Some companies believe that the real work in a new software installation is done after the contracts have been signed and the hands have been shaken. Unfortunately, waiting that long has turned many of those projects into lousy deals for both sides of the table.
Security Benefit Group made sure it was getting everything it needed from the product it purchased from NaviSys by managing the project every step of the way. Today, 14 months after going live, both sides can see the process worked nearly flawlessly.
In September 1999, Security Benefit felt the time had come to move from its multiple legacy systems to a single platform. David Keith, vice president of information technology, said the insurance and money management company wanted flexible and adaptable architecture.
Security Benefit contacted seven vendors and asked each to visit its Topeka, Kans., office to give demonstrations of their products. Four were eliminated at that point, and the Security Benefit team began studying the scorecards it had compiled on the remaining three. A team of eight from Security Benefit, representing the finance department, product development, IT, and administration, met with the vendors a second time and eliminated another one.
At this point, the company brought in additional employees from the actuarial and administrative departments to run mock scenarios on the two remaining systems. Again, scorecards were used. Finally, seven months after the RFI, NaviSys won the deal.
To ensure that the project would get off to a smooth start, a program-management officer (PMO) was put in place by Security Benefit. Keith describes the PMO as an overseer on large-scale projects. It gave us a good, strong guideline. With the PMO filing weekly status reports, problems could not drift along and were quickly resolved.
One significant problem Keith pointed out was that Security Benefits IT staff had no experience with Unix or Oracle when it selected NaviSys. This called for a five-month training program prior to the installation. We went through a lot of dry runs to understand what it could do, Keith said.
Once trained in Unix, the staff went to work with the NaviSys people to learn how to administer the system and how to provide system support. Venette Davis, Security Benefits senior vice president for customer management, then took her customer service staff through training. We started with new products only, and then we began to add existing products, she said. Training was made easier because Security Benefit had not done a lot of customizing to the home office product. It was more of an off-the-shelf product, Davis said. Keith agreed: There werent a lot of unique configurations, he said.
Davis said the company is pleased with how the product has been performing, particularly the speed and ease of product development. Thats one of the major successes of the new platform, she said. Five new products were added last year. Security Benefit has roughly a third of its annuity contracts on the system and expects to have the remaining contracts done by April.
Overall, things have gone smoothly, Keith said. We developed a good relationship. The project management from both sides can be directly linked to its success. From his perspective, the PMO was the key. The structure worked well for us, he said. Its one of the reasons we can handle these large-scale projects. It drives accountability.
Projects of this scope can be disastrous if both sides arent working together every step of the way. There hasnt been any finger pointing in this deal because each of them became true partners. ROBERT REGIS HYLE

THE PROBLEM: MANAGE A MAJOR PROJECT SO EVERYTHING GOES AS PLANNED.

THE COMPANY: SECURITY BENEFIT GROUP
LINES: VARIABLE ANNUITIES, MUTUAL FUNDS, RETIREMENT PLANS
ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT: $10 BILLION
WEB SITE: www.securitybenefit.com