H.I.F. Corporation

Actively incorporating agile methods
New web system connected to AI model
Released in just 3 months

H.I.F.’s AI qualitative credit screening service, “Twenty-One Set Automatic Credit Screening Circuit with Artificial Intelligence,” predicts the risk of delayed payment and uncollectibility of accounts receivable and other receivables with high accuracy at a low cost, with credit accuracy far exceeding industry standards. The web system was developed using agile development with TDC SOFT Inc. as the development partner, and the development time for the web system was only three months (AI models and the entire product process were not included). Moreover, the market positioning of the system was different from conventional systems, and the requirements were not clear. We interviewed Ms. Mariko Higashi, Executive Vice President and CTO of the company, who promoted this challenging project, and Mr. Atsushi Tanaka, Assistant Manager of the company, who participated in the project from the middle and now supports the project as a Scrum Master.

Challenges before introduction

• Insufficient development members for the concept and scale of the product

• New services had to be developed while specifications were not yet finalized.

• Agile-like development had been done in the past, but it was not a systematic approach.

Post-introduction results

• TDC SOFT’s participation helped supplement the team with a Scrum Master and a developer.

• We were able to release the new service only 3 months after the kick-off of the web systemization project.

• We were able to learn agile development in a systematic way and grew to the point where we could run our own team.

Lack of personnel to develop new services is an issue

H.I.F. is a BaaS (Banking as a Service) company that develops settlement agency and accounts receivable guarantee businesses on the strength of its unique AI qualitative credit. with its focus on both AI and finance, the company is using data acquired in its finance business to improve the accuracy of its AI-based analysis. Following the launch of the “Twenty-One Set Automatic Credit Screening Circuit with Artificial Intelligence,” the company will begin offering a “Venture Debt Guarantee” in March 2023, enabling loan guarantees based on scoring using AI credit screening to promote financing for ventures and startups by financial institutions. Mariko Higashi, Executive Vice President CTO, said, “When a financial expert reviews financial statements, it is only his/her opinion and it is not certain that it is correct. Instead, it is more accurate and exhaustive to utilize a vast amount of historical data, and by utilizing AI, it is possible to conduct highly accurate analysis more quickly and inexpensively than if a person were to stick around and conduct due diligence (detailed investigation of the value and risk of an investment target),” she said.

The company has been developing new services one after another as a fintech venture, but in the development project for the aforementioned AI qualitative credit screening service (to be launched in September 2021), which is now the company’s flagship service, the company faced the problem of a shortage of development members. The company then asked TDC SOFT Inc., with whom it had been doing business for some time as an outsourcer of finance-related systems, to participate in the project. TDC SOFT Inc. was a company that had been commissioned to develop a financial-related system, and the two companies decided to work together on development. TDC SOFT Inc. is also strong in financial systems, and we had confidence in them for our previous projects,” said Mr. Higashi.

Selected agile development for ease of shaping unclear requirements

Agile was proposed by TDC SOFT Inc. for the development of the AI qualitative credit screening service. When Mr. Higashi heard the proposal, he said he was eager to try it. We are a small company, but we have to deal with financial companies, so we need to meet their high demands. Therefore, it was very attractive for us to adopt the development method of TDC SOFT Inc., which has high technological capabilities.”

Mr. Azuma had been engaged in waterfall type development at his previous job, but he felt that the waterfall development method, in which specifications are decided at the initial stage, is not suitable for a venture that creates new businesses such as H.I.F. However, he felt that the waterfall development method, in which specifications are decided at the initial stage, was not suitable for a venture company like H.I.F. that creates new businesses. Therefore, even before joining TDC SOFT Inc., we had been using agile development, which is to create a working product without focusing on details, and to repeatedly check and modify it. However, we had not yet systematically organized the agile development process, so we often agonized over whether there was a better way to do it,” said Higashi.

