Market EDM is a very visual tool, which makes it easy to use and implement. It also makes it easy to jump into an implementation or upgrade without fully planning the scope of the project and how each phase fits in with your financial organization’s end goal. This can lead to inconsistencies in workflows, architecture, and development as well as difficulty onboarding new team members to the project.
So how do you build a team that speaks a common language, approaches repetitive tasks in the same way, and ensures that each phase of a large project builds upon the previous phase while working towards the next one? By diagramming.
Diagramming lets you create a simple visual representation of processes and sequences. There are many benefits to diagramming, including:
- Consistency of repetitive steps within tasks. Many of the data management tasks Markit EDM performs for financial firms include repetitive steps that are also used in other data management and analysis tasks. Diagramming a task used by many different processes, such as ingesting a Bloomberg file, allows the firm to come to agreement on how to process the data. That process becomes the standard for the firm and ensures that whenever a repetitive task is used in any process, that particular step is done exactly the same way. When the time comes for upgrades or maintenance, workload is reduced because every developer understands how the firm conducts that step of the process whenever it is done.
- Consistency of coding style and architecture. Just like there are many ways to say something in writing, there are also many ways to write code. Diagramming ensures that all developers on a team are approaching their coding work in the same way. In addition, diagramming the development process ensures that certain procedures will be followed. These agreed-upon procedures can help ensure that important steps, such as code reviews, are not skipped during the development process.
- Understanding the full scope of a project. It is easy for team members to lose sight of the end goal in a multi-phase, long-term project. This is particularly true if team members are involved in some phases of the project and not others. Diagramming can help a team understand a large, complex project which ensures that each phase of the project is completed in such a way that the next phase can build upon the completed work. See how we helped an offshore team coordinate multi-phase Markit EDM implementation.
Diagrams are easy to build, help your team speak a common language and increase your chances that work is done right the first time. For an implementation as critical to your financial services firm as Markit EDM, the up-front time is well worth the investment. If you would like to learn more about how Continuus can help you develop work flows by diagramming, contact us.