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Keyrus nv Nijverheidslaan 3/2 B-1853 Strombeek-Bever, Belgium t +32 2 706 03 00 f +32 2 706 03 09 info@keyrus.be

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL

WITH SCRUM, KEYRUS INITIATES A NEW AGILE

CULTURE OF COLLABORATION AT BNP PARIBAS FORTIS

As one of the four core BNP Paribas activities, the Corporate & Public Bank, Belgium (“CPBB”) is at the forefront of the Group’s strategy in Belgium. It serves the decision makers and managers of all corporate businesses, public authorities and financial institutions in the country.

To effectively manage the large amounts of data necessary for the proper functioning of its business operations, BNPP Fortis CPBB set up MB Store, a powerful application for business intelligence providing information on CRM and finance on corporate and public banking clients of the bank. This application is led by a BI Competence Centre consisting of technology and business profiles whose mission it is to ensure the supply and optimal integration of information from a variety of sources (CRM, financial, HR, etc.). Today, five years after initiation, MB Store is a mature BI application offering detailed and structured documentation. Keyrus became two years ago the dedicated supplier for the further management of the application.

FROM WATERFALL TO SCRUM

BNP Paribas Fortis was facing an important challenge: improving the on-going software development around MB Store. A crucial process that depends on the collaboration of two departments: ADM (IT), responsible for the data warehouse model and processes, and BOO (business operations), the business representative responsible for the BI reporting activities. As in any complex project, the end-users’ requirements are difficult to capture upfront since they constantly evolve and depend on what already exists. At

that time, the company was using the traditional waterfall methodology with a strict planning. A schedule for future developments was set by IT for the next 2 or 3 versions, 4 to 6 months ahead, with little opportunity for change. Users were not able to thoroughly validate new reports before the go-live. This lack of transparency and flexibility had a decisive impact on the testing that was done under stressful conditions and with tight deadlines. The slightest mistake could have a significant impact not only on costs, but also on time.

After analyzing the recurrent problems of planning inflexibility and stressful test cycles, the Keyrus team suggested its client to change project methodology. "Despite our scepticism, Keyrus convinced us to opt for Scrum”, says Inge Dauwe, Business Intelligence Project Manager at BNP

BNP PARIBAS FORTIS IN A NUTSHELL BNP Paribas Fortis, the no. 1 bank in Belgium, offers the market a comprehensive package of financial services for private and professional clients, wealthy individuals, corporate clients, public entities and financial institutions. Today, it is organised around 4 core activities: Retail & Private Banking, Corporate & Public Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions. BNP Paribas Fortis supports its clients abroad with a unique pan-European network reinforcing the Group’s worldwide positions.

"Despite our skepticism, Keyrus convinced us to opt for Scrum. Cutting projects into smaller steps has the advantage that changes are made incremental, thus avoiding “big bang” testing phases.”

Inge Dauwe Business Intelligence Project Manager BNP Paribas Fortis

What is Scrum? Originally formalized for software development projects, Scrum is an agile framework for completing complex projects. The methodology emphasizes the functionality of software and the flexibility to change along with emerging business realities, communication and collaboration. It addresses the problems that come from the rather conventional waterfall approach by using an incremental and iterative approach with feedback loops opposed to traditional command-and-control oriented management.

www.keyrus.be

performance management | consulting | technology

Keyrus nv Nijverheidslaan 3/2 B-1853 Strombeek-Bever, Belgium t +32 2 706 03 00 f +32 2 706 03 09 info@keyrus.be

Paribas Fortis. “This more flexible methodology blends all development activities in time-boxed iterations as it allows for adjustments based on feedback provided at fixed intervals. Cutting project requirements into smaller parts has the advantage that changes are made incrementally, thus avoiding “big bang” testing phases. Based on our business priorities, planning is also flexible since it is adapted to users’ needs and changing priorities. New features are now available for testing and evaluation within a few weeks. This is a huge improvement compared to our previous way of working.”

After the successful implementation of Scrum, Keyrus initiated the Scrum Innovation Squad that aims to leverage this experience to other BI projects in the future.

