Case Study, while I participated in MaXCode company project. Client: ABN-AMRO Bank.

 

Introduction

The mortgage industry is a complex and ever-changing environment. Lenders need to be able to manage a large amount of data and documentation to process mortgage applications efficiently and accurately. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for software applications that can help lenders to manage mortgage information more effectively.

This case study will discuss the development of a new mortgage management application that was designed to help lenders to improve their efficiency and accuracy. The application was developed using full stack ASP.NET C# programming, and it provides several features that can help lenders to manage mortgage information more effectively.

The application includes features for:

• Storing and retrieving mortgage information
• Generating reports on mortgage data
• Tracking the status of mortgage applications
• Communicating with clients about mortgage applications

The application has been successfully deployed at several lenders, and it has helped them to improve their efficiency and accuracy in processing mortgage applications.

The case study will discuss the following:

• The challenges that lenders face in managing mortgage information.
• The features of the mortgage management application
• The benefits of using the mortgage management application
• The lessons learned from the development of the mortgage management application.

The case study will conclude with a discussion of the implications of the mortgage management application for the mortgage industry.

Description of the problem or challenge

The mortgage management application was originally a monolith application, which means that all the code for the application was in a single codebase. This made it difficult to maintain and extend the application, as any changes to the code had to be made in a single place.

The application was also using an older version of Vue.js, which was no longer supported by the Vue.js team. This meant that the application was vulnerable to security vulnerabilities and bugs in the older version of Vue.js.

The team decided to create a new user interface for the application based on Vue.js and Pinia. Pinia is a state management library for Vue.js that makes it easier to manage the state of a Vue.js application.

The team also decided to break the application up into microservices. Microservices are small, self-contained applications that can be developed and deployed independently. This makes it easier to maintain and extend the application, as changes to the code can be made in the individual microservices.

The team faced several challenges in migrating the application to a new user interface and microservices architecture. These challenges included:

• Migrating the data from the old application to the new application
• Updating the code to use the new Vue.js and Pinia libraries.
• Splitting the application up into microservices
• Testing and debugging the new application

Strategy and planning

To overcome these challenges, the team developed a strategy and planning based on the following principles:

• Start with a clear understanding of the challenges. The team took the time to understand the challenges that they faced in migrating the application. This included understanding the technical challenges, as well as the business challenges.
• Develop a step-by-step plan. The team developed a step-by-step plan for migrating the application. This plan included a timeline for the migration, as well as a list of tasks that needed to be completed.
• Get buy-in from stakeholders. The team got buy-in from stakeholders early in the process. This helped to ensure that the migration was aligned with the business goals, and that it had the support of the people who would be affected by it.
• Use the right tools and technologies. In our case, we had to decided to rewrite the whole front end and then start creating microservices on main services.

Implementation and actions taken

The development of the new web application was a collaborative effort between the business and a team of software developers. We basically, re-wrote the front-end part and migrated monolith app services into smaller microservices. The conceptual split was a bit challenge where I showed some initiatives and also during the front-end implementation, I took over the responsibility and quickly build up the core page of the front-end within a week. This progress was met from my team and stack-holder with an applauds. It gave me extra motivation to move on with microservices and complete the core functional of app. During this time, the number of efforts I gained within the SPRINT went up by multiple times.

 Results and impact

Results:

• The new user interface is more user-friendly and intuitive.
• The microservices architecture makes the application more maintainable, extensible, and secure.
• The application is now able to handle more traffic and requests.
• The application is now more scalable and can be easily deployed to new environments.

Impact:

• The new application has improved the user experience for mortgage customers.
• The new application has reduced the cost of maintaining and extending the application.
• The new application has improved the security of the application.
• The new application has made the application more scalable and easier to deploy.

The migration of the mortgage management application to a new user interface and microservices architecture has had a positive impact on the application and on the mortgage industry.

Lessons learned and conclusions

• Start with a clear understanding of the challenges. It is important to understand the challenges that you face in migrating an application before you start the migration process. This will help you to develop a plan that is realistic and achievable.
• Develop a step-by-step plan. It is important to develop a step-by-step plan for migrating an application. This will help you to track the progress of the migration and to ensure that you don't miss any important steps.
• Get buy-in from stakeholders. It is important to get buy-in from stakeholders early in the migration process. This will help to ensure that the migration is aligned with the business goals, and that it has the support of the people who will be affected by it.
• Use the right tools and technologies. There are several tools and technologies that can help you to migrate an application. It is important to use the right tools and technologies for your specific needs.
• Test and debug the new application thoroughly. It is important to test and debug the new application thoroughly before you deploy it. This will help to ensure that the application is working properly and that it is free of bugs.

The migration of the mortgage management application to a new user interface and microservices architecture was a success. The new application is more user-friendly, secure, and scalable. This has made it easier for mortgage customers to use the application, and it has made it more cost-effective for mortgage lenders to maintain and extend the application.

Recommendations & Conclusion

The main part of the process is communication and again communications with your teammates!

• Communicate with stakeholders throughout the migration process. Keep stakeholders informed of the progress of the migration and any challenges that you are facing. This will help to build trust and ensure that everyone is on the same page.
• Be prepared to adjust your plans as needed. Things don't always go according to plan, so it's important to be prepared to adjust your plans as needed.
• Be prepared to learn new stack of tools and adjust as fast as you can. I had to learn Pinia state management tool and advance my Vue 3 knowledgebase in a very short period of time.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you're struggling to migrate an application, don't be afraid to ask for help from your team members or from other experts.

Thank You!

Avaz Khalikov