Scala for all software development, specifically the reactive, concurrent framework
Akka, and the
Play
framework. On the front-end, Jemstep is moving towards moreReact
components and embedding them as part of their stack. “We have been successful in using Event Sourcing to scale the application across multiple services, and enabling some of our external development parties to build their own services and then kind of reintegrate those entire environments using that Event Sourcing model.”—Matthew
Matthew explains that Jemstep runs on the public cloud, deploying exclusively toAmazon AWS
for the elasticity benefits and convenience that the Amazon platform provides. Another advantage of using Scala is the Scala API forAmazon Spark
. Jemstep Advisor Pro uses Spark for analytics and ETL because this makes it easier to integrate with custodians and market data providers. All the individual Spark jobs are run on Amazon data pipelines, which then run on a batch basis withinAmazon EMR
.Development methodology
Simon discussed some details surrounding the development processes applied at Jemstep. For example, they use Agile, which is flexible – an important attribute since the company has development centers in the US, South Africa, India, and South America.
“The basic methodology is Scrum, but we are also incorporating Kanban principles and a little bit of the continuous deployment approach.”—Simon
Jemstep has development squads, or teams comprised of multiple development engineers, along with dedicated test engineers. The teams typically consist of full-stack engineers with broad skillsets so that within each squad there is a full-base set of skills.
“We very much work towards a tiered view process that’s required and separate from the original developer. And this helps make the core more robust and also helps facilitate knowledge spreading, as well as adopting newer developers into Jemstep.”—Simon
Adding to that, Matthew explains they aim to minimize documentation, with a fast-paced collaborative and self-organizing attitude. This allows them to build a working product early and then iterate on top of the minimum viable product.
Jemstep’s development is feedback-driven and agile, and they work with their clients – including banks, credit unions, broker dealers, insurers and RIAs – to ensure core values are aligned and collaborate to create a platform that fits their needs.
“They are more traditional in the way that they obviously treat various development projects. I think that what we do in those particular cases is look to overlay the more traditional project governing structures over our more lean and agile job practices, and that’s a continuous evolution.” —Matthew
Jemstep has R&D teams that are focused on new features or new integration partners. These dedicated teams are tightly integrated with developers.
“We also have developer productivity teams, and so there’s a lot of supporting capability around the core squads that help ensure productivity, knowledge transfer, and ultimately the ability to deploy very efficiently using code rather than individuals.”—Simon
Clear lines of communication
Jemstep’s geographically distributed development model has allowed them to flourish for over 10 years. For this model to work, there has to be a free flow of information or operational transparency (even transparency in decision making). Matthew said that this is engrained in their company culture, with all the teams using shared workspaces andSlack
for internal messaging. “There are other shared workspaces; for example, Atlassian Jira. Anyone can see the status of the stories and where they are in the workflow. From an engineering perspective, we use GitHub quite extensively as well. All the code conversations, peer reviews, etc. also take part across the various locations.”—Matthew
To keep all the teams on the same page, Jemstep invests significantly in educating and equipping its engineers with necessary domain knowledge. Matthew says that they run domain knowledge workshops on a weekly basis, where experts present a certain subject. These workshops are recorded and later distributed to new employees as part of the onboarding process. Jemstep also maintains an extensive knowledge base, and many of their operating procedures are documented inConfluence
.Final thoughts
Jemstep is a fast-growing company and its focus on financial advisors enables advisory firms to offer clients valuable advice leveraged by robust technology, reducing the cost of the service and broadening their clientele. The company is constantly expanding the Jemstep Advisor Pro platform functionality to continue to meet the evolving needs of clients, advisors, and the businesses that the company serves.
Interviewed by Vasyl Soloshchuk, CEO and co-owner at INSART, FinTech & Java engineering company. Vasyl is also the author of WealthTech Club, which conducts research into Fortune and Startup Robo-advisor and Wealth Management companies in terms of the technology ecosystem.