A regional Property & Casualty insurance carrier partnered with Next Level Solutions for a 26-week Duck Creek Policy Discovery and Pilot Implementation. The engagement began with a one-week Pre-Discovery Boot Camp, followed by a six-week Discovery phase and a four-month Pilot. Now in the final phase of the pilot, the success of the collaboration has prompted consideration of a multi-year extension.
The Challenge
Before committing to a full Duck Creek rollout, this regional P&C carrier launched a strategic pilot to evaluate three key areas: platform fit, partner alignment, and internal operational readiness.
The goal was to determine whether Duck Creek could meet their technical and business needs, whether Next Level Solutions was the right long-term partner, and whether their own teams could sustain the platform after implementation.
Strategic Enablement from Day One
Prior to formal kickoff, NLS invested in preparing the client’s team. A virtual Duck Creek lab was provisioned to provide hands-on access, and a one-week technical boot camp—delivered onsite by NLS’s Lead Architect—helped establish trust, technical grounding, and early momentum. This foundational step led to accelerated approvals and positioned the engagement for a strong start.
Pre-engagement enablement included:
- Provisioning a virtual lab environment with Duck Creek installed
- A focused, hands-on boot camp led onsite by our Lead Architect
- Direct access to development practices and tools for the client team
Discovery Done Right
The Discovery phase, executed over six weeks, followed NLS’s delivery playbook. Business and technical requirements were gathered through focused stakeholder engagement, and a fully prioritized product backlog was built and loaded into Azure DevOps before the first sprint began.
Key accomplishments during Discovery:
- Completed all activities within a tight six-week timeline
- Achieved full stakeholder engagement across business and technical teams
- Delivered a fully estimated and prioritized backlog ready for Sprint 1
Pilot Execution with Co-Delivery
The four-month pilot prioritized both delivery outcomes and client enablement. Analysts and developers from the client were embedded directly into NLS’s Agile delivery team, participating in sprint planning, development, testing, and retrospectives.
With shared metrics and ongoing collaboration, the pilot served as a real-world learning environment where the client team gained confidence and capability with Duck Creek and Agile delivery.
The Co-Delivery Model emphasized:
- Blended teams with client and NLS resources working side by side
- Agile coaching and participation in all delivery ceremonies
- Enablement through execution, not observation
- Shared productivity metrics across the full delivery team
The Results
As the pilot engagement progresses toward completion, the client has already seen strong alignment between business needs, technology goals, and delivery outcomes. The collaboration has not only proven the platform’s capabilities but also strengthened internal readiness and trust in the partnership.
- Duck Creek meets core business and technical requirements
- NLS is a transparent, capable long-term delivery partner
- Internal teams have gained the skills and confidence to support the platform independently
- A multi-year partnership extension is now under active consideration.
What Set NLS Apart
What made this engagement successful wasn’t just the outcomes—but the approach. NLS led with partnership, emphasizing enablement, transparency, and structured execution throughout.
Key differentiators included:
- Pre-contract enablement, including hands-on access and technical training that built early trust
- A disciplined, playbook-driven delivery model, ensuring clarity, momentum, and consistency
- True Agile immersion, giving the client team real-world delivery experience from day one
- Shared ownership of outcomes, with joint accountability for progress and success
This combination didn’t just prove the solution—it empowered the client to own it moving forward.