in the context of user needs, industry best practices and interoperability with a focus on alignment with broad, system-wide strategic objectives.
A Product Dossier was created identifying the best use of each technology given the system’s current state and needs with strengths, weaknesses and rationale indicated for why a particular tool is the best option for a particular function. Recommendations and Roadmaps were provided based on the reality on the ground for optimal Go-Forward planning to achieve the client’s objective of seamless PPM and Project Accounting process.
The Value
Stakeholder analysis found a wide range of perspectives in terms of understanding and usage of available tools and technology across people and business units. With various perspectives and practices spread across a federated institution, it can be challenging for clients to chart a path forward without impartial analysis by external partners with expertise in the technology, processes and industry best practices.
xScion created a true understanding of the client’s current state, mapped Stakeholder needs and provided guidance on which features and functionalities of both legacy and new technologies supported both Stakeholder and system-wide objectives. Through reconciliation of Stakeholder needs (Problem Space Analysis), system objectives and technological capabilities, a recommended roadmap was created.
The multi-faceted process increases the client’s odds of success and allows them to reach their desired future state more quickly while optimizing the value from their investments in technology spending and organizational transformation along the way.
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by Matt Avery | Oct 4, 2024 | Case Studies
Developed Roadmap to Accelerate Modernization Efforts While Meeting Increasing User Demand
A large, regional financial institution devoted to promoting economic growth and fostering a sound financial system maintains one of the most comprehensive, public-facing economic websites. The client promotes, maintains and disseminates economic research and data used by a rapidly growing number of economists, policymakers, teachers, students and regulators.
The Challenge
The client needed to meet the competing demands of operating their current system to support increasing usage versus the need to transform and modernize to meet future customer volume. The client started modernizing the website, which included leveraging a new Cloud-native architecture with modern architecture patterns, technologies and processes available in AWS while also addressing their current architecture limitations, pain points and inefficiencies.
To ensure the modernization’s success, xScion performed an in-depth Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) to assess legacy systems, identify current gaps and opportunities, evaluate modernization plans and develop a roadmap based on industry best practices.
The Change
xScion’s Data, Security and Cloud experts used an Agile IV&V approach and leveraged both the Open Group Architecture Framework and the AWS Well-Architected Frameworks to perform a detailed analysis of the challenges.
Emphasizing five critical areas identified by the client, xScion recommended changes to the application development process, the data environment, the underlying infrastructure and other support systems such as authentication, disaster recovery, business continuity, security and operational excellence.
The Value
xScion determined that the client is moving in the right direction and should continue to resource their modernization efforts appropriately to balance the competing demands of supporting production activity versus modernization efforts. Strengths and weaknesses of current processes were identified, and a roadmap was recommended that continues the Cloud transformation progress and prioritizes the client’s goals while effectively meeting current customer demands.
Successfully migrating to Cloud-native services will bring the client’s systems to the current state of the art and address many performance degradation issues. The transformation positions the client to smoothly scale to meet increasing content volume and customer demand and improves their ability to meet their mission of effectively maintaining and disseminating economic research and data.
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by Matt Avery | Sep 4, 2024 | Case Studies
Agile Product Development and Delivery of a New Digital Platform to Serve 4,000,000 Plus Customers
A large federal health payer wanted to help members understand their health and wellness needs through the latest technology and connect to the appropriate people and programs. To accomplish this mission, existing systems required an end-to-end redesign, unification, and digital technology upgrade. Integrating industry best practices, enterprise architecture reforms and cutting-edge technologies, xScion supported an Agile Product Development and delivery effort for a new digital service platform.
The Challenge
The client needed to transform the way it interacted with its members by developing a consumer-facing service portal that included a responsive website and functionality across mobile, tablet and desktop devices. To do this optimally, Agile methodologies were implemented to develop the high-level design and architecture necessary for creating a successful platform.
The Change
xScion re-engineered the login and claims modules while improving the user interface to deliver business, audit, security and reporting functionality. Agile and Lean practices were used to develop the platform integrating internal and external applications that allowed members to view claims, explanations-of-benefits, modify contracts, send and receive messages from local payers and order new ID cards.
The Value
Using Agile Product Development principles and practices, a platform was developed to provide 4 million members a one-stop shop for member information with full digital functionality (mobile, tablet, desktop). The client now has optimized the flow of information to members through platform upgrades that take into account changes in the marketplace, member needs and products offered to members including features that support the integration of external sites like WebMD.
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by Matt Avery | Apr 4, 2024 | Case Studies
Reduced Customer Service Calls by 500% and Overall Business Costs by 25%
A healthcare claims processor for federal employees wanted to make services easier for its members to utilize through optimization of desktop, mobile and web services. By leveraging our Product Design and Architecture expertise, xScion designed an enhanced digital member experience to help members understand and use their benefits and get their health needs met using an easy-to-understand platform.
The Challenge
The client wanted to create an improved member digital experience that would help members understand their benefits, use them more effectively and improve their overall health. The challenge was to create and execute a full-scale product while also improving development time and testing, using quicker, more effective methodologies.
The Change
xScion’s user experience designers created a modern and intuitive interface for both web and mobile channels to improve user adoption and engagement. Our teams supported the backend design and build of an IBM Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to enable real-time integration of legacy batch-based systems. The design provided a HUB for all system-to-system integration.
The customer adopted Agile methodologies to facilitate culture change and to optimize development, risk management and program delivery.
The Value
With xScion’s support, the client successfully launched the member-centric, real-time integrated portal and mobile application after a multi-year development and business transformation process. The user-friendly platform was embraced by members and had a substantial impact:
- Member satisfaction with online tools increased by more than 40%
- Member calls to Customer Service decreased by more than 500%
- Members proactively taking care of their health increased by 100%
- Overall business costs decreased by 25%
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by Matt Avery | Mar 4, 2024 | Case Studies
Verifiable Acceptance Criteria Met with 90% Reduction in Product Delivery Times
A large Health Payer sought to increase registration rates and usage of an existing digital member services platform by streamlining the onboarding process and improving the user experience. Previously, new members registered online and were mailed a welcome kit with uniquely identifiable information that gave them initial access to the platform. To reduce wait times and lower costs, the client aimed to automate the onboarding process so enrollees could be identified, registered and granted platform access more quickly.
The Challenge
The client sought to digitally optimize the member onboarding process through new automation processes. To do so it was necessary for developers to have a clear understanding of evolving customer needs through a continuous feedback loop and Agile processes.
The Change
A Three Amigos approach was used where Stakeholders from the Product Owner, Developer and Test Teams charted out experience mappings based on end customer personas and their journeys. The mappings included identifying customer touchpoints, handoffs from one process to the next and gaps or pain points. This process allowed for teams to identify opportunities to improve the customer experience and automate time consuming handoffs.
The team then derived verifiable, unambiguous acceptance criteria from the customer experience mappings. A Test-Driven Development (TDD) approach was used where tests and test criteria were initially written for every stage with Developers, then built to meet the acceptance requirements. This process objectively confirms in real-time that requirements are fulfilled each step of the way.
Stakeholders from all areas were brought together to map the customer journey and create acceptance criteria to ensure the final product was the right one to meet business needs. The approach followed a Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) process, borne out of the tenets of TDD that encourages collaboration among developers, testers and non-technical business participants in a project.
The Value
With xScion’s help, the client delivered a customer friendly new member onboarding process that reduced wait times and made it easier to enroll and verify members. Automation of previously manual processes reduced the cost of onboarding members.
Using a TDD and BDD approach resulted in a 90% reduction in product delivery times while ensuring Developers met verifiable acceptance criteria each step of the way. xScion used its “learning by doing” Dojo approach to collaborate with technical and non-technical Stakeholders to define successful business outcomes and design and implement tests verifying each incremental step in the process.
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by Matt Avery | Jan 4, 2024 | Case Studies
IT and Business Functions Shift Focus to Value Streams from a Project Mindset
A global pharmaceutical non-profit sought to improve overall efficiency by automating processes and implementing Business Process Management Software (BPMS). The customer faced challenges identifying the right process, best practices and competencies to achieve the business outcomes aligned to automation.
The Challenge
To optimally leverage their investment in new technology, the client realized a paradigm shift was required in the way various organizational leaders and decision makers thought about enterprise software development. They traditionally operated with multiple silos that they wanted to break down in order to identify a common ground for the BPMS implementation. xScion helped them shift to a modern Agile Product Management approach to break down barriers between business and IT functions and help maximize their new technology.
The Change
xScion’s Agile Coaches and Product Managers used their “learning by doing” Dojo approach to work with the client’s teams to implement Agile frameworks and guide product development in an innovative, customer-centric manner. They brought an outside-in, customer-focused perspective to help the client perform optimally through decentralized decision making, innovation, continuous delivery and iterative feedback/learning loops.
xScion carried out regular Agile awareness and coaching sessions with stakeholders spanning across functions. Visioning workshops were used to create a product vision consistent with the client’s strategic vision, mission, core values and key business drivers. The product vision was widely communicated across teams to socialize its key tenets.
A detailed Problem Space Assessment was conducted to analyze the two core operational value streams to be automated and leverage user personas, journey maps and the business architecture to create an initial product backlog framework. Program epic and key features were written and a minimum viable product (MVP) was defined with a clear benefit hypothesis.
The Solution
Working with the client, xScion identified key problem areas and leveraged a mix of industry tested frameworks such as Design Thinking, SAFe, Scrum and Lean Product Development to develop and implement processes that best fit the unique culture of the customer. A starting point was established through education of the customer’s teams that created champions within the organization and a shared vision for Agile and Product Management. An easy to socialize transformation road map was implemented for the client’s multi-million-dollar BPMS implementation that allowed business, IT and scientific stakeholders to take the necessary steps to create a BPMS product vision, Product Management Lifecycle and Agile delivery methods.
Agile Product Management processes and culture were developed that brought IT and business functions together with a new focus on value streams rather than projects. The client’s immediate change objectives were met and they were positioned well going forward for future challenges.
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