A large Financial Institution wanted to engage more digitally with its client base. They were keen on creating tools that clients could conveniently use in order to work with their Financial Advisors (FAs).
CASE STUDY
Project Management & Business Analysis
BACKGROUND
Business Situation
After a few months of internal deliberations within the upper management circles of their Wealth Management Division, the concept of 4 digital tools came to fruition:
- Scheduling service that can be completely managed online for conveniently establishing meetings
- Secure repository that can house important legal documents and communications, allowing the FA and their client to share sensitive information without be fearful of cyber hacking
- Secure video conferencing tool that the FA can use with their client and spouse
- Internal texting platform that would seamlessly transition from mobile and desktop setting while recording each communication for regulatory purposes
Traxion Group's Impact
Traxion Group was hired to bring in a Project Manager (PM) to oversee the entire portfolio in order to ensure smooth creation, testing, and implementation of these 4 products. Immediately upon arrival, the PM created a contact matrix of each team that would be needed for full implementation (representatives from Legal, Risk, Compliance, UX Design, QA/UAT Testers, Developers, Product Owners). Traxion worked with each of Product Owners individually to understand the expected initial scope of the products as well as their holistic vision of the end state. Creating a roadmap and project plan to account for each of the products was necessary to maintain organization and account for each milestone needed for completing the projects successfully.
A major challenge here was to agree on the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that would be acceptable to release to a smaller pilot audience of clients. Rolling out products to hundreds of thousands of clients must be done carefully ensuring attention to detail is taken. Each feature must be met with thorough analysis by representatives from each of the teams mentioned above. Balancing the desires of the Product Owners with the realities of the technology teams’ bandwidth and the restrictions placed by the Legal, Risk, and Compliance teams was difficult.
After the MVP scopes were agreed upon, it was important to communicate in great detail what was needed from the Business standpoint to ensure Technology was able to digest and act upon the requirements written. The Traxion PM took it upon themselves to dive into the details of each individual requirement with the understanding that it must be clear for all impacted parties. It was important to create an appropriate cadence with all representatives involved so that everyone was kept informed throughout the project. Establishing clear milestones and target dates, along with the following up on individual task deadlines was needed for progressing the products.
As a result, all 4 products were launched with the MVP on each of the target dates communicated. Additionally, extensive work was done by the PM to establish strategic enhancements for a post-launch improvement of each of the tools. Working to mitigate defects and bugs was also baked into the plan and accounted for in both stages (pre and post production). Organization, communication, attention to detail, and willingness to go above and beyond with business analysis are characteristics that our PMs/BAs have.
Finally, and most importantly, the job is not completed until the client is satisfied. For this engagement it involved 2 sets of clients. The Client creating these new digital tools as well as the end users such as the Financial Analyst and their Wealth Management Clients.