Design of a Contract Management Software for a European Bank

Summary

A European software and IT consulting provider needed a clear, build-ready design for a contract management solution requested by one of its own customers, a European bank. INNERLUXES produced the full concept — functional requirements, business processes and workflows, interactive prototypes, and a specification of user roles and permissions — with banking-specific safeguards such as four-eyes change verification and strict role-based access. The detailed concept gave the Client an unambiguous picture of the future solution and an easy-to-follow guide for a development and QA team.

About the Client

The Client is a European provider of software solutions and IT consulting services for various financial institutions, including banks and investment companies, as well as retail businesses.

A Bank Needed Contract Management Software With Industry-Specific Safeguards

One of the Client's customers, a European bank, wanted a custom contract management solution with features specific to the banking industry. The Client turned to INNERLUXES for professional help designing that future solution, so the eventual build would rest on a clear, complete specification rather than assumptions.

A Complete Design Concept, Ready to Hand to Development

INNERLUXES developed a concept for the contract management software that included detailed functional requirements, business process and workflow descriptions, interactive prototypes, and a specification of user roles and permissions. The team ensured the system could cover the complex relationships between the bank, its contractors, and its sub-contractors, and consolidate all contract-related information in one place — comprehensive company information, former contract versions, child contracts, and employees' comments on a company and a contract. On that foundation, the concept specified the core capabilities:

• Event notifications for upcoming dates such as contract expiration or renewal.
• Approval requests addressed to an individual employee or a group of employees.
• Contract versioning to monitor the full document history.
• File export into PDF and XLS formats.
• Multi-indicator reports such as the number of open and pending contracts, active vendors, contract types, and average contract value.

To meet the demands of the banking industry, the design added two further safeguards, chosen to protect the integrity of every contract record:

• Four-eyes change verification — every introduced change or amendment is verified by at least one additional assigned employee.
• Strict role-based security built on access-control permissions.

The project team also described in depth how to provide an intuitive UI for a convenient working environment within the system, and backed the specifications with multiple mockups.

A Clear Blueprint for Build and QA

• The Client received a concept of the required solution with a clear, extensive description of functional requirements, workflows, and permissions.
• The detailed concept gave the Client a clear picture of the future solution.
• It became an easy-to-follow guide for a future development and QA team to deliver the required contract management solution.

Technologies and Tools

BPMN, Bizagi Modeler, Mindjet MindManager, Axure RP, Sketch, InVision, Confluence.