Travelers Property Casualty Corporation: Building an Object Environment for Greater Competitiveness

http://adv.onewebsystems.com/sim/library/doc/paper3.doc

This paper won third prize in the 1997 SIM International Awards Competition. This case study describes the obstacles Travelers encountered as it worked its way up a formidable learning curve in the process of building a new infrastructure based on object-oriented programming principles. The Claim unit's experience with its OO-based IT infrastructure offers useful insights for any firm that is building OO platforms, as well as firms that are attempting to rebuild or enhance their IT infrastructure.

Questions:

1. What are the typical obstacles to using object-oriented programming as a central element of IT infrastructure?

2. Why was the development team willing to roll out unstable technology in 1993?

3. What issues arose related to reusability of objects?

4. Based on the lessons learned, what seem to be the conditions under which it is practical to use an object oriented approach in an organization comparable to Travelers Insurance in size, sophistication, and programming skills?

Back to Links to Longer Cases

Main Page About the Book Student Resources Instructor Resources Contact Us