Michał Stolarski
Banks are constantly looking for ways to accelerate application development processes to meet growing customer expectations and market demands. Implementing a low-code platform enables solutions to be built more cheaply and quickly compared to traditional development and agile methods, but it also presents new challenges for banks in terms of team organization, project management, and low-code skills.
Conway's Law states that systems designed by an organization will naturally reflect its communication structures. Teams will therefore tend towards solutions that mirror the internal structures of the bank to some extent.
When introducing low-code technology into an organization, it's critical to deliberately distribute responsibilities within existing structures to ensure that its adoption doesn't disrupt established workflows. Attempting to suddenly and drastically change the DNA of the organization will create obstacles that prevent the effective use of this new tool in day-to-day operations.
Low-code technology works most efficiently when used by teams directly responsible for the product being developed. That's why it's important to build structures that enable effective collaboration between low-code developers and business units.
So what is the model for organizing low-code teams within banking and financial services industry structures?
It depends…
There is no one-size-fits-all model because banks have different structures, are at different stages of digital transformation, and have different priorities.
By analyzing the actions of our customers using the Eximee platform, we observe a spectrum of approaches. At one end of the spectrum is a centralized model, where the low-code team operates as part of a central IT department or a dedicated technology development center and is responsible for building applications for different bank departments.
This approach simplifies process alignment, ensures standardization, and improves security management. However, it is less flexible and, sooner or later, leads to challenges in prioritizing tasks.
Centralized low-code team structure
Decentralized low-code team structure
At the other end of the spectrum is a decentralized model where each bank department has its own low-code skills. These teams create solutions tailored to their specific areas, allowing for greater flexibility and faster implementation of optimal applications. However, a potential drawback is the challenge of maintaining standards and the risk of developing alternative solutions to the same problem or challenge.
The choice of an organizational model for agile low-code teams depends largely on how the bank operates. Our twenty years of experience and observations in the banking industry suggest that most banks segment their operations into different business lines, such as retail banking, corporate banking, lending, or deposits, and strive for an organizational structure that reflects this division.
Each area is managed by a “tribe" (referred to as a division, department, or formation in different banks) that is responsible for the end-to-end execution of projects – from the business models and systems analysis to the design and implementation of processes and IT solutions.
Typically, tribes are supported by auxiliary units that focus on specific aspects of technology or their core banking systems and operations – for example, centralized GDPR management, big data, or security. These auxiliary units operate across multiple tribes, effectively working cross-functionally within the organization.
In such an environment, low-code platforms like Eximee become an ideal tool to support the rapid delivery of solutions tailored to the specific needs of each business unit. However, in order to operate optimally and fully leverage the potential of the platform on an organizational scale, a model is required that:
At first glance, the above attributes may seem contradictory; however, careful selection of the low-code technology implementation process and operating model allows for a compromise that ensures efficient team performance.
A key aspect of properly organizing low-code banking teams under the conditions described above is the distribution of knowledge and skills throughout the bank. This means that each tribe should have the necessary skills to independently create low-code solutions for their specific business area.
Individual tribes must have as much operational independence as possible. However, an independent central unit – consisting of low-code experts and other specialists – should oversee the process.
This central group supports all teams in the banking sector developing low-code applications that meet business needs and adhere to the standards established within the bank.
The responsibilities of this group include
The scope of the support team goes beyond low-code. The expertise of architects, system analysts, and UX designers will be highly valuable within this unit.
In addition, low-code developers from different tribes can be grouped into a chapter that serves as a platform for sharing knowledge and experience among teams that are creating solutions for specific business areas.
The best starting point for implementing a low-code platform is to address a specific business need that requires the creation of an application or a whole process. Based on our experience in implementing the Eximee platform in the largest banks in Poland, it is most effective if the initial processes on the low-code platform are delivered by the provider. During this phase, the provider also trains and teaches the bank's team how to use the tool and customizes it to the bank's individual needs and existing solutions, such as integration with existing workflows. The success of the initial projects not only builds confidence in the technology, but also lays the foundation for further scaling of the platform within the organization.
After implementing the first low-code application, it is advisable to continue the collaboration between the bank's team and Eximee's experts. Joint project execution accelerates knowledge transfer and allows the bank's team to fully leverage Consdata's expertise.
Proposed model of low-code team organization in banks
After this stage, the bank has implemented the tool and initial processes, know-how, and trained people, all concentrated in a small team that continues to develop skills and gain experience by executing “custom" projects for individual tribes.
In the long run, such aggregation of low-code skills significantly limits the scalability of the workflow. This can lead to long queues of tasks to be executed and result in the isolation of low-code knowledge and skills within a single unit.
Therefore, once the team has reached a certain level of maturity, it is time to decentralize low-code skills across the organization. This knowledge diffusion can be done by gradually transferring low-code developers to individual tribes, or by training and mentoring new developers who join the respective teams. The central team can oversee the initial projects, and over time, the low-code teams in each tribe become increasingly independent.
Even after building internal low-code teams, banks can rely on Consdata's support. We offer end-to-end project execution, consulting and advisory services. Working with Eximee experts ensures the maintenance of high quality solutions, easier backlog management, and optimal use of low-code technology at every stage of development.
Knowledge transfer and low-code competency development
The proposed model for organizing low-code developers into tribes offers many benefits, but also presents new challenges.
The independence of tribes from the central team supports agile development and introduction of innovations in short cycles. Since each tribe has its own low-code developers, it is possible to quickly build applications tailored to the specific needs of a particular business unit.
In the proposed model, changes to forms and processes are implemented quickly because they are handled by the team that created the application. The standardization enforced by low-code tools eliminates the need to recreate details or update libraries. In contrast to the centralized team model, where every change must wait in a queue, tribes can take full advantage of low-code, especially in terms of agility and ease of modification.
Low-code developers working in teams have a better understanding of specific business requirements, making it easier to create solutions tailored to specific needs.
This model gives teams more flexibility and freedom to operate, which is key in agile methodologies. Decentralization supports agile skills, faster decision making and project execution.
The oversight unit ensures consistency of solutions and optimal use of established components, preventing duplication of effort across teams and maintaining a common development vision. With a broad perspective and insight into the actions of individual tribes, it can identify their needs and problems and propose system-level solutions.
The central expert unit ensures that solutions created by different teams comply with industry standards and regulatory requirements. Promoting best practices and knowledge sharing within the low-code community supports the growth of skills throughout the organization.
Although the central unit can oversee standards, too much autonomy for individual teams can lead to inconsistencies in the way solutions are created and make it difficult to maintain consistent processes.
Independent teams can struggle to collaborate and share knowledge effectively, resulting in duplicate solutions or challenges in coordinating efforts across larger projects.
If communication between tribes and the central unit is poor, there is a risk that knowledge about the platform and low-code solutions will become concentrated in one team. This can impede rapid scaling of solutions and adoption of changes across the organization.
As a result, this model requires close monitoring of solution consistency and quality, as well as effective collaboration between teams and the centralized knowledge center.
Testimonial from Grzegorz Rębacz
Adopting low-code platforms and agile teams in banks is a process that requires a strategic approach. A well-planned team structure, agile principles and effective knowledge sharing between teams can significantly accelerate digital transformation and enable banks to adapt more quickly to changing market needs.
