PROJECTS
PROJECT: Dealing Room
Instruction - Develop integrated dealing capability for supranational financial institution .
The organisation is one of the world's leading financial entities and acts as an intermediary for governments, central banks and leading commercial in commercial.
Bringing together products from a variety of competing organisations to provide a seamless user experience with the most sophisticated tool posed many challenges but the project was delivered on time, to budget.
Dealing with stakeholders from over 40 countries brings unique challenges where the different goals and success criteria mean that a sound and deep understanding of everyone's objectives was critical
PROJECT: Software not as specified
Instruction - Assist lawyers for bank which bought a system which is inadequately integrated and lacks critical functionality
The bank bought a complex and comprehensive system on the basis of a detailed statement of functions and features by the software vendor. However, many functions worked only in a single currency and the components were poorly integrated meaning it was impossible to gain adequate views of the business.
The bank had carried out an extensive review of the system specifications and the vendor had made many claims which turned out to be untrue but which could only be determined by extensive analysis and knowledge of how such systems should operate.
The bank was located in a middle eastern country and had limited systems experience. NaMax was able to assist in securing a successful result.
PROJECT: Find hidden information
Instruction - Find information in emails indicating that claimants statements were false
Disclosure had revealed over 3 GB of emails which had to be searched to find dates and phrases which might indicate that the claimant had planned to defraud the defendant. The text was all in Cyrillic script.
Working with a software developer, NaMax was able to design and use a highly innovative software solution which was build in a few weeks and was used to analyse the data.
NaMax's software ran through the data in 5 days and found numerous instances - including one the judge called "a smoking gun" - which the defendant was able to use to obtain a satisfactory outcome.
PROJECT: Investigate computer records in alleged fraud
Instruction - Determine whether invoices had been fraudulently deleted
Many invoices had disappeared from a system leading to an accusation that an office manager had conspired with contractors to hide out-of-quota work.
NaMax was found that the system date on which the invoices were missing was several years after the alleged deletion.
A comprehensive investigation of system maintenance methodology found major failings.
We found that there was no evidence of proper testing or application of sound change management or development methodologies. We also found major restructuring of the database with unknown numbers of iterations of change.
The court accepted the NaMax expert report findings and the case collapsed.
PROJECT: Software copyright
Instruction - Determine whether design documents had been stolen and used
A contractor company had produced a new product similar to one on which its staff had been working.
NaMax worked with the solicitors to establish criteria to identify infringement of confidentiality agreements and to determine what would constitute copyright infringement. Topics examined included variable and component name useage, functional decomposition and programming style.
The case raised many questions about what constitutes copying in an environment where publicly available code, commercial software libraries and alternative methods of achieving identical results in software are major components. Tools such as plagiarism detection programs and automatic sturctural analysis of code were investigated for use.
PROJECT: Algorithm-using patent infringement
Instruction - Investigate use of software in patented document security system
A company holding a patented innovative document security system using algorithmic methods alleged that a competitor had infringed the patent by creating a similar product using a different algorithm.
NaMax's investigation involved close analysis of a series of alleged prior art patents originating in different jurisdictions and with widely varying applications.
It also addressed application of algortihmic methods and the differences and similarities between these in practical, rather than theoretical use.
The report covered patent validity, normal infringement and Doctrine of Equivalents interpretation.
It addressed questions of similarity of function and purpose and whether a spectrum of security functions demonstrated difference or similarity between methods.