Fintech Software Case Study: Optimising Back office Operations & Client Services

Deliverables

• Customer Service back-office frontend feature development

• Secure OIDC Sign-in module

• Technical consulting for feature ideation and innovation

• Business Analysis: conduct user interviews and observations to gain insight on and to develop system requirements.

The Challenge

When Flagstone needed to increase sprint velocity for a project deadline, they understood that scaling a permanent workforce can take time, and a high headcount is a financial burden during quieter business seasons.

The cost of hiring a permanent employee, only to find that they aren’t the right match is significant. As a result, Flagstone chose us on a short-term staff augmentation package, to meet their deadline.

In addition to the time concern and the salary of a permanent JavaScript developer - a contractor’s rate requires no payroll, no employer national insurance deductions, holiday pay or employee benefits costs.

Contrary to popular belief, contractors are not expensive; you may notice that a developer’s contractor rate may be sometimes cheaper or comparative of a permanent employee when recruitment fees, PAYE and benefits are compared, when calculated over a year.

The Solution

JavaScript Feature Development

We led the frontend development of a bespoke back-office customer service application.

This platform was used by Flagstone’s client services team to handle customer enquiries and action transfers on their client’s behalf.

We worked alongside a third-party staff augmentation supplier, who had provided junior developers as well as Flagstone’s own backend developers.

We offered coaching to lead and unite the project toward the completion.

Daily, we contributed to daily agile stand-ups and gave insight into application requirements and upcoming deliverables during agile sprint refinement and work estimates during sprint planning.

Business Analysis and Technical Consulting

Aside from core feature development, stakeholder engagement became a key aspect to understanding Flagstone IM and their financial domain.

We regularly met with Flagstone’s Product Management team to strategize on the feasibility of product features, and assisted in managing their product roadmap, to ensure we deliver a great application that respects the deadline.

We understand that it’s a product manager’s role to bring different team functions together and get them working toward a commonly understood goal.

At Cypher we believe it’s us; as the developer’s responsibility to ensure we communicate in an adaptable and easy to understand manner, to ensure that both technical and non-technical stakeholders can aid in our decision-making processes.

During our time at Flagstone, we regularly kept technical and non-technical stakeholders, informed of our progress to remain transparent and we reported to Flagstone’s Chief Technology Officer.

The benefits

1. Expert Resources on demand – Flagstone was able to get expert JavaScript resources on-demand, risk-free.

2. Development on their terms – In comparison to approaching an agency to outsource the project, Flagstone can augment their own staff knowledge with our expertise to deliver a project with their existing infrastructure.

3. Lower Fees – Hiring contractors allowed Flagstone to reduce the risks involved in hiring a permanent developer, which may turn out to be a costly, when factoring in recruitment fees and if they fail probation, the recruitment process restarts.

Client Testimonial