Introduction
Halian has designed and implemented a new management information system for a major London-based reinsurance specialist

The Halian solution was based on a Microsoft SQL database which replaced a legacy Access 97 system. It provides the capacity to centralise key member information, manage membership reporting and correspondence, and plan technical reviews, or audits, of its members in one place.

Background
The reinsurer’s Access 97 management information system was no longer supported by Microsoft and was proving increasingly unstable. In particular, it was frustrating the company’s statutory requirement to keep in step with changes in compliance legislation and also leading to errors in membership reporting.

With the decision taken to migrate to a new system, the company began its supplier search assessing candidates on the basis of relevant skills, flexibility of approach and capacity to manage the project, as chief financial officer (CFO) explained.

“We may be large financially but we’re small in actual staff numbers which means we don’t have the people around to manage this kind of IT project in-house. We needed a supplier that had the skill sets to do this on our behalf and work around the limited resource we had available.”

Ultimately, it was the range of personnel at Halian’s disposal that swung the choice in the company’s favour. “They demonstrated the skill sets were there and that they had the resource to give our project the proper priority, which was important,” added the CFO.

“We didn’t want the project outsourced overseas as a matter of preference; rather, we wanted to work with a company close to London so we could have regular contact and dialogue. Halian met those requirements, too.”

Solution
Halian based its solution on an existing MS SQL server database allied to an MS active directory server for authorisation and authentication, and an existing MS Exchange email system for all email communication. At the heart of the system design was a Java domain model to manage membership forms and validation.

A series of workshops was held at the reinsurer before system building began to carry out both a requirements and business analysis and determine what functionality the new database needed. A route to completion was agreed with established deadlines.

For each use case, Halian decided the main design and layout and then went back to the client with a functional proof of concept to agree the final layout. In this way various use cases were trialled and developed with detailed information flows.

For example, for the ‘Maintain membership register’ use case, Halian brought together all the database elements of adding a member to the system and managing the details, including:

• recording receipt of application
• managing correspondence concerning membership renewals and terminations
• registering and updating all required contact details
• viewing member history.

Having explored what was wanted from the database a little more, other, previously unidentified, functionality requirements arose, which required a flexible response from Halian.

The approach was always friendly and accommodating, earning the company plaudits from the reinsurer’s project supervisors. “Some IT people give you the impression they’re doing you the biggest favour in the world whenever you ask for something extra,” said a spokesperson. “That was never the case with Halian. I was really impressed with them.” 

As a result, the new member database provides a platform that can be expanded as needs arise. For example, it now holds in one place both the history of a member’s paid premiums and the claims payments made to them, with the added potential of linking this information to other member documents or correspondence held in another SQL database. The result is a complete view of member activity from just one source.

Outcomes/Benefits
“Renewed confidence in the reliability of the data” is how the CFO describes the real user benefit of the new database.

“We’d had incidences in the past where reports drawn off the Access database proved incorrect. Thanks to all the user testing we’ve done, we know that the SQL database cannot fail that process,” he said. He also highlights the new system’s ability to keep the business in line with changing statutory requirements and monitor any legal disputes with members among its other key operational advantages.

Other benefits are largely procedural. The database prompts the company on the administrative processes needed to manage certain specific events, for example. There may be five required actions per event and it had been very easy to forget one, or do the wrong one at the wrong time.
The company can now be sure to take the right steps because the system has built-in reminders or, when generating a letter, it will highlight any criteria that need to be fulfilled before it goes out. “This has been one of the best managed IT projects I’ve been involved with,” added the CFO. “Are we satisfied? We most certainly are.”

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