Ina Isabela M. Costibolo
2010-38092
Personal Case Study
Risk Management amidst Digital Transformation!
Case Context
The vision of UnionBank is to become one of the top three universal banks in the
Philippines by 2020 and it planned to achieve this by embarking on a digital
transformation journey back in 2016. The bank has been working on two kinds of
transformation simultaneously. The first one involves transforming the bank to a digital
bank which means digitizing the products and services offered to our customers. The
other one is the digitization of the organization as a whole which involves process
automation and improved systems. Both transformations entail changing the culture of
the organization to create an agile and innovative working environment. In other words,
the bank is focused on creating new things and creating them fast. To be able to do so,
the bank has changed its project management methods from the waterfall type to the
agile approach.!
To support this initiative, the bank follows the following Agile Operating Model (AOM):
Component
Description
Squads
Highly flexible cross-functional teams focused on fulfilling specific customer
objectives
Tribes
Composed of squads with similar objectives targeted on a specific customer
segment
Chapters
Communities of practice that are focused on building and deepening
functional capabilities
Centers of Excellence
Develops leading edge capabilities
Enabling Functions
Work on automating processes so that services are fast and problem-free
Ina Isabela M. Costibolo
2010-38092
Personal Case Study
Project ideas usually come from Centers of Excellence (e.g. Data Analytics,
Blockchain/AI, and Fintech) wanting to develop new products and services that would
add value to the bank and from Enabling Functions (e.g. Internal Audit, Risk, and
Business Services) aiming to improve delivery of these products and services. A Squad
is then formed with the goal of successfully launching these new initiatives. It is
composed of representatives from the Chapters (e.g. Compliance, Risk, Scrum, and
Customer Experience) and each is accountable for the different areas in product
development. Talent Demand Management and Strategic Investments ensure that the
Squad has the resources needed for the project to succeed. !
The whole product development cycle is supposed to be guided by the New Products
and Services Framework that indicates the necessary tools that should help Squads
achieve the objectives and output needed during the different phases of the project.
One of the tools mentioned by the framework is the Cheetah Checklist. It makes sure
that the Squad coordinates with the units whose processes will be affected and those
units that assess the risk, compliance, and security of the project. The framework has
been cascaded to the whole bank through an e-mail and is mentioned during New
Employees Orientation and Squad Onboarding sessions. It is also available in a
SharePoint that is accessible to all employees of the bank.!
The New Products and Services Framework and the tools it mentions are managed by
a sub-unit of the Human Resources Group called the Organization Capability Center of