H.I.F. Assistant Manager Atsushi Tanaka, who joined H.I.F. around the time this development project began and later participated in the project, commented on his first experience with agile: “TDC SOFT Inc. helped us solidify our image and clarify our requirements by creating a prototype of a requirement that had not been clearly defined. The prototypes were very clear and the team was able to solidify the image and clarify the requirements. I thought it was a method that was easy to shape in a case where all the specifications were not available from the beginning. Mr. Azuma also says, “I think this method is also suitable for cases where the demand is not clear, but we need materials for wall-hanging.

High technical skills and teamwork led to the release of
web system in just 3 months after joining the company.

To begin development with Scrum, a common framework in Agile practices, Mr. Higashi participated as the product owner, a Scrum Master from TDC SOFT Inc., and five developers. Mr. Tanaka then joined the team, and development proceeded at a considerable speed by running the cycle in one-week sprints. I felt it was easy to go through a trial-and-error process.

The development system was subsequently strengthened. Mr. Higashi explained the reason for the three-month development: “TDC SOFT Inc. and I were close, and we had a system in place where we could consult with each other as needed and make decisions immediately. We had development meetings every morning, and I think it was also because of the speed at which we were able to assemble tasks. In any case, I felt that the team had a high level of cohesion,” he surmises. This project was Tanaka’s first participation in agile development, but he absorbed the know-how during this time. He now follows the team as a Scrum Master and continues to practice it on a daily basis.

Mr. Tanaka commented on TDC SOFT’s development capabilities, “Everyone at TDC SOFT Inc. is of a high level, but I was particularly shocked by the surprisingly talented young developers. The scrum masters are also very talented, and I was impressed by their ability to manage the team to bring together developers with strong personalities. Mr. Azuma added, “The TDC SOFT Inc. members were generous in sharing their knowledge in everything they did. We had only three months to develop the software, and we didn’t have much time to spare, but even when we asked for the impossible, they always came up with something, which was very helpful.

Mr. Higashi says that the development cost was reasonable, but “in the long run, it was not expensive at all,” he says. The experience of absorbing the atmosphere and detailed techniques of the Scrum process gave us confidence that we could do it on our own over the long term,” he said. Mr. Tanaka also appreciates TDC SOFT Inc., saying, “In the past, we have had bitter experiences of choosing an outsourcing company based on low price, only to find that they did not deliver properly and that we could not get in touch with them in the first place.

Transformed into a more unified team through development

In this development, Nuxt.js was adopted as the framework with the support of TDC SOFT. At the time, there were few examples of development using Nuxt.js within the company, but as a result, an environment was created that was easy to maintain in a short period of time. In addition, the company made some very advanced efforts from the point of development, such as connecting the AI model to SaaS.

The biggest achievement of this project was the ability to launch the service in a short period of time while utilizing these new technologies, but other benefits include a new culture in development and the growth of Tanaka, who became a Scrum Master. Mr. Higashi also points to the development of a new culture in development and the growth of Mr. Tanaka, who has become a Scrum Master. The creation of a culture has strengthened cooperation with outsourcers, and everyone, regardless of position, is now able to pursue the same mission. As a result, development speed has also increased.” (Mr. Azuma)

Mr. Azuma commented on TDC SOFT’s company-wide responsiveness: “There are many companies where sales and development teams do not work well together, and we have had difficulties in the past. However, TDC SOFT’s development and sales teams work in unison and always make proposals as one team, which gives us a sense of trust,” he said.

The company has experienced multiple development projects with TDC SOFT Inc. and has steadily accumulated knowledge and experience in agile development within the company. As a result, the company is currently shifting to an in-house-centric development structure. However, regarding future collaboration with TDC SOFT Inc., Mr. Higashi expressed his hope, “We do not want to reduce the relationship to zero completely, but rather to maintain a relationship where we can consult with them when we have problems.

summary

H.I.F.’s development members are a small elite group, but they continue to boldly challenge new technologies and methods as if they were a venture company. Mr. Azuma said, “We have a corporate culture of adopting new technologies as they emerge. I think people feel that TDC SOFT Inc. is a testing ground where they can try out all kinds of things.” As Mr. Azuma says, the company does not hesitate to try Agile or new frameworks if it thinks they are worth trying. It is precisely because of this that the company continues to release ambitious services one after another.

Technologies Used