Revitalising a Stalled Initiative: Modernising Insurance Architecture with Cutting-Edge Technologies

Our project aimed to propel a large insurance company’s business architecture and technical estate into the future. It featured a host of exciting and cutting-edge technologies; however, the project had suffered several technical and process-oriented setbacks.

Challenges:

1. Integrating into a Delayed Project: Upon joining the project, it became clear that the initiative was far behind schedule, and the team was burnt out. Integrating into the team and providing guidance to re-evaluate requirements and expectations going forward was a massive challenge.
2. Insufficient Documentation: Poor planning resulted in oversights, ambiguities, and occasions where developers had to work without clear direction, leading to numerous avoidable discussions. The lack of clear documentation obscured the project’s scope, criteria, and design requirements at times.
3. Unstable Services: Services were unstable and unable to handle any load, often failing when responses were too large.
4. Intermittent Performance Issues: The system occasionally experienced recurring issues due to poorly optimised code and concurrency problems, causing service slowdowns and unresponsiveness.
5. Testing Diligence and Reporting Gaps: Concerns persisted regarding the thoroughness of performance testing protocols and the lack of comprehensive reporting mechanisms, potentially leading to undetected performance issues.

Implementation:

1. Technological Stack: The technological stack included a modern front-end framework for front-end development and .NET/C# for backend development, consisting of multiple microservices. Leveraging serverless architecture, including HTTP triggers, ensured a seamless integration.
2. Load Testing and Development Testing: Employed comprehensive load testing tools. Development testing was conducted using industry-standard tools, and an OTP service was implemented using an external API.
3. Log Management and Query Optimization: Successfully implemented a log management system in the infrastructure, enhancing log data management and analysis. Improved query speeds by transitioning from lambda functions to leveraging efficient query mechanisms, optimising database performance and streamlining data retrieval processes.

Results:

1. New External Facing Front End: Built an entirely new external-facing front end with corresponding backend services and an OTP-service for two-factor authentication. This was accomplished solely by the team, demonstrating how a smaller team within a larger team can autonomously operate and deliver features.
2. Security and Efficiency: Utilised modern security tokens for additional security and efficiency.
3. Service Stability and Performance Optimization: Refactored and optimised services for stability and load handling, resulting in improved response performance.
4. Clear Documentation: Created clear and well-documented documentation for all services implemented by the team.

These strategic enhancements have not only streamlined operations but also fortified the project’s infrastructure, paving the way for continued innovation and efficiency.