New output management system for securities settlement introduced

Our colleagues Oliver König and Stefan Nietert have implemented the output management system Series M/ for securities settlement for a major German bank.

What was the project about and what role did firstwaters play in it?

The goal of the overall project is to replace a legacy system with an integrated solution for output management in securities processing with the standard software SDS GEOS. In order to achieve this goal, a software solution was required to handle all communication with institutional customers from the securities business (trade settlement, settlement and corporate actions) and to link it to the downstream system for audit-proof archiving.
firstwaters supported the entire project from the selection phase of the output management system to the customization and integration to the successful release at the beginning of 2023. Our team's responsibilities included leading the project team, developing the target operating model, configuring the system and connecting it to upstream and downstream systems. In addition, firstwaters provided support in functional test and defect management and in the execution of the Go-Live.

What factors were important for the successful completion of the project?

In order to successfully complete this project, a strong involvement of the business department in terms of requirements management and test coverage was particularly important. In addition, provider management played an important role. Extensive knowledge of the existing processes and systems combined with agile project management methods are basic requirements in such a project in order to be able to respond flexibly to different requirements and to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction.

What experience can we take away from this project?

Through this end-to-end software implementation as an important first milestone of a large-scale system integration project, we were once again able to demonstrate our competencies in the securities processing business area. In addition, thanks to the agile approach, we were able to complete the introduction of a standard software with individualized adaptations in time, in budget and in scope.