Gthaer Versicherungen bases its insurance qutatin sftware n the b+m Generative Develpment Prcess and the b+m ArchitectureWare prduct line Field f Business Insurance slutins fr the banking sectr. Applicatin Insurance qutatin sftware fr Gthaer Versicherungen life insurance t be deplyed n financial services wrkplaces at Bankgesellschaft Berlin (BGB). Crprate Prfile The Gthaer Grup is ne f the largest German insurance cmpanies, with the individual cmpanies cvering all branches f persnal and prperty insurance. The Gthaer Grup includes the Gthaer Versicherungsbank VVaG, Gthaer Allgemeine Versicherung, Gthaer Lebensversicherung AG, Gthaer Krankenversicherung AG and Asstel AG. Business Slutin (Business Benefits) Cmprehensive sales and insurance qutatin cncept frm A-Z; direct access at cnsultant s mnitrs; clear user guidance f the cnsulting prcess using cmputer-based frms; cnsulting prcess presented in small, clear steps; transparent recrding f custmer data; accelerated handling right frm the start; standard prducts frm five prduct areas at a glance; simple mdificatin and creatin f prducts based n s-called prduct masters using a prduct editr; prduct design via self-explanatry frms withut any prgramming knwledge necessary enter infrmatin and g; 80% f turnver takes place directly in the system; reductin f cnsulting tasks; the cmpleted insurance applicatin can be printed, signed and sent via the bank t the insurance cmpany; ne f the mst mdern cnsulting systems n the German market. Sftware/Systems b+m Generatr FrameWrk, b+m Flw Cntrller, Ratinal Rse, Websphere Applicatin Server, DB2, Micrdc Persistence Framewrk MPF/J, JDK b+m Infrmatik AG www.architectureware.de 01.2003 1/6
Systematized Cnsulting Plicies via the Net Cnsulting fr Gthaer Versicherungen insurance prducts is nw dne systematically in the branches f the BGB. In place since mid-2002, the Nepal prject, which was develped by IDG Infrmatinsverarbeitung und Dienstleistungen GmbH and b+m Infrmatik AG, prvides Gthaer Versicherungen with direct and universal access t cnsultants wrkplaces at the bank s branches. As a cnsulting system, Nepal is part f a sales and insurance qutatin cncept that ptimally uses the bank s existing sales rutes; traditinally, such systems are lcated in banks fr bth technical and business reasns. Fr the cnsultant, this largely self-explanatry system is able t take ver mst f the cnsulting wrk fr Gthaer Versicherungen insurance prducts, since it prvides clear user guidance via cmputer-based frms and small, easy-t-understand steps. Particularly with tday s fcus n mass business and the trend t less qualified staff, this feature f the system results in higher quality cnsulting and cnsiderable cst reductins. Mrever, the handling f the cmprehensive prcess is decidedly faster frm beginning t end. In cmbinatin with the recrding f custmer data, it ffers nt nly a reductin f the cnsulting wrk but als a cmplete insurance qutatin fr the custmer and a printut f the custmer s applicatin shwing all premium-related infrmatin. If custmers then decide t accept, they can immediately sign and send the applicatin via the bank t the insurance cmpany. Standard prducts can be mdified and new prducts can be integrated using the prduct editr and the self-explanatry frms based n the prduct master withut the need fr any prgramming knwledge. 80% f turnver is thus achieved using standard prducts fully integrated in the cnsulting system. Business Aspects/Organizatin The classic insurance cmpany sales prcess is carried ut thrugh cnsultatin with an insurance agent in the custmer s hme r in the lcal branch ffice f the insurance cmpany. But it is als prfitable t prvide cnsulting t custmers where they handle their finances and btain financial planning advice namely, at a bank. This new sales methd is the first aim f the Nepal prject; simultaneusly, Nepal is the basis fr extending this system t ther sales areas. Gthaer Versicherungen is the lead participant in this prject. The partner frm the banking sectr is Bankgesellschaft Berlin (BGB) with a netwrk f ver 300 branches. The analysis, planning and implementatin f the prject were carried ut and led by IDG Infrmatinsverarbeitung und Dienstleistungen GmbH as IT service prvider f Gthaer Versicherungen and by b+m Infrmatik AG. In additin t the new sales methd being used, the new system, with its s-called prduct masters, can als be used t create new prducts in the system. These prduct masters serve as a mdel in the administrative part f the prgram called the prduct editr, which the cnsultant can use t generate a new prduct versin as part f a prduct line. Since the individual prduct versins each have a temprary validity, the insurance date identifies the current prduct. b+m Infrmatik AG www.architectureware.de 01.2003 2/6
