The problem.
BT's advice business sat across decades of acquisitions, several platforms, and fragmented client data. The wind-down required a single accurate record per client, assembled across all of it. No client could be left behind, and sale outcomes depended on accurate client records.
The clock was external. A board-mandated deadline meant the timeline didn't move. Only the scope and the approach could.
The approach.
Run it like a product, not a data project. Customer first (the downstream teams who would use the data), then spec, then build.
- Mapped every source system that held a piece of the client truth, and the gaps between them.
- Designed reconciliation rules with the ops and compliance teams that would eventually rely on them.
- Shipped iteratively, one system mapping working end-to-end, then scale, rather than waiting for the perfect schema.
- Fortnightly releases, tested with adviser feedback allowing refinement next sprint.
- Client data reported in Sharepoint for end user review and consumption.
The outcome.
Single source of truth delivered on the board-mandated timeline.
400k+ clients with reconciled records, used as the basis for transfer to acquirers and ensuring every client had a final home.
What I learned.
Boring products with board deadlines are some of the highest-stakes product work you can do. Treat them with the same discipline as anything customer-facing.
The people who eventually consume the data are the only useful spec reviewers. Design with them in the room, not for them at a distance.
Get data right up front for better business decisions. What we built could have served the business well for the 10 years prior, and not been a throwaway product.