Custodian reports, downloaded and checked automatically

Situation

Staff regularly visited the custodians' reporting websites, clicked through report menus, and exported, renamed and merged the files by hand, one advisor at a time. Several of the firm's other tools depend on those reports being current.

Solution

A desktop application performs those steps. Staff choose the reports they need and start it. The application downloads each report, confirms that it is the right kind of report and combines the holdings for the whole firm. Only then does it allow the tools that depend on the reports to update.

Other tools at the firm also download documents from websites. For those tools, a staff member can record a task on a website once and replay it. Before downloading anything, the replay confirms that it is on the right page and account. Adding a website then requires recording the task, with no new development work.

Design decisions

Jeff Hunt built two versions and compared them: one in which AI operates the screen the way a person would, and one using plain automation. The plain version was faster and cheaper to run, so the firm received that version. When the application cannot confirm it is on the right page, it stops without guessing, and a failed report holds back the tools that depend on it.

Outcome

The custodian reports can be collected and checked without staff visiting each website. The tools that depend on those reports update only from a complete, checked set.