2 May 2011

Round-table interview on UDFS

In this round-table interview, we speak to the people behind the T2S User Detailed Functional Specifications (UDFS): Valérie Fasquelle and Thierry Beley from the Banque de France, Sabine Lehner-Zeiff from the Deutsche Bundesbank, Massimiliano Renzetti from the Banca d’Italia and Mayte Arráez from the Banco de España. Among the issues they address are their experiences in preparing the UDFS, its importance for the T2S project and what they expect to come out of the market consultation.

See also the arcticle Introducing the UDFS team.

1. The publication of the UDFS is said to be a major milestone in the T2S project. But why is it so important at this stage of the project and for whom?

The UDFS provides future T2S users with comprehensive information, on the basis of which they will be able to design and build their application-to-application interface.

Sabine Lehner-Zeiff: The UDFS provides future T2S users with comprehensive information, on the basis of which they will be able to design and build their application-to-application interface. As these design and implementation processes will take time, it was very important that we were able to deliver the UDFS on time, not only from the perspective of the T2S users but also our own.

To illustrate its importance, let’s take the analogy of a house under construction: the predecessors of the UDFS – the General Functional Specifications and the General Technical Specifications [GFS and GTS respectively] – can be compared to the construction plans for the house plus its foundations. The UDFS, on the other hand, corresponds to a detailed description of how to access the house and make use of its facilities. There are parts which explain what the “house” looks like and others outlining how best to “live in this house” and use its equipment. Without these details, it would be impossible for future users to prepare for the transfer to the new premises and to understand how to make optimum use of all it has to offer.

The UDFS can be seen as a bridge between the internal architecture of the T2S platform and the user’s view of the system.

Thierry Beley: The UDFS can be seen as a bridge between the internal architecture of the T2S platform and the user’s view of the system. From the perspective of T2S actors, the UDFS makes it possible for them to bring their business applications in line with what is actually expected by the T2S application-to-application interface. From a functional design perspective, the UDFS presents an opportunity for those behind the T2S project to make sure that the design will allow users to fulfil all their business needs. In this respect, comments and questions from users will certainly prove to be invaluable to the 4CB functional teams.

2. Since June 2010 the Eurosystem has held four workshops on the UDFS, in order to ensure early involvement of T2S actors in the project. It was envisaged that this would be beneficial for both the Eurosystem and market participants. Could you elaborate on this?

The feedback improved and enriched each part of the documentation, allowing us to align it with users’ needs.

Sabine Lehner-Zeiff: On the one hand, the feedback provided at this early stage gave us an insight into users’ expectations as regards how best to present information in a user-friendly and customer-oriented way, the level of detail required, what format the document should take, etc. On the other hand, the feedback improved and enriched each part of the documentation, allowing us to align it with users’ needs. Finally, it helped us to anticipate, as far as possible, any comments and questions on the content. As regards the market participants, I assume they appreciate having received such detailed information at this early stage, as well as the opportunity to discuss and familiarise themselves with the content and style of the UDFS – so as to avoid any surprises later.

Additionally, the process has allowed market players to assess the usefulness of the UDFS in helping them to adapt their systems to T2S requirements.

Mayte Arráez: As soon as work began on the UDFS, the 4CB teams organised workshops in order to create a platform on which to consult with market actors, so as to better understand their needs. The workshops have played a very important role in establishing an open and multilateral discussion on the details of the functional design not yet explained in the GFS. Learning about market players’ expectations of the UDFS document has been a worthwhile experience. Additionally, the process has allowed market players to assess the usefulness of the UDFS in helping them to adapt their systems to T2S requirements.

3. The UDFS has been submitted to the market for a two-month consultation, lasting until 27 May 2011. What do you expect from this consultation and the market participants? How could the National User Groups [NUGs] help to make the consultation worthwhile? Which other stakeholders are you expecting or encouraging to be active?

Valérie Fasquelle: With the publication of the UDFS – as with that of the GFS previously – market participants have an opportunity to check that the main principles underlying T2S and the major functionalities offered by the platform provide sufficient support for their business as future T2S users.

There are two main things that I hope will come out of this consultation: first, a confirmation of the completeness of the services provided and, second, reassurance that the UDFS provides adequate support for future T2S users at this preparatory stage of the project.

The UDFS aims to provide future T2S users with the information necessary for them to design the interface to the T2S platform of their respective information systems. It includes the most detailed description yet of T2S services and an exhaustive description of the messages employed to support the use of these services.

Against this background, there are two main things that I hope will come out of this consultation: first, a confirmation of the completeness of the services provided and, second, reassurance that the UDFS provides adequate support for future T2S users at this preparatory stage of the project.

In this context, I expect the NUGs to encourage exchanges between the different stakeholders of their respective countries, ideally in such a way as to harmonise the positions of these stakeholders prior to the provision of their feedback during the consultation period.

I believe NUGs can now play a very important role in this consultation too: they can support their stakeholders in reaping what was sown during the user requirements phase, i.e. in getting the most out of the services offered by T2S, within the context of their market and business practices.

Massimiliano Renzetti: As with the User Requirements Document [URD] drawn up during the user requirements phase, I would like market participants to help us in improving the quality of this important deliverable too. As regards the NUGs, they made a significant contribution to the drafting of the URD, by gathering information on the requirements of actors in their respective markets and passing on the views of their various stakeholders to the T2S Team. This was a great help to the Eurosystem in drawing up a consolidated list of requirements and identifying a number of potential areas for further harmonisation. In the same way, I believe NUGs can now play a very important role in this consultation too: they can support their stakeholders in reaping what was sown during the user requirements phase, i.e. in getting the most out of the services offered by T2S, within the context of their market and business practices.

4. According to the programme plan, this is the only market consultation planned for the UDFS. Therefore – in view of the length of the document, as well as its importance and the limited consultation time available – to which aspects of the UDFS should the market pay special attention during the consultation period?

Each stakeholder should try to review the UDFS from their own business perspective, in order to identify as soon as possible any gaps between their current practices and the processes described in the UDFS.

Thierry Beley: T2S is designed to cover a wide range of functionalities. The functional teams have based their work on the URD, which reflects the high-level requirements of the different T2S users. Therefore, each stakeholder should try to review the UDFS from their own business perspective, in order to identify as soon as possible any gaps between their current practices and the processes described in the UDFS.

The UDFS adopts a neutral approach and does not focus on a specific market or on a given business or technical framework.

Massimiliano Renzetti: In a nutshell, the UDFS describes all the services that T2S provides to the diverse categories of T2S actors and gives a detailed description of how each T2S service is to be used. In so doing, the UDFS adopts a neutral approach and does not focus on a specific market or on a given business or technical framework. To this extent, the greatest contribution that each market participant can make at this stage is to read and comment on the UDFS from its own individual perspective, i.e. by focusing in its response on the specific set of T2S services it intends to use and taking into account its particular business and technical environment. I believe this will help us all in verifying whether T2S can offer an adequate service and user-friendly access to each and every T2S actor.

5. Preparing the UDFS has entailed a considerable amount of coordination. How did you organise the work among yourselves and ensure consistency? What worked well and what was the most difficult aspect?

Nevertheless, compiling the UDFS in such as way as to facilitate the preparation of all stakeholders for T2S remained a very intensive and challenging experience, not only for me as Functional Coordinator of the 4CB teams but for all the colleagues involved in this collective task.

Valérie Fasquelle: A significant part of the coordination efforts had already been carried out before the start of the production process itself. The production of the UDFS was, for the most part, organised in the same manner and according to the same principles as the GFS, although processes were improved thanks to the experience gained from the different versions of this document. In addition, guidelines were created in order to provide a common framework for all the 4CB teams involved in the drafting, and several prototypes were built to ensure a shared understanding of the content of the document. As regards the overall consistency of the document, several reviews were performed at regular intervals over the course of the drafting process, thereby ensuring – at least this is my hope – the high quality of the documentation submitted to the market for review.

Nevertheless, compiling the UDFS in such as way as to facilitate the preparation of all stakeholders for T2S remained a very intensive and challenging experience, not only for me as Functional Coordinator of the 4CB teams but for all the colleagues involved in this collective task. This obviously means that coordination was indeed of the utmost importance in ensuring the punctual delivery of the document, as well as its high quality, in a context of high pressure. However, I believe that the key element in such projects remains the effective mobilisation of all contributors.

6. How would you describe the experience of preparing the UDFS? How would you evaluate the processes that were involved in creating this document on the basis of the early consultation with the market? Would you have done anything differently?

The early interaction with the market during the preparation of the UDFS has definitely been of great benefit to the functional teams, as well as the T2S project as a whole.

Thierry Beley: It would not be wise to design a system without seeking to involve its future users and to thus draw benefits from their various experiences. So, even if increasing the number of actors involved in a given workstream necessarily adds to the workload, the early interaction with the market during the preparation of the UDFS has definitely been of great benefit to the functional teams, as well as the T2S project as a whole.

The work has also proven to be highly enriching and stimulating, as we tried to make sometimes difficult content more accessible.

Mayte Arráez: A huge amount of work has gone into elaborating and coordinating the content of such an extensive document. At the same time, the work has also proven to be highly enriching and stimulating, as we tried to make sometimes difficult content more accessible. Early interaction with the market increased the dynamism of the drafting process, and, as a result, the UDFS document reflects a commonly shared constructive spirit.