In the face of the growing complexity of IT system implementations, as well as increasing regulatory pressure and security requirements, something more than technology itself is becoming crucial. The success of a project is increasingly determined by the collaboration model, the vendor’s real accountability, and a partnership-based approach to the client. This foundation ultimately decides whether a system becomes genuine support for the business or remains merely an expensive tool. Mirosław Wnuk, Director of Development for the Debt Collection Area at VSoft, talks about what cooperation with clients looks like in practice.
What does the modern model of cooperation with clients look like today?
During the pandemic, there was a need to immediately adapt existing processes to new circumstances. With one of our clients, belonging to a group of leading banks in Poland, we started working using an agile methodology while implementing joint projects. Today we no longer talk about “implementing agility” — we simply work in an agile way.
What matters most is how we start a project. Before moving to implementation, we conduct a fit & gap analysis. We begin with our product and then, together with the client, determine to what extent it meets the requirements and where adjustments are necessary. This is the moment when we build the foundation of partnership and mutual understanding.
What determines the success of this stage?
For us, the key is a very careful initial phase of the project — the moment when both sides must truly understand the scope of what is to be created. The more attention we devote to developing a common language and communication tools, the more efficiently the entire project proceeds.
We use so-called user stories, which describe how the system should function from the user’s perspective. This allows us to first build a coherent vision of the system at a high level and then precisely define objectives — not only business goals but also those related to performance, reliability, and security, which in the context of the DORA regulations are absolutely crucial today.
How does the company build its competitive advantage?
Our conversations with clients are not only about hearing how they imagine their system. It goes deeper than that. We sit down together and, based on our many years of experience in the debt collection area, show how such a system can operate efficiently, which solutions work well, and which should be avoided.
We talk with the client at the level of business processes, not only technical requirements. Thanks to this, the entry threshold for the project is lower and decisions can be made more quickly. In one of our projects for a large retail bank, it became clear that jointly developing the vision and being open to recommendations helped improve the system’s operation already at the concept stage.
What does the further project flow look like?
Before we begin the actual implementation analysis, we conduct the fit & gap analysis. We examine to what extent our product already meets the client’s requirements and which areas require adjustments. This becomes a natural starting point for further workshop-based collaboration.
After the analysis comes the stage of detailed agreements, followed by iterative implementation. We continuously collect feedback while the cost of change is still relatively low. If something turns out to deviate from the client’s expectations, we detect it during joint reviews of delivered functionalities rather than at the final testing stage.
Implementing a system involves hundreds of decisions — substantive, technical, and business-related. If there is partnership and openness on both sides in searching for the best solutions, these decisions are made much more efficiently and lead to a better final result.
What happens after the implementation?
The project does not end on the day the system is launched. We provide support, further development, and operational continuity. The use of low-code technology enables further expansion of the solution also on the client’s side.
This reduces the risk of so-called delivery lock-in and provides a sense of security, particularly for clients in the banking sector. Through continuous knowledge transfer, the partner knows they have real influence over the development of the tool.
What role does the project team play?
An enormous one. The client can rely on a permanent, dedicated team with both technical and business expertise. These are the people who build the relationship with the client throughout the entire project lifecycle — from analysis, through workshops and implementation, to support of the operational system and its further development.
In projects for the financial sector, industry knowledge is just as important as technology. Only the combination of these two perspectives allows us to build systems that not only work but genuinely support business operations.
For example, DORA was a major challenge. We had to conduct an audit, adapt the infrastructure, and ensure that all software was properly supported and correctly licensed. Today, a client from the financial sector looking for a technology partner must verify whether the provider meets regulatory requirements. We meet these requirements. We provide secure infrastructure, appropriate information protection procedures, and operational continuity.
Is there one principle of effective cooperation?
Partnership based on flexibility, openness, and knowledge transfer. When both sides are open to dialogue, optimization, and benefiting from each other’s experience, the result is a product that addresses real needs. Technology should not be a barrier — it should be a tool for achieving shared goals. When this happens, decisions are made much more efficiently and lead to a better final outcome.