The system als enables the user t create and maintain s-called advice structures (trees), which can be used in cnnectin with specific prducts and custmer data during cnsulting sessins at the bank. Fr calculating premiums, runtimes, etc., Gthaer Versicherungen s prcessing mdule ZML is used. This prgram is als used fr cnsulting by insurance agents. Fllwing successful cnsulting, the insurance applicatin with the cmpleted infrmatin is printed ut using a print master. The custmer can then sign the applicatin, which is then sent by the bank t the insurance cmpany. Methd T avid the necessity f distributing client sftware t the bank s branches, a brwser-based slutin was requested. This was t be augmented by an applicatin server t enable scalability and shared access t a business bject mdel. The technical basis f the system cnsists f the fllwing prducts: Prcessing mdule ZML fr calculating insurance data Websphere Applicatin Server DB2 as relatinal database management system Micrdc Persistence Framewrk MPF/J fr persistency f bject netwrk The fllwing cmpnents were used fr prduct develpment: b+m Flw Cntrller fr dialg and flw cntrl (runtime cmpnent) b+m Generatr FrameWrk fr generating the technical applicatin infrastructure frm business UML mdels. The fllwing implementatin framewrk was generated iteratively: EJB classes, methds, deplyment and persistency descriptrs fr entities including prgramming mdel fr assciatins, inheritance, business cmpnents and their decupling EJB classes and methds fr the prcess layer including link t the b+m Flw Cntrller Business prcess descriptrs fr flw cntrl JSP-based MVC pattern fr the presentatin layer including plausibility, errr handling and link t flw cntrl Ant-based build scripts The basic technlgy is prvided by the Java 2 Enterprise Editin (J2EE ) platfrm. The business lgic is thus prgrammed in Java using JSPs and servlets. The basis f the develpment prcess is prvided by the b+m Generative Develpment Prcess, which uses generatr technlgy t autmatically generate all template applicatin parts. Fllwing the definitin f the develpment prcess, the fllwing wrk steps were cnducted iteratively: b+m Infrmatik AG www.architectureware.de 01.2003 3/6
1. Analysis Definitin f business requirements in use cases Setting up an analysis class mdel Mdeling f functinalities in the class mdel Result: analysis mdel 2. Design Setting up the class mdel n the basis f the architecture mdel Mdeling f dynamics in sequence and activity diagrams (prcess definitin fr the b+m Flw Cntrller) Result: design mdel 3. Generatin Generatin f implementatin framewrk (see abve) frm the design mdel 4. Business implementatin Implementatin f the business lgic in prtected regins f the generated cde 5. Tests In cntrast t the classical waterfall mdel, the develpment prcess is iterative and incremental i.e., the entire prcess is run thrugh several times, which ensures cntinual imprvement in each sectin f the develpment prcess. The b+m Generatr FrameWrk is an OMG MDA -cmpliant prduct. One aim f this architecture-centered apprach is the creatin f grups f architecturally similar applicatins, s-called applicatin families. Fr the Nepal prject, an applicatin family that can be used in ther prjects was develped. The applicatin family cnsists f the fllwing cmpnents: UML prfile (design language) Reference design Reference implementatin Templates and metamdel The design language is used fr mdeling platfrm-independent mdels. It cvers the language scpe f UML with extensins fr steretypes, tagged values and cnstraints. The reference design is a business mdel expressed by the means f the design language. The reference implementatin demnstrates the applicatin and implementatin f the design language fr the reference design. The generatr templates are develped n this basis. Within the templates, the prtected regins in which the applicatin develpers can implement the business lgic are als defined. b+m Infrmatik AG www.architectureware.de 01.2003 4/6
Summary and New Prjects The applicatin was develped n time and within budget. The applicatin is in prductive deplyment with the abve-named partners. During the perid frm January 1, 2001, t August 30, 2002, 17 persns spent arund 5000 persn-days n the develpment. Althugh this prduct was develped at tw different lcatins, the extremely gd cllabratin between the develper teams f IDG Infrmatinsverarbeitung und Dienstleistungen GmbH and b+m Infrmatik AG must be emphasized. The structured apprach enabled a cnsistent and plannable develper wrklad and resulted in the ntime rllut f high-quality sftware at the custmer s site. The applicatin family is used in anther IDG Infrmatinsverarbeitung und Dienstleistungen GmbH prject, which means that cnsiderable savings are achieved. Scpe f Applicatin Number f GUIs 79 Number f classes/beans f BOM 139 Number f classes/beans f prcess layer 100 Generated Surce Cde f Applicatin Cde lines Generated Java withut beans, presentatins, cntrller and persistency layer 85% Persistency layer 99% EntityBeans 61% SessinBeans 37% Presentatins 88% Cntrller 31% XML cnfiguratin 100% Cntact Fr further infrmatin, please cntact: b+m Infrmatik AG Jchen Meyer Rtenhfer Weg 20, D-24109 Melsdrf email: j.meyer@bmiag.de Tel:: + 49 4340 404 5182 b+m Infrmatik AG www.architectureware.de 01.2003 5/6
Trademarks The prducts and names marked with and are trademarks f the respective manufacturers and prtected by natinal r internatinal law. b+m Infrmatik AG www.architectureware.de 01.2003 6/6