GE Capital is the largest issuer of third party extended warranties in the world.
To profitably issue insurance, the insurer must have access to accurate policy and claim information. As part of the world's most profitable company, GE Capital was perhaps under more pressure than most to perform well. The address their needs, GE Capital initiated the development of the CHAMPS system to provide GE Capital Auto Warranty Services the ability to monitor and track claims adjustment information. Through both real-time and historical data analysis, the GE Capital management team would be able to ensure that corporate quality goals for claims processing were obtained.

GE Capital recognized that it was faced with resource constraints and perceived that the most expedient alternative was to augment their staff with an Access Data team of project specialists.

GE Capital wanted to be certain that the business system produced would meet their needs and that the system would be deployed within their time constraints. They also wanted to be certain that their internal staff could effectively maintain the system once it was deployed.

"The CHAMPS system functionality was needed immediately by the AWS Quality Control group, but our development organization held neither the bandwidth nor the technical experience in the technologies chosen for the CHAMPS system." - Howard Michalski

By utilizing Access Data and the Access Data Lifecycle to develop and deliver the CHAMPS Quality Control System, GE Capital was able to rapidly deploy a key business system with minimal use of internal resources.

In order to facilitate Rapid Application Development (RAD), Access Data introduced a streamlined version of the Access Data Lifecycle Methodology. This tailored version of the methodology relied heavily on the concept of an integrated requirements and testing team. By combining effective requirements analysis and an experienced testing staff, GE Capital was ensured that its industry knowledge and personnel were fully leveraged in the CHAMPS system delivery.

The Access Data Lifecycle Methodology utilizes an iterative development technique to produce software quickly with fewer requirements discrepancies and integration problems. A cohesive team of business analysts, testers and developers work to identify and correct software discrepancies. By repeatedly exercising the written test plan, the test team is able to identify discrepancies early in the construction process thereby reducing the cost of errors.

During the CHAMPS development, this iterative process reduced development time by roughly 30% when compared to a traditional development approach.

Through the utilization of Access Data project management and development resources, GE Capital was able to eliminate project delays associated with technical training, hardware acquisitions and staff recruitment. Furthermore, by embracing the integrated team concept, GE Capital personnel were able to assume full maintenance responsibilities subsequent to system delivery.

By using the Access Data Lifecycle Methodology, the fully functional CHAMPS system was delivered on time, with no defects.

"Access Data's delivery of the CHAMPS system was impressive. The system was produced under incredible schedule constraints, with all of the required functionality. The CHAMPS system was readily accepted by the user community, and will be the prototype for projects of this kind in the future." - Howard Michalski