At INBISCO we are continuously improving our software. For this reason, our RAS application, also known as Risk Manager, has been completely renewed. Developer Niels explains in this blog why RAS has been renewed, how this was done, the improvements and his vision on the future of the application.

What is, in your words, RAS?

The goal of RAS is to create an up-to-date overview of a company’s risks. By making the risks transparent, you create awareness, limit the risks or give you the opportunity to manage them directly.

What was the reason for rebuilding RAS?

Years ago, INBISCO, then still part of Cofano, developed the RAS application in collaboration with the company ALE.

In recent years, a lot has changed in the field of software within INBISCO. There have been many developments and the RAS application is also being used by more and more customers. This also results in certain wishes. This makes you think about the application. We inventoried the wishes and looked at the impact on the application, both in terms of design, maintenance and development time. The question that arose from this was, is RAS future-proof? Based on this, the choice was made to revise the application.

What technologies and programming languages ​​did you use when rebuilding the software?

In line with the other applications we use within INBISCO, we applied .NET Core and React.js.

How did you deal with the structure from the past?

It was important to choose a structure for the new RAS application that everyone could agree with. We applied an agile working method during development. This is something that is common within development. This way it is recognizable for every developer and everyone can get started with it.

Which functions or aspects of the new software are you most proud of?

There are many aspects that I am satisfied with. Mainly the ease of use, the creation of the assessment and the possibility to define the risk fields and approval flow yourself. Furthermore, in RAS you can now easily message a colleague for a specific risk rule and there is an integrated collaboration with the other applications of INBISCO. You can create tasks in our IRIS application directly linked to a risk assessment, which keeps statuses and tasks clear.

Are there specific “issues” from the previous version that you addressed?

Improving the user experience was one of the main points, together with applying your own defined risk fields.

What were the most important learning moments for you personally during the rebuild process?

Applying the .NET Core framework was an important learning moment. At the time it was still in its infancy and now it has become a full-fledged framework. In the beginning I had to deal with higher development effort, because it was something new and still limited in possibilities. For example, a different development and production line had to be applied. In addition, I re-evaluated every existing RAS module. How can it be improved? What do I need or not need to improve the user experience?

What challenges did you face when rebuilding the software and how did you overcome them?

There were several challenges. First, the functionality. You have a basic type of assessment, but you also want to be able to create other types of assessments. Despite the flexibility, you also need to apply uniformity. Ultimately, you want the user to be able to report on different types of risk assessments.

Second, the technology. As a developer, you want to use the latest technology. You want to create the environment in a way that is pragmatic and modular, which is made easy by the newer technology. The newer technology is also fast enough to process and provide the information.

Lastly, the authorization. As a user, you not only want to set up authorizations in a simple and efficient way, but you also want to have confidence that certain risk assessments are only accessible to specific people. This separation of duties is necessary to promote the protection of sensitive company data.

Are there things you would do differently looking back on the project?

When you go into a project like this, you have to deal with the resources and the capacity that you have. There is also communication and certain expectations. The delivery took a little longer than we initially expected. The chosen path we took will show in the future whether that was the best path.

How do you see the future of the software you have built?

Due to changing regulations and legislation, risk mapping is becoming increasingly important. This tool is extremely suitable for this. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently the most discussed technology. It is interesting to keep an eye on these kinds of developments and see what this could mean for the software.

Are there any functions or improvements that you would like to add in the future?

For me it is important to continue to optimize the user experience. There is a lot of information available, but you want to keep it simple and accessible for users to make an assessment or quickly get to the right information.

INBISCO

Every organization has a certain working method. When carrying this out, opportunities and threats can arise that influence this; at both strategic and operational level. If one is not aware of this, this can have major and far-reaching consequences. In order to guarantee continuity, it is important to have insight into the internal and external threats. Risk management is essential.