NO AGILITY WITHOUT STRINGENCY

How did the BNP Paribas Fortis and Keyrus teams achieve this? As often, it all begins with the project requirements. These are described as a list of small independent requirements that deliver value, called user stories, which the business representatives prioritize in the backlog, the complete list of requirements. Next, the teams commit themselves to achieve a set of user stories within a certain time frame, called a sprint. During the sprint planning meeting that brings together IT profiles (architects, administrators of databases, technical profiles) and business people, each participant has a complete view of what to achieve and provides input on all tasks that need to be completed. Knowledge sharing within the team is essential and transparency is total. It is vital for all team members to take up their role -

nobody can hide. Afterwards, the team assesses the evolution of the entire backlog, makes the necessary adjustments and redefines priorities.

A key principle of Scrum is the recognition that during a project the customers can change their minds about what they want and need (often called requirements churn), and that unpredicted challenges cannot be easily addressed in a traditional predictive or planned manner. As such, Scrum adopts an empirical approach - accepting that the problem cannot be fully understood or defined, focusing instead on maximizing the team’s ability to deliver quickly and respond to emerging requirements.

“It is important to emphasize that Scrum is not a miracle methodology that can be applied to all projects", says Peter Hoefman, IT Division Manager Multichannel CRM at BNP Paribas Fortis. "The more traditional methods depend on a perfect understanding of the requirements at the outset and minimal errors while executing each phase. Scrum is ideal for domains that can be managed end-to-end.

In our case, Scrum was the right solution because some very specific conditions were met. On the one hand, the needs of our end-users are constantly evolving and, on the other hand, the various teams involved were highly motivated, willing to test the limits of the organization and to engage in transparent collaboration. However, the agility of this method contrasts with the great stringency and discipline of its implementation. You obviously need someone in the driver's seat to facilitate meetings, stimulate and organize collaboration and manage the planning. In this area, we were able to count on the experience and flexibility of Keyrus, who accompanied us on this journey from the start.”

RESULT: A NEW CULTURE OF COLLABORATION

"The driving force behind this initiative was not efficiency, but the collaboration and teamwork across departments. Scrum helped us to reduce the gap between business and IT. Nevertheless, we can estimate that the Scrum methodology allows us to achieve 15 per cent more developments with the same staff resources. Testing takes only 2-3 days per month, instead of long periods of 2 to 4 weeks for every development cycle, and defects are detected at an earlier stage. In addition, the working environment is much more pleasant and motivating to our colleagues, since their involvement and focus is greater. They now have a clear short-term objective for each step. It is also a logical evolution since the younger generations are more familiar with these open and transparent models of collaboration. To us, Scrum is a new way of working that we intend to apply to other projects", Peter Hoefman concludes.

Keyrus – performance management revisited Keyrus enables companies to transform the wealth of data at their disposal into market and client understanding, proactive tactics, operational agility and, more generally, to make relevant decisions at all levels of the organization. With over 16 years of experience, we help companies to turn their ambitions into reality. Keyrus in Belgium employs 200 highly skilled consultants and is part of the international Keyrus Group, a global leader in consulting and solutions integration for business intelligence and performance management. Created in 1996, listed on Euronext's Eurolist, with consolidated revenues of €138m in 2011 and 1,600 employees on 4 continents, the Keyrus Group offers the performance, solidity and know-how of a large professional services organization, while preserving the agility of a young company.

"The agility of this method contrasts with the great stringency and discipline of its implementation. You obviously need someone in the driver's seat to facilitate meetings, stimulate and channel collaboration and manage the planning. In that area, we were able to count on the experience and flexibility of Keyrus, which accompanied us on this journey from the start."

Peter Hoefman IT Division Manager Multichannel CRM BNP Paribas Fortis

CHALLENGES Shift from a traditional, rigid development method to an agile methodology, taking into account the evolving needs of end-

users

Strengthen the collaboration between IT and business teams

Allow users to properly validate new reports prior to going live

Avoid long and stressful testing phases and make incremental changes

SOLUTION

Scrum, a methodology blending development activities into short iterations

Allow for scalable planning that is adapted frequently based on user feedback and changing priorities

New culture of collaboration for greater involvement of teams