The overall project objective was to enable business to make fact based decisions, by evaluating and implementing initiatives to positively impact business value in an integrated way. This project included recommendations to address:

• Information integration across the end-to-end business bank credit value chain
• Integrated workflows
• Automated controls

This was achieved by developing several tactical initiatives that address critical areas of concern within the bank. These initiatives were described in detail for the business to begin implementation and included:

• Clear definitions of the tactical initiatives
• High level tasks required to execute the proposed solution
• Estimated time lines illustrating the prioritised sequence of tasks
• Expected benefits to be achieved by implementing the initiatives
• RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) matrices of stakeholders required
• Proposed resources/skill sets required

BSG began by understanding the strategic objectives of the client and why a need for change was required. By adopting an outside-in approach, BSG focused on information as the golden thread in shaping a data-centric organisation.

The root cause for change was defined as the poor data quality and issues with the processing and storage of data; leading to process inefficiencies, reports not being trusted, unhappy employees due to administrative intensity and passive decision-making resulting in risk exposure for the bank.

BSG commenced the project by meeting business unit leads as well as operational staff in order to gain an understanding of the full spectrum of perceived business issues being experienced. These problems were grouped and documented as themes within the business. A parallel evaluation of the client’s IT infrastructure was conducted in order to obtain factual reasons for the occurrence of specific business problems or themes. The themes spanned process, people, governance, technology and systems, operational information and management information dimensions.

Projects and initiatives that were either in progress or in the pipeline were also documented and aligned to the themes that would be addressed, with BSG assisting the client in advising which projects were feasible and should be prioritised given the strategic goals of the bank. From a tactical point of view, BSG developed 11 detailed initiatives that focused on short-term solutions.

Given BSG’s knowledge of advanced analytics, several of these initiatives were aimed at reducing risk, increasing revenue or improving process efficiency by producing intelligence from a host of data sources that enable the client to base decisions on facts rather than ‘gut feeling’.

In addition, BSG proposed that a business analytics centre of excellence be established in order to use the client’s data analysts more efficiently, given that the majority of their time was spent generating reports. BSG ensured the relevance of these initiatives were made evident to the client by providing examples that pin-point where in their business the initiative would be implemented and how it would benefit the business area affected. Finally, a time-versus-complexity benefit matrix was compiled to assist the client in prioritising which tactical initiatives to pursue first.

Being based in the client environment allowed the BSG team to design a practical strategy that made sense to the client and also ensured regular collaboration with client stakeholders. This ensured that the client had an engaged set of product owners to take responsibility for the tactical initiatives assigned to them.