Power User Spotlight: KPMG’s Arvind Balakrishnan

KPMG Associate Consultant Arvind Balakrishnan, a developer with more than three years of experience, was first introduced to Unqork more than two years ago. Since then, he has earned his Associate and Professional Unqork Configurator certificates. And as one of the community’s most active and knowledgeable members, he has been named an Unqork Community subject matter expert (SME).

How long have you been an Unqork Creator, and how quickly were you able to start creating?

Arvind: Before Unqork, I was a QA consultant working on home and auto insurance products using the Guidewire platform. I began working on Unqork for two and a half years now. After a week of bootcamp-style training, I was already working on client projects. 

The Unqork platform itself helps get you up and running quickly because you don’t need to learn or write code. You just need a logical understanding of the different components and how they will interact. That means you don’t have to spend months in training. In a very short period of time, you can be working on client projects.

Tell us about some of the more exciting client projects you’ve created with Unqork. 

Right now, I am working on an enormous project for a Fortune 500 banking and wealth management firm modernizing its existing legacy digital application in Unqork. It is a complex and exciting project to work on. We are collaborating across six different teams, and the complexity is such that we have more than 50 parent modules for different capabilities, which contain between 1500 and 2000 components. 

The client keeps coming to us with complex use cases. Every time, we wonder if Unqork will be able to handle it. And every time, Unqork proves that it can. It helps that Unqork keeps building and delivering new features and services, and the platform keeps growing.

“The client keeps coming to us with complex use cases. Every time, we wonder if Unqork will be able to handle it. And every time, Unqork proves that it can.”

How does your experience working with Unqork differ from other code/low-code/no-code platforms? 

When compared to a traditional coding platform, Unqork has cracked the secret to balancing the golden triangle—time, quality, and cost. And Guidewire Policy Center was very limited compared to Unqork. It is limited to a very specific sector. 

However, for me, the real difference is that with Unqork, you don’t have to learn a coding language, and you don’t need two to three months of training to get started. With Unqork, you can come in and start building things right away. 

Does the Unqork platform or Unqork Marketplace help you think more creatively about the projects you’re working on?

Definitely. First of all, you can build a PoC in far less time than with any other platforms and at a far lower cost. That gives you the luxury to try out new things. 

And Unqork Marketplace has evolved more than I could have imagined. When we first started in Unqork, we took three or four days to configure an SSN Masking field. Now, that’s just out-of-the-box. You simply drag and drop in a snippet, and you’re all set. 

And of course, all the integrations—for example, the Docusign integration—have made it far easier to configure. 

“You can build a PoC in far less time than with any other platforms and at a far lower cost. That gives you the luxury to try out new things.” 

How has Unqork changed the way you collaborate with business partners and other developers? 

With Unqork, you work with a very narrow set of teams, and that makes it far easier for everyone to get on the same page and improve efficiency. With a traditional development project, you have process bottlenecks, which impacts the project delivery time, wastes resources, etc. 

I’ve also noticed that our relationship with the clients has improved, because, as I said, Unqork provides that perfect triangle: less time, lower cost, and quality product. That improves the relationship between the client and the partner, and also between developers and project managers. 

What are your favorite things about Unqork?

Two things stand out. First, the code promotion process is definitely easier and much faster. With the Unqork platform, you promote everything with a click of a button, instead of module by module. 

I also want to mention the constant release of new features for the Unqork platform. Unqork takes feedback from Creators seriously. I have personally been submitting my ideas through the Community and been engaged in user research sessions. 

The creation of the dynamic view grid is a great example. We were unable to edit simple view grids, and that meant we weren’t able to build some of the features our clients wanted. And then, in just a couple of quarters, I see dynamic grids coming into the picture. 

Do you have any best practices you would like to share with other Creators? 

I have two suggestions. First, when configurators develop modules, they should always think about taking a modular approach to make things more reusable. That saves you lots of effort and time wasted spent doing repetitive work. 

For example, let’s say you have an import model that can be used across modules or projects. You can make it into a simple snippet, and then you can give it to the Marketplace team. Then other people can work on them or use them for their own projects. 

Second, configurators should definitely think about documentation for components. It keeps things clean and simple. Unqork provides a Notes tab where you can add documentation, and you can even add notes for changes made to a module in the version history. As developers, we need to think about our fellow developers.