Presentation

Business expertise serving information systems: OPTMIND’s “dual aptitude” label.

Doubly skilled in business and information systems, OPTIMIND consultants accompany our customers through every phase of their projects. Business know-how, knowledge of the project method and associated methodologies and use of good practices are advantages that our consultants put to the use of our customers’ projects. Our service offer is based on the following areas:

• Project leadership and accompaniment
• Project management assistance
• Information systems’ security

Our consultants’ in-depth knowledge of the sectors in which they work means they are fully equipped to provide targeted and pragmatic solutions and answers for the needs of the assignments they are given.

Regarding information system security, and thanks to feedback and dialogue with customers, OPTIMIND has used its expertise in risk-related businesses – actuarial services, risk management, audit & control and IT security – to rise to these major challenges via its OSCAR offer, the methodological solution to control the vulnerability of information systems. OSCAR, Optimind Sécurité Conformité et Analyse des Risques, allows companies to line up with business targets and to meet the requirements of different regulations: Solvency 2, Basel 2, SOX/LSF, etc.

Areas of intervention

Our work mainly concerns the following topics:

• Project leadership and accompaniment
  • Planning, steering and follow-up
  • Co-ordination of participants / management of the Project Owner – Project Manager relationship
  • Steering and accomplishment of the approval phase
  • Steering change
  • User training and support
• Project management assistance
  • Opportunity and feasibility audits / surveys
  • Process modelling
  • Gathering user requirements / User adaptation
  • Writing specifications
  • Writing functional specifications
  • Writing acceptance test books
  • Studying and implementing software packages

• Information systems’ security

• OSCAR’s global approach, developed by OPTIMIND, takes risks into account in full security audits:

• An organised approach: implementation of a working environment based on a coherent and ongoing approach to apply norms and standards
• A collaborative view: involvement of several levels of line management, structuring of organisational and technical information
• An operational aspect: detail of technical security tests, assistance for personnel in managing, controlling and reducing risks

• OSCAR ensures compliance with regulations and in-house policies by matching these requirements with applicable information systems’ security standards and norms (ISO/CEI 27002, Cobit, etc.)

Case studies

Case study 1: Implementation of the management of a product, Dépendance

Assignment

• Provide assistance in managing a new savings product, Dépendance.

Objectives

• Write functional specifications
• Validate detailed analyses for Information Systems
• Describe interfaces with the project management team
• Define software approval plans

Results

• Writing of all documents pertaining to project management
• Installation of tools for project management
• Provision of software approval plans

Case study 2: Migration of collective products and parameter setting

Assignment

• Set parameters for a collective insurance product portfolio for a convergence project.

Objectives

• Analyse the source portfolio
• Analyse the target system
• Define the segmentation and parameter setting strategies
• Manage connections with third-party projects

Results

• All functional specification documents
• Assistance in setting product parameters
• Validation of target parameter setting

Case study 3: Take-over of portfolios as a run-off operation

Assignment

• Project management assistance within the framework of a management company taking over a portfolio as a run-off operation on behalf of a third party

Objectives

• Analyse the source portfolio
• Identify discrepancies with the target system for the take-over
• Specify functional and technical adjustments
• Steer IS adjustments
• Define technical controls for the take-over
• Study and implement tools and control procedures
• Development approval, take-over approval, make the production base reliable

Results

• Writing of all functional and technical specification documents
• Development of tools to verify the take-over

Support and validation of the take-over