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Building a deterministic trading simulator in just three months
Finance
From proof-of-concept to scalable minimum-viable product
A US-based financial organization wanted to enhance its team’s ability to test trading strategies without financial risk. Its ultimate vision was the creation of a deterministic market simulator that could replicate market conditions and integrate with its existing tools.
Faced with tight deadlines, complex integration requirements and financial compliance protocols, the organisation turned to Equal Experts. Starting with a proof of concept, we tested the deterministic market simulator idea with three core behaviors. Early success enabled our team of three engineers to expand the project scope, delivering a minimum viable product (MVP) in just three months.
By understanding the financial organisation’s overall vision for the future uses of a market simulator and creating detailed documentation and demos for engineers, we ensured the MVP is robust, adaptable and scalable for future growth.
Outcomes
3 months
from concept to MVP
5 minutes
for new developers to spin up and begin using the simulator
16 behaviors
included in the simulator
About the client
Our client is a US-based financial organisation that specializes in online trading, options, futures, crypto, indices, commodities, and stock trading for self-directed investors. The company offers a fast, reliable, and secure trading platform that allows its customers to make their own trades.
Industry
Finance
Organisation size
2,500 employees
Location
USA
Length of project
3 months
Challenge
Creating a FIX-compliant solution on a tight timeline
Minimizing risk while maximizing reward is key in the competitive and fast-paced world of online trading. Our client, a leading online brokerage firm, saw an opportunity to enhance trading strategies with a Deterministic Market Simulator – a trading tool designed to replicate market conditions and behavior using a fixed set of rules and inputs. The simulator would enable its traders and developers to reliably and quickly test, refine and verify trading strategies in a faithful representation of a real trading environment, without financial risk.
However, to be a useful part of the company’s internal systems, the simulator would also need to be compliant with the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol and integrate with other third-party financial tools. With many of these tools reliant on an antiquated library and older technologies, navigating the development process would need a deep understanding of how to manage the associated limitations and risks.
With its internal developers engaged in other high-priority projects and a fixed three-month deadline to meet, the company turned to Equal Experts and our proven expertise in solving complex problems in the financial services sector.
Solution
Testing the vision with a proof of concept
Given the tight timeline, Equal Experts proposed a proof of concept approach to quickly demonstrate value and set the foundations for a fully scalable solution. A small team of three senior engineers collaborated with stakeholders to identify requirements and prioritize them based on perceived value for the business against the complexity and time required to deliver.
With this framework and the team’s previous experience working within the financial trading sector, three crucial behaviors were identified for the proof of concept. The data flow through the simulator and an ideal user experience was then mapped to support the build.
The complexity and timescales of the project required a careful, pragmatic approach before rushing into the coding process. By spending time creating a carefully planned architectural blueprint, detailing functions, design, and patterns, the team could make informed decisions to mitigate potential integration or library issues and ensure FIX compliance by clarifying uncertainties at the outset rather than later in the process.
Expanding to a scalable minimum viable product
With the proof of concept delivered ahead of schedule, our team were able to expand the project and deliver a minimum viable product of the deterministic market simulator with all 16 required equity instrument behaviours within the original three-month deadline.
To ensure our client was set up for long-term success, we also held weekly roundtables and bi-weekly demos to enable continuous feedback and knowledge transfer. This approach ensured that the organisation’s engineers, although busy with other assignments, remained informed and equipped to manage and further enhance the simulator independently.
Results
A robust and adaptable solution designed for future growth
The deterministic market simulator is a critical tool that provides our client’s developers and QAs with a reliable, effective and risk-free way to experiment with trading scenarios and refine approaches.
Alongside the MVP itself, the team meticulously documented all processes and produced detailed documentation and diagrams to assist the project’s future engineers. It enables a new developer to spin up the environment and begin using the simulator in just five minutes, with no support required.
The market simulator also has great potential for future development and expansion to other instruments, such as futures or paper trading. By taking time to understand our client’s overall vision for the project and its goals beyond the MVP, Equal Experts was able to create a solution which is robust, adaptable and designed with future growth in mind. We also provided the organization with a clear product roadmap for future enhancements, including four strategies on how to expand the project further.