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Case Study: MGM Assurance
Amethyst responsibilities: Project management, systems development
The project: 'Nutcracker Programme' -mainframe migration and Talisman upgrade
The concept: Assisting this traditional life and pensions company implement a major upgrade and consolidation of systems onto one core policy administration package, the In-House Systems work-stream managed the delivery of satellite systems and interfaces - both new-builds and legacy. Using hybrid teams of internal resource and specialist contractors, (including Sea Bass Software) this demanded a 'best-of-breed' approach employing Agile, Waterfall and Test-Driven methods on diverse systems and development phases.
Project 1: New-build systems include Agency & Commissions, Reassurance Reporting; Legacy interfaces migrated from mainframe to .Net technologies include; bank processing, unit pricing and accounting feeds.
The Method: MGM “Best of Breed” development
Exmple: 
Agency and Commission system.
- Initial requirements analysis and UI design – Agile method (see Amethyst Agile Manifesto)
- Backend and commission processing rules – Functional specifications – traditional waterfall method. Document review and sign off.
- Commission posting and accounting rules – Test-Driven development method. Based on scripting and sample case data.
- Requirements analysis and gap analysis / Outline design - Traditional waterfall method- documented req and gap analysis doc review and sign off.
- GUI design – Agile Dot-Net development
Review and selection of technology platforms: MGM required a new development environment and infrastructure Criteria :–
- Industry standard – Microsoft .Net platform, coding in C# language, SQL Server database backend; report development in SQL Reporting Services 2007 – central repository and toolset.
- Mature (Neither cutting edge or trailing edge)
- Robust
- Skillsets tools and training available.
Environment and infrastructure
Code control: With Visual Source Safe on the way out and Team Foundation Studio unproven, we recommended CVS; as an OpenSource licence alternative for source control, this offered a no-cost, no-loss option - GPL licence= no fees, community supported, .lightweight; IDE integration via Tortoise middleware to MS-Visual Studio.
Project 2: Mercury Work Control: a work-management system in Microsoft SharePoint.
The concept: MGM Assurance operated a home-grown workflow system which has been developed and enhanced as an in-house system in classic APS pages over five years. It is coupled to existing policy administration systems FORVUS and TALISMAN 2.7 by way of a complex set of policy look-ups, from which policy details are inserted into Workflow tasks. Certain items of New Business also automatically create new Workflow tasks. In the last two years, this system was developed for performance reporting and Customer Charter measurement. further investigation has determined that the Workflow system will be unable to function following the decommissioning of FORVUS mainframe systems.
Selection of SharePoint Platform: Additional funding was made available to evaluate, design and implement an interim workflow system, based on an implementation of Microsoft Sharepoint and Microsoft Office which was evaluated at a high level against business requirements.
Workflow Definition: One generally accepted definition of ‘workflow’ is:
a toolkit that allows the assignment, transformation and automation of tasks, delivering ‘the right work to the right people at the right time, time after time’.
Pertinently for MGM;
- Workflow enables the end-to-end management of business processes, particularly in association with customer contacts, ‘case management’ document processing and back-office processes connected to time-critical tasks.
- It enables measurement of workload and throughput, in a non-intrusive way, by defining business measures and tracking of the flow of work between individuals and departments.
Overall, it provides the opportunities to;
- Manage and control processes,
- manage and control the flow of information to gain efficiencies and increase productivity
- raise the standards in customer service delivery.
Workflow Replacement - Decision Process
In considering the available options;
- ‘Do Nothing’ was not tenable.
- Patch existing MGM Workflow: ‘Disconnecting’ or patching the existing MGM Workflow application incurs development time and expense while providing no benefit other than maintaining the status-quo; it remains untenable as a long-term technical platform.
- Re-write the existing MGM Workflow: Incurs similar or greater expense (depending on scope) and ‘re-invents the workflow wheel’, after which MGM IT must develop and maintain a bespoke system at unknown cost.
- Implement Package Solutions: the current programme of change and over-commitment of key resources restricts MGM’s capability to deliver a package solution with a well-managed third-party supplier - else the investment in new technology will not be fully realised.
- Interim Solution, In-House: An interim solution requiring significantly less time, budget and resources, properly scoped, prioritised, time-boxed and implemented rapidly by MGM IT and the business divisions, would provide the platform for workflow to be sustained. Interim in this context lasting such time until the business can devote resources to designing and implementing a progressive, long-term solution.
- Application: Microsoft Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS), version 3.0
- Base workflow functionality derived from WSS template applications freely available
- Additional, complex or bespoke functionality fulfilled by custom web-parts
Development method: 'Agile' software development using
- Prioritised requirements lists (MoSCoW rules),
- timebox management
- prototyping 'look-and-feel'
- workshop techniques
- teams comprising developers and business champions
- Application: Microsoft Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS), version 3.0
- Base workflow functionality derived from WSS template applications freely available
- Additional, complex or bespoke functionality fulfilled by custom web-parts in C# under .Net framework
Constraints: Strictly defined timescale and budget; Agile Manifesto.
Client staff: stakeholders from across the customer service team at all levels from the CSD Division head to the part-time clerical assistants.
Development shop: Specialist contractors brought in to kick-start MGM's SharePoint development.
