Freeing Claims from COTS

Overview

GEICO, a flagship customer of Guidewire, a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software, relied on this system for almost two decades to manage Claims and related processes, encompassing approximately 60% of the company’s software systems. Despite its prominence, Guidewire’s multi-tenancy model imposed restrictions on research and development, limiting GEICO’s ability to tailor new features and enhance flexibility. The primary objective was to model the Claims domain using Domain-Driven Design (DDD) to better align new software with GEICO’s specific needs and streamline claims processing.

Challenges

• Restricted Feature Development: Guidewire’s multi-tenant architecture constrained GEICO’s ability to develop new features tailored to improving customer satisfaction.

• Unrecognized Process Limitations: Long-term reliance on Guidewire led GEICO to accept inefficient claims processes, risking the incorporation of unnecessary limitations into new systems.

• Lack of DDD Expertise: Internal resources lacked experience in Eventstorming and DDD, fostering misconceptions that these approaches were ineffective and creating bottlenecks in modeling efforts.

Solution

To address these challenges, the team conducted Eventstorming sessions and applied DDD techniques to model the Claims domain effectively.

• Eventstorming Sessions: Over 3–5 sessions per week with 2–3 groups, the team used Big Picture, Process Modeling, System Design, Bounded Context mapping, and Aggregate Modeling. These sessions, initially hindered by internal inexperience, were guided by external expertise to clarify domain needs and resolve conflicts.

• Sequence Diagrams: These were used to model interactions between components, ensuring clear communication and alignment across the system.

• Domain-Driven Design: Eventstorming and DDD modeling surfaced opportunities for automation and the removal of redundant policies, enabling GEICO to better understand and streamline claims processes.

Outcome

The engagement transformed GEICO’s approach to software development for the Claims domain. Eventstorming enabled domain experts to articulate system successes and improvement needs, surfacing automation opportunities and eliminating redundant policies. The resulting DDD models provided developers with clear insights into software design requirements, accelerating prototype development and paving the way for production-quality software. The close collaboration between business and IT, though initially unfamiliar, demonstrated the value of aligning technical and business goals. This approach not only addressed immediate claims processing needs but also positioned GEICO for future scalability and innovation in software development.