Assignment:

In this assignment, you will create a story map based on the high-level vision for the Remote
Deposit Capture system (the case study from earlier). You will only focus on one part of this
system: the mobile app.

The high-level requirements are specified in the attached, fictional case study description. Please
read the case study below before you proceed further.

Since the system description only outlines the product vision, you may need to make some
reasonable assumptions about the user's needs and the related functionality necessary to satisfy
them. Similarly, feel free to make assumptions about some of the finer product details as well.

Case Study: Remote Deposit Capture

1. Recently, several banks have started offering customers remote deposit capture. With this
new service, customers do not have to physically go to banks or ATM machines to deposit
checks anymore. Instead, they can send checks as a scanned image through an Internet
portal provided by the bank.
2. This technology can save banks and customers time and money making the transactions.
Blue Bank is considering implementing this new service.
3. To use it, customers need a remote capture account with Blue Bank. In addition, they can
either download an app on their phone or they need to install a browser plugin to use any
general purpose scanner attached to their computer. The customer will be prompted to
install the browser plugin when customer tries to deposit checks using bank’s internet
portal.
4. Once the account is established in the system and customer has setup the mobile phone or
browser plugin, customers will be able to scan all of their checks anytime and anywhere by
using the bank mobile app or by accessing the bank’s Internet portal, logging in, and
scanning the checks.
5. The service should be as easy as sending an attachment in an email. Of course, this new
application has to be very reliable, secure, and easy to use. It must be integrated into the
current Blue Bank Web site, and the Web site must also provide the ability for customers to
purchase the general purpose pre-tested scanners.
6. Blue Bank will set up the scanner-purchasing ability with several appropriate hardware
vendors and sell the devices at its physical banks as well.
 7. Blue Bank is not sure yet what to charge for the scanners or service. The Website will also
provide online technical support and instructions showing customers how to setup and use
the new scanner and service. Support will be provided 24/7 via the Web site and telephone.
8. Several managers at Blue Bank are not sure that they should invest in remote deposit
capture. The bank prides itself on being customer-oriented, having several large bank
buildings, ATMs and remote bank sites in many grocery stores, primarily throughout the
Midwest. Many of its customers have banked with Blue Bank their whole lives, but less
than half of them use any of its current Internet banking services.
9. The new VP of IT was hired to prepare Blue Bank for the future and to reduce the loss of
younger customers who have moved to banks that are more progressive.

10. Initial estimates suggests that the project will take 6 months to complete and cost about
$500,000. Annual operating costs would be about $150,000 per year for three years. Estimated
benefits are about $400,000 per year for three years.

11. Harold Johnson, the project sponsor, had told you that you will be leading this project and
it is important to finish on time and within budget, but it is even more important to provide a high-
quality service and avoid any potential technical or user problems after implementation. Blue Bank
wants to attract new customers with remote deposit capture and avoid losing current customers, so
quality and customer service is key.

12. The team to work on this project has 4 developers, 2 testers. Most of the developers and
testers has offices on different floors of the building and generally works in their office.

13. The team members have some experience i n web development but none in mobile
development. Nobody on team has performance testing experience or User experience expertise.
Also, since this is the first agile project for the team, they are not familiar with engineering
practices like automated testing, continuous integration, etc.

14. The Business stakeholders who wrote the high level vision for the mobile application are
going to help refine or define the user needs. They currently sit in different building. They are
working on writing detailed requirements and planning to hand-off to you in 2 weeks.

15. Your peers have suggested that you want to be sure that the project will please key
stakeholders, in particular Harold, the project sponsor, and Tricia, the VP of Marketing.
 Both of these senior managers are very aware of customers’ needs, so it is important that
the new service is stable, secure, and easy to use.
16. They both want the remote deposit capture capability to be ready as soon as possible so the
company can start promoting this new service.

17. High Level Vision: Here are the High Level Vision for the Remote Deposit Capture: 18.
Using the new mobile app, Blue Bank customers can:

1. Download an app for iPhone, android phones, windows phones

2. Login in the app using their internet portal account or identify themselves using

other authentication methods.

3. View balance of their accounts

4. Deposit checks to deposit account
i. take secure/fraud proof pictures of checks (back and front)
ii. enter details of the check - like amt
iii. Select account to deposit
iv. validate check image against the entered details
v. deposit the e-check into the bank account
5. Provide opportunity for bank to share new offers and promotions to customers.

19. New browser plugin should support:

1. Secure/fraud proof scanning of checks

2. Support IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari
3. Add support for pre-approved supported scanners.
4. Work with other scanners that supports ISO protocols for scanners.

e. Work seamlessly with pre-approved supported scanner

20. Changes to bank’s internet portal will allow Blue Bank customers to:

1. Create / update / delete deposit account

2. Scanning checks using the browser plugin (back and front)
3. Deposit e-check to deposit account
  ○  Enter details of the check - like amt
 ○  Validate check image against the entered details


Assignment

The case study specifies some of the key functionality that the IT team needs to build. You are
responsible for the mobile app.

For the mobile app, create a story map to show the user experience and what you need to build.
Feel free to add fictitious functionality and features as you feel appropriate. You will be graded on
the quality, completeness, and correctness of your story map.

Please make sure that your story map has all the functionality listed in mobile app section
(section 18) in the case study. 

You may create the story map using any tool you wish (for example, LibreOffice Writer/Draw or
Microsoft Word/Visio). Once finished, you will upload the document here.

Blue Bank has always used the traditional waterfall method to deliver IT projects. Harold Johnson
and the company leadership have suggested that you also use traditional methods to build the
software. You have a different idea. You think agile would be better for this situation. 

In the space below, make a case to Harold as to why we should switch to agile (explain why
using agile is a better choice for this project/situation). Be sure to support your argument by
referring back to the case study text.

Why to use it, with the various aspects and functions that Blue Bank want to have available to
customers to allow deposits it will take a vast amount of estimating and release planning which
Agile is designed for but especially with the need to finish on time of 6 months and on budget
with the quality service that is demanded

The team does not have a great deal of experience in mobile applications, testing or
understanding the agile mindset being adaptive but the application of the mindset of define,
design, build and test is going to be key in getting the project done.

Assume Harold liked your argument and agreed to proceed with agile on this project. In his reply,
Harold asked for further guidance on how to move forward. Please reply back with the following:

1. What things will have to change on how this team operates and how key stakeholders
interact or engage on this project. (Hint: as you have learned, for agile to be successful
there are certain prerequisites and it poses certain challenges for leadership/business
stakeholders as well)
 2. The team is new to Agile and based on prerequisites for agile to be successful, please
specify if you and your team need any help or training etc. If none, please state that.

How the team operates is going to work around adopting the mindset, Define, design, build,
test but breaking down the task into small bite size chunks rather than big functions as a set
task.

Getting the team out their offices, to the same floor, same area so that they are on the same
page early, having those face to face conversations as developers. In addition having the
other stakeholders working and having the conversations to encourage the team
organization is key, so bringing in Harold and Tricia the VP so they are involved

Then working with the team to break down some of the barriers that are going to naturally
exist with the new methodology having never used it, they are not aware of the agile and
it’s methods so bring the team up to speed with the components early and getting them
onboard early.

Harold is pretty impressed by your response and has approved all of your recommendations in
previous two responses. He then re-iterated the key criteria for success and asked you if he and
his management team should expect anything different from this project in terms for tracking and
status updates.

Are there any project constraints laid out in the case study that need to be changed/managed
since you will be using agile and, in agile, planning, estimation and tracking happens differently? 

Hint: The case study implies certain project constraints/expectations around cost, timeline, other
factors that need to managed/changed.

There are major constraints of factors that need to be taken into consideration with the
planning and sprints for the development plan.

Time line of 6 months means that there must be a strong adoption of the scrum
methodology in order to get this over the line. As the team do not have the experience early
sprints may be slow to get going however the use of Burndown / Burnup charts – breaking
down what daily work is needed and to be finalised for each sprint.

Cost and operating costs of the platform being of up most importance to the stakeholders
and the need to deliver on budget will mean that the testing phase capture as few bugs as
possible so using pair programming may help them with it.

Finally breaking down the requirements and design of what is required by having the
conversations to fully understand what the bank want. This can be done using the agile
planning to have the strategy and vision in mind when creating the backlog the dev team
are going to work with.