James Couzens, Suncorp

Abstract: This presentation discusses the pros and cons of applying the principles and patterns of application frameworks to packaged applications using illustrations of the why, when and how from experiences implementing a java based enterprise claims package at Suncorp. The presentation examines two framework elements, the first used to extend the applications's browser user interface, the second to extend the application's business rules. In each case the limitation of the out of the box is explained followed by the approach used to overcome this limitation using framework code that exploits the OO capabilities of the vendor's proprietary development language. The key elements of the approach for both relies on the ability to pass the current user and business object context to the framework at runtime with convention over configuration approaches to instantiate the specific objects required. What has been learned as the framework matures will also be discussed along with what are seen as the most significant risks of the approach. While the technology used for this framework is specific to the application, the circumstances pushing teams to look for innovative ways to maintain consistency, reusability and sociability in an environment where multiple development teams work off the same packaged code base, applying changes for different business units, products and regions, are not. Suncorp is a diversified financial services organisation with operations across Australia and New Zealand. This presentation focuses on an insurance claims package that is required, from a single code base and application instance, to support multiple legal entities, brands, lines of business, products and versions and geographies but was not explicitly designed to do so.