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, with adviser feedback folded into the 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 it with them in the room.
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.