BMS Group | Business Analyst & Product Owner

BMS, with its partners, has developed a digitized market place (“CRMX”) for credit risk insurance (“CRI”) which banks are now onboarding. The CRMX system consists of a ‘Front Office’ (CRMX) platform hosted by a global leader in financial data and BMS’s own proprietary ‘Back Office’ (“Ajax”) software.

Central to its operation and success is the BA/PM who will principally be responsible for:

• Coordinating and developing BMS’s proprietary middle/back office software, Ajax, with BMS’s dedicated development partner (“DP”).
• Working face to face with banks and insurers to establish data connectivity between Ajax and their internal systems. This includes managing the IT onboarding process for banks and insurers, where necessary.
• Coordinating between the CRMX software provider to ensure feature production is compatible with Ajax and making software requests to our DP accordingly.
• Coordinating data connectivity for BMS’s wider internal systems.
• Standard BA/PM administration, including detailed documentation of process and procedures in accordance with industry best practice.
• General contribution to the project and team.

1. Product Development and System Management – Ajax

• The Ajax back end needs constant tweaking, updating, and improving. This requires an understanding of how the system works, how to assess bugs, updates, or improvements, and relaying that to BMS’s DP in a manner that is clear and efficient. This requires an understanding of software development for commercial grade platforms and workflows.
• The BA/PM has full control and input over feature updates and requests and must be comfortable taking ownership and working in a fast paced and dynamic environment. Given the start-up nature of the project, there is zero bureaucracy associated with feature development.

Frequency: High frequency as the development process is iterative. Out of a long list of product requirements, the most essential or easiest to implement must be prioritised. It’s also important to understand what not to implement and overengineering solutions which could more easily be done via manual intervention.

Tasks include:

• The core task is to ensure operational stability of the platform. Each new product release has the potential to introduce bugs or errors, so there should be a thorough testing period + constant oversight in case unknown bugs have crept in.
• Having a clear idea of what the back end needs to do and how to do it is very important. Having realistic goals about what product features are necessary is important.
• Liaising with the DP daily about priorities, tasks, updates, fixes, etc.
• New Client onboarding requires a relatively time consuming process of loading users into the demo environment, digitising documentation, and testing until satisfied. This then needs to be migrated to the live site.

2. Connectivity

• Central to the success of the project is connecting both banks and insurers to Ajax to receive policy data and avoid rekeying.
• Each bank has its own requirements and flexible tailored solutions are required to be delivered.
• The BA/PM will need to be able to work with middle office bank teams to deliver the integration as well as marketing and presentational skills to showcase the impact of connectivity and encourage take up.

3. Product Development – CRMX Developer

• CRMX and Ajax working seamlessly is crucial and as such, each product innovation within CRMX will need some input from the Ajax BA/PM. CRMX product development can be categorised as either CRMX or non-CRMX functions. BMS’s is less important for non-CRMX functions. However, even these will have touch points with Ajax and so oversight and input is required to ensure what CRMX has built is compatible with the Ajax system.

Frequency: High frequency given the amount of development that is ongoing.

Tasks include:

• Answering queries from the CRMX team, regarding how CRMX/Ajax operates, what BMS’s thoughts are on certain product features, assisting with scoping out new features being built for CRMX.
• Testing and debugging, although not officially our role, is incredibly important to undertake, e.g. unearthing issues in products other than CRMX, but which we leverage.
• Acting as the primary point of contact with regards to CRMX development priorities, what the functionality should do, and how to integrate with Ajax, if necessary.

4. Internal IT

• Ajax includes automation into BMS’s wider IT systems, such as Eclipse, processing, and premium.

Frequency: Generally infrequent, but when there are issues debugging, testing, and fixing can be time consuming.

Tasks include:

• Ensuring BMS IT is aware of data uploads via robotics so any pre-testing can be undertaken. This includes fixes on our end that we need to action or coordinate with our DP to fix.
• Ensure correct data matching between BMS IT systems and Ajax. Requires thorough testing and releases to live.

5. Documentation and Procedure

• Sector standard documentation creation and maintenance in accordance with IT and software best practice.

Frequency: Often, in accordance with any update to Ajax or CRMX, internal systems, or IT requirements.

6. Skillset and Experience

• Software Project Manager or a Business Analyst who has worked on platforms and systems for Commercial applications.
• Exposure to financial institutions and internal IT projects is very desirable.