Closing the Financials Feature Gap

Closing the Financials Feature Gap

The British Library faced a significant challenge during an overhaul and replacement of its financial systems. This process uncovered various functional gaps critical for maintaining business continuity. To address these issues, the British Library sought a delivery partner capable of collaborating closely with their internal staff to thoroughly analyse these issues. The partner was tasked with designing replacement software solutions that would not only address the identified gaps but also enhance integration with the library's internal systems. The project required careful planning, followed by the mobilisation of a skilled team dedicated to developing and delivering the custom software necessary to successfully bridge these gaps and improve overall system cohesion.

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Closing the Financials Feature Gap

The British Library

The British Library forms the national library of the United Kingdom and provides an unparalleled resource to the academic, business and scientific communities. They store 170 million items in their collection and add around three million new items every year. Between their London and Yorkshire sites they store not just books but the national archive of printed and digital artefacts from newspapers to sound recordings, patents, prints and drawings, maps and manuscripts.

Project Introduction

The British Library faced a significant challenge during an overhaul and replacement of its financial systems. This process uncovered various functional gaps critical for maintaining business continuity. To address these issues, the British Library sought a delivery partner capable of collaborating closely with their internal staff to thoroughly analyse these issues. The partner was tasked with designing replacement software solutions that would not only address the identified gaps but also enhance integration with the library's internal systems. The project required careful planning, followed by the mobilisation of a skilled team dedicated to developing and delivering the custom software necessary to successfully bridge these gaps and improve overall system cohesion.
Closing the Financials Feature Gap
Project Challenge

The project prioritised unbroken business continuity while identifying and addressing functional gaps through a comprehensive gap analysis of the new financial platform. Continuous and seamless integration with legacy IT systems and the redesign of tailored software solutions to meet specific operational requirements was required.Ensuring data security, compliance, and minimal operational downtime are key concerns. The project also demanded effective project management, coordination with diverse stakeholders, rigorous quality assurance, and facilitating smooth user training and adoption. Moreover, managing these changes within strict budgetary and time constraints, necessitating a combination of technical expertise, strategic planning, and adept change management skills.

Our Solution

A NewRedo team of experienced analysts and engineers were mobilised to develop multiple web applications using Java for backend and React for frontend development. Java's robustness and scalability was selected to fit with the British Library’s existing technology inventory and handle the complex integration and large data sets for back-office functionality, while React's dynamic and responsive user interface capabilities enhanced the customer-facing aspects. These applications were designed with a clear separation of concerns, ensuring maintainability and scalability, and focused on providing comprehensive business functionality, including financial data management and user interaction. Security and compliance were prioritised, especially for financial data handling. Rigorous testing ensured reliability and efficiency, followed by a well-planned deployment and comprehensive staff training to facilitate smooth transition and adoption of the new systems.

Positive Customer Outcome

The custom software solutions streamlined both back-office operations and improved the user experience for library customers, thanks to the careful design and development of intuitive customer-facing user experience. The integration of these systems with existing internal operations resulted in a more cohesive and efficient workflow and no break in business continuity. Through the team's attention to data security and regulatory compliance, the project also bolstered the library's data protection stance. Overall the work delivered by our team not only empowered staff with better tools and clearer processes but also positioned the library for long-term cost savings and operational sustainability.

Project Skills
API API Testing Accessibility Agile Delivery Management Automation Testing BDD CI/CD Change Management Cloud DevOps Git Groovy Java JavaScript Jira OAuth Manual testing React Stakeholder Management Project management Performance Testing Postgres UX Design Business Analysis Test Management Technical Leadership