Context
Banking systems are incredibly complex, with numerous dependencies, and every bank implementation is unique.
Goal
Create a multi-level, node-based configuration system.
TLDR
Coding is hard! Make it easier, Prasan!
What's The Problem?
No, but coding is tough, though. Not just for me, but for the salespeople and implementers tasked with creating demos and customised configurations for client banks. But what if there was a way to make a working demo right there in the meeting room with your client? On a tablet? With no internet connection?
Saving Up
So you're in-country and want to quickly build a demo for a client who's sitting right beside you. Before, you'd have to get a developer to dig into code and, at worst, you'd have to wait a few hours. With a few taps and drags, you can do it all by yourself. No code required!
Paying The Bills
All of your inputs and endpoints can be flagged if a codebase is modular enough. With the complex code turned into bite-sized chunks, we can expose them in a node-based interface. Plug it in and hit "Run".
On The Face Of It
Everything on the internet is just a list of things at its most basic level. So I made a list of the most common items, all themeable, of course, which can be dragged and dropped into an "Exposure", which connects to the process flow you've already built. It also allowed for side-by-side comparisons with previous versions for auditing purposes.
Death & Taxes
Every novel concept has a bit of a learning curve, but I tried to keep the process as simple as possible with common touch interactions robust enough to cover all the bases.
What I Learned
Pragmatism. While a concept like ROAR would save the organisation millions of Rands and thousands of work hours, the initial investment of time (about a year) would halt ongoing project work. Ideas live or die on our ability to carefully allocate the limited resources we have.