IRI VISION: EMBRACING AGILITY AND PURPOSE-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS

The insured retirement industry must transition from slow-to-implement, data-heavy solutions that try to address every possible use case, to lightweight, easily deployable solutions. A shift toward agile, purpose-driven messages is allowing the industry to adapt quickly and deliver fast, effective implementations. By collaborating with partners to design Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), the industry can ensure solutions are focused, resulting in streamlined efforts and enhanced partnerships.

An Agile Mindset
Overengineering to meet every possible need has resulted in slow adoption and as Stephen Kilbon, Senior Vice President of Business-to-Business Operations, Global Atlantic Financial Group notes, it’s created a “mixed bag of successful scalable solutions and solutions that have not had the critical mass adoption needed for practical use.”

“Utilizing an agile methodology allows you to learn as you go, while creating value upfront by releasing a product,” said Arron Price, Chief Operating Officer, Financial Independence Group (FIG).

Implementing agile methodologies that employ MVPs has led to faster, more fruitful outcomes for the industry. Kilbon agreed, saying, “the experience we have had with this initial implementation of Activity Status using more of an agile mindset has resulted in getting from the initial solution definition of a standard to a MVP pilot in less than six months,” Kilbon said.

Using MVPs means a quicker realization of gains in experience. “If you release a smaller product in a few months, you have the benefit of creating some value and getting feedback to grow the product,” said Price.

Creating Efficiencies Using Outside Resources
A key focus of the Insured Retirement Institute’s (IRI) Digital-First for Annuities initiative has been the adoption of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) to quickly and accurately deliver the information our end consumers need. APIs provide a defined set of rules that allow software and technology systems to seamlessly exchange data.

Global Atlantic has been aggressively modernizing their operational and technical suite for the past three years. Deploying an outside resource helped to accelerate their Activity Status launch efforts. “In early 2024, we brought on Magnifact’s AgentVizion platform as an API gateway, knowing that an Activity Status API would be our first offering to our distribution partners. Early in the development process, Global Atlantic, FIG, and the Magnifact team came together to quickly define an MVP, a roadmap of known iterative enhancements, and a defined pilot,” said Kilbon.

“Not only did leveraging this partnership allow us to quickly get to a pilot implementation, but it laid the foundation for an ongoing process to extend the Activity Status API and a pattern to broaden to additional API solutions,” said Kilbon.

Lessons Learned
Price said that moving to a nimbler way of doing things has not only created project efficiencies but strengthened their partner relationships. “It allows us to make changes on the fly, instead of being built into the next ‘project plan.’”

“As IRI’s Digital First moves forward, I think there are a few lessons we’ve learned to apply to the next solutions,” Kilbon said. “The API messages we develop should be small and focused, so they are not a huge lift to develop and consume. The standards should be open and accessible, and the APIs should not be so prescriptive to define the experience. This will allow the consumers of the data to build upon and innovate with the data that is accessible.”

Price added, “When you implement an agile methodology that’s embraced by the organization, those data elements can be added in a matter of hours. This allows us to create value as an industry almost instantaneously.”

By embracing an agile mindset, IRI members not only enhance efficiency but empower partners to innovate rapidly, paving the way for a more dynamic and collaborative future.

 

Contact: Dan Zielinski