Innovation in Risk Reporting

Lab49 Adds Speed, Visuals and a Unified View to the Risk Picture

Early in 2009, a major investment bank looking for a better way to chart and analyze ever-changing risk metrics turned to Lab49, a New York- and London-based solutions provider for the financial services industry.

“Existing software lacked the ability to provide sophisticated visualizations, such as dynamic graphics, charting, historical studies, overlays, etc. Additionally, it was hard to maintain, so adding new features was costly and time consuming,” recalls Daniel Chait, Lab49 cofounder and managing director.

Another problem with the old systems: They could only update risk data at the end of the trading day. Lab49’s client wanted continuous, intra-day risk analytics updates. “Our new application brings together risk analytics from a number of different siloed systems to present a single, unified risk view, in real-time,” says Chait.

But to get there, Lab49 would have to design a completely new system, rather than combining custom software with off-the-shelf technology and integrating everything into the old platform. “By taking a holistic view of the [client's] business needs, applying our insights in strategy, design and technology, we were able to present a compelling new solution which solved the business goals,” Chait explains.

That solution came incrementally, but quickly. The first working version was installed in a matter of weeks, with upgrades in place every three weeks thereafter. After six months, the project was complete.

The incremental rollout, a trademark of Lab49 projects, afforded both the client and the design team a practical, hands-on view of exactly what was and was not working. This “agile, iterative approach,” Chait notes, enabled Lab49 not only to identify potential problems and make appropriate changes quickly and easily, it also gave the client a high degree of control over the outcome, setting priorities and specific goals for Lab49 to achieve, and even shifting them as market dynamics changed.

Another plus of this close collaboration with the client and the built-in flexibility to ensure client satisfaction was that it produced “the minimum volume of non-software artifacts,” as Lab49’s Web site states. “A precise understanding of what is required from all aspects of the system often does not emerge until development begins and users have the opportunity to interact with the software,” it continues.

This, Chait adds, meant the client had “full transparency into the project’s progress, rather than relying on status reports or other secondary indicators.”

The transition to the new system was smooth because of Lab49’s User Experience design process. “By involving the end-user stakeholders early in the process, we avoided the typical problems associated with the rollout of an unfamiliar system,” Chait notes.

This process resulted in a visually stimulating product that was intuitive to use.

Similarly user-friendly was the system’s maintenance. Though Lab49 offers a full spectrum of ongoing support, the client in this case preferred to handle maintenance in-house. Knowing this from the outset, Lab49 used only familiar, off-the-shelf infrastructure technology such as Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation for the system’s foundation, and built custom codes from “well-documented, industry-standard design patterns,” says Chait.

Furthermore, the system featured automated self-testing to identify potential problems ahead of time and keep operations running smoothly.

The short roll-out time enabled the client’s traders to begin realizing the benefits of the project from early on, which had the added advantage of cutting unnecessary expenses. “We didn’t waste time, effort or money adding bells and whistles,” reflects Chait.

So far, the project has exceeded even the highest expectations. “It was delivered on time and on budget, and it met the goals we set out to achieve,” says Chait.

Moreover, the client took to it with great excitement, eager to upgrade to a system that made life easier, reduced errors, and was “visually appealing,” Chait observes. The client has even hired Lab49 to “do the next version,” says Chait, “so they have clearly been happy with the results.”