Setting Up Materialised Views

This guide will help you configure Materialised Views in your Banclo system. Materialised Views allow you to create custom data summaries that automatically gather information from different parts of loan applications.

Prerequisites

Before setting up Materialised Views, ensure you have Administrator or Loan Manager permissions with access to the Settings section in the Agent Portal. You should also have a clear understanding of your loan workflow and data requirements, along with knowledge of which information you want to display together in consolidated views.

Accessing View Settings

To begin configuring Materialised Views, navigate to Settings in the Agent Portal by clicking on "Settings" in the main navigation. Look for "Materialised Views" or "View Registry" in the settings menu, then click "Create New View" to start configuring your first materialised view.

Creating Your First View

Step 1: Basic Information

Start by providing basic details about your view. Choose a descriptive name such as "Applicant Summary" or "Loan Overview" that clearly indicates what information the view contains. Add a brief description explaining what this view shows and its purpose in your workflow. Finally, select which user roles can access this view, ensuring that sensitive information is only visible to appropriate staff members.

Step 2: Understanding Data Sources

Before mapping fields, it's important to understand what information is available from different sources in your system. Application tasks provide information from completed application forms, including personal details such as names, addresses, and contact information, along with employment information, financial declarations, and property details.

Verification tasks contain results from various verification processes including credit checks and scores, employment verification status, income verification results, and identity verification confirmations. This verified information often carries more weight in decision-making than self-declared application data.

System calculations provide financial metrics that help assess loan viability. These may include basic ratios and calculations that combine multiple data points into useful information for decision making.

Loan information covers details about the loan itself, including proposed loan amounts and terms, interest rates, associated fees and charges, and facility types such as primary mortgages combined with finishing or furnishing loans.

Understanding the Three Components

Before diving into configuration, it's helpful to understand how Materialised Views are built using three interconnected components. Think of creating a view like publishing a custom report - you need to know what information to gather, how to structure it, and how to present it.

Component 1: Mappings (What to Collect)

Mappings are the instructions that tell the system where to find each piece of information. They're like giving directions to someone who needs to gather documents from different filing cabinets throughout your office.

Example Mapping Instructions:

• "Get the applicant's name from the Personal Details section of the Application Form"
• "Find the credit score from the Credit Check task results"
• "Retrieve the loan amount from the main Loan Request information"
• "Pull the property value from the Property Valuation task"

Each mapping connects a field name (what you want to call it in your view) to a specific location in your system's data structure. You can also transform the data - for example, combining first and last names into a single "Full Name" field.

Component 2: JSON Schema (What to Expect)

The JSON Schema acts like a blueprint or specification document that describes what your view will contain. It doesn't hold actual data, but rather describes the structure and types of information.

What JSON Schema Defines:

• Field Types: Specifies whether each piece of information should be text, numbers, dates, yes/no values, or lists
• Required Fields: Indicates which information must always be present
• Validation Rules: Sets limits (like minimum/maximum values for loan amounts)
• Data Relationships: Shows how different pieces of information connect to each other

Example JSON Schema Rules:

• "Applicant Name" must be text and is required
• "Loan Amount" must be a positive number
• "Application Date" must be a valid date
• "Credit Score" must be a number between 300 and 850

Component 3: UI Schema (How to Display)

The UI Schema is like the design template for your view. It controls how information appears on the screen, similar to how a word processing template controls the layout of a document.

What UI Schema Controls:

• Layout: Whether information appears in one column, two columns, or tabs
• Grouping: Which related fields appear together (like grouping all personal information in one section)
• Formatting: How numbers, dates, and currency amounts are displayed
• Labels: The actual text that appears next to each field
• Styling: Colors, fonts, and visual emphasis for different types of information

Example UI Schema Decisions:

• Display loan amount with currency symbol (€50,000)
• Group all applicant information in an "Applicant Details" section
• Show credit score with color coding (green for good, red for poor)
• Format dates in DD/MM/YYYY format
• Use larger text for the applicant's name

How All Three Work Together

Here's a practical example of how these three components collaborate:

Your Goal: Display the applicant's employment information

1. Mapping says: "Go to the Employment Verification task and get the 'Annual Income', 'Employer Name', and 'Employment Status' fields"

2. JSON Schema defines: "Annual Income should be a number, Employer Name should be text, Employment Status should be one of these options: Permanent, Contract, Self-Employed"

3. UI Schema specifies: "Display these in an 'Employment Information' section, show the income with Euro symbol, make the employer name bold, and use green/yellow/red colors for different employment statuses"

Result: A beautifully formatted section showing "Employment Information" with the salary displayed as "€65,000", employer shown as "ABC Corporation", and employment status in appropriate colors.

Step 3: Configuring Your View

Now that you understand the three components, you can approach view configuration more confidently. The system provides user-friendly interfaces for each component, but knowing their purpose helps you make better decisions about what to configure.

Configuring Mappings (Step 1 of 3)

This is where you define what information to collect and where to find it. For each piece of information you want in your view:

1. Display Name: Enter what you want to call this field in your view (e.g., "Applicant Name", "Monthly Income")

2. Data Source: Select where the system should look for this information:

   • Tasks: For application form data and verification results
   • Loan Request: For basic loan information
   • Loan Bid: For approved loan terms and final conditