A FinTech startup has been contracted to build a UPI-based digital payment…
2026
A FinTech startup has been contracted to build a UPI-based digital payment gateway for a nationalized bank. The following constraints and conditions exist:
The bank’s compliance team has not yet finalized the regulatory and security requirements — they expect 4–5 major requirement changes over the next 6 months.
The bank wants a live demonstrable prototype within 45 days to present to RBI auditors.
The development team consists of only 6 developers, all freshers with no prior banking domain experience.
The system must handle 10 lakh transactions/day with 99.99% uptime — making it a high-risk, mission-critical system.
Budget is fixed at ₹80 lakhs with absolutely no room for overrun.
The bank’s IT head insists: “We want to see something working every 3 weeks.”
If the system fails post-deployment, the bank faces regulatory penalties and reputational damage.
Answer the following:
(a) Analyze why each of the following models would be unsuitable for this project — give one specific technical reason for each:
Waterfall Model
Spiral Model
Pure Agile/Scrum
(b) Which single SDLC model or hybrid combination would you recommend? Justify your answer by mapping each project constraint listed above to a specific feature of your recommended model.
(c) The team lead suggests using RAD — Rapid Application Development — since the prototype is needed in 45 days. Identify two specific reasons why RAD would be dangerous in this context despite the tight deadline, referencing the project’s characteristics.
(d) If the development team chooses your recommended model, what should be the first three activities they perform before writing a single line of code, and why is each critical for this specific project?
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
(a) Unsuitable Models
Waterfall Model: Requirements are changing frequently, so fixed sequential development will fail.
Spiral Model: It is costly and complex, which is risky because the budget is fixed at ₹80 lakhs.
Pure Agile/Scrum: Continuous changes without strong documentation may create compliance and security issues in banking systems.
(b) Recommended Model & Mapping: Evolutionary Prototyping combined with an Incremental SDLC model
Mapping with Project Constraints
45-day RBI Prototype: Evolutionary Prototyping helps build an early working model quickly for RBI demonstration.
3-week Delivery Requirement: Incremental development allows delivery of small working modules after every 3 weeks.
Changing Requirements: Compliance and security changes can be added gradually in later increments.
High-Risk Banking System: Incremental testing and validation improve reliability and reduce failure risk.
Freshers in Development Team: Smaller increments are easier for inexperienced developers to manage and test.
Fixed Budget Constraint: Incremental planning provides better cost and progress control.
(c) Why RAD is Dangerous
RAD focuses on speed, but banking systems require strong security and reliability.
Freshers with no banking experience may produce weak architecture, causing failure in high-volume transactions.
(d) First Three Activities
Requirement Analysis – understand banking, security, and compliance needs.
Risk Analysis – identify transaction, uptime, and security risks early.
Architecture Design – create a scalable and reliable system before coding starts.
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