Costantino Sertorio has been working as a senior consultant at bmpi AG for 16 years. In this interview, he tells us what his tasks are, why communication skills are a must, and why he finds agile project management exciting.
Costantino, what project are you currently working on?
I have been working on a mandate for three years as a senior consultant at a Swiss bank. During this time I have implemented a rule-based catalog for “discretionary mandates”. It has been exciting to prototype the business logic with ACTICO from the beginning and to discuss and elaborate it directly with the stakeholders. Such software projects allow me to be close to the business in the development process and to contribute my own ideas and suggestions.
What are “discretionary mandates”?
In “discretionary mandates”, an investor delegates the investment decision to an asset manager.
How do stakeholders benefit from ACTICO?
The stakeholder immediately sees graphically what his “business rule” (business rule) looks like and what results from the different cases. Thanks to the visual format of the decision trees, it is possible to make optimizations easily in the logic. This allows stakeholders to better understand the business rules.
How does the Business Rule Engine embed itself within the system landscape of the Swiss bank?
ACTICO’s Business Rules Engine is a software application that is queried by other systems via REST web services. These interfaces require technical knowledge and a different kind of communication than with business stakeholders. I communicate across departments with system architects to define and implement these interfaces.
What is a “business rule”?
A business rule is a decision tree that determines what results from defined conditions and data.
What are your other tasks as a senior consultant?
In addition, I train the business users. Often, neither the Business Rules Engine nor its possibilities are known at the beginning. I show the benefits and functions and explain, among other things, the processes required when business rules are changed. The goal is to enable users to maintain their logic independently. In this way, they make their business logic available to other systems more efficiently.
And what skills do you need?
First, I need soft skills to explain the complexity of the business logic to the users in a comprehensive and understandable way. Once they know the possibilities of the ACTICO platform, it is easier to discuss possible extensions together. Especially at the beginning of the project, creativity and openness is important to visualize and discuss different solutions. On the other hand, hard skills are also required. During the development of the rule-based catalog, besides defining the interfaces with ACTICO, I also worked with Python and Microsoft Power BI. It’s an advantage if you already know other technologies or can acquire the knowledge quickly.
“I find it exciting to work in agile projects and use new technologies. Developing creative prototypes gives me the most pleasure and is one of my strengths.”
How does bmpi support your work as a senior consultant?
If I lack knowledge in an area, bmpi provides me with uncomplicated support for further training. Recently, I completed training courses on agile project management and user experience (UX). In addition, bmpi gave me the opportunity to prototype my own application idea, which introduced me to other technologies such as React and Node.js. As I am currently the only employee of bmpi at the Swiss bank, the additional support from others is missing. However, I know that bmpi will support me professionally and personally at any time.
What do you find exciting about your work?
I find it exciting to work in agile projects where I have a direct line to the stakeholders and can start with prototypes. Through these prototypes it is possible to show requirements, ideas and results at an early stage. This is more efficient and exciting than working with predefined written requirements.
And what do you do to balance your work?
Climbing is my favorite thing! I climb in the Swiss Alps, in Italy, Greece or anywhere else where there are beautiful rocks. Climbing helps me clear my head and I get to know my personal limits.
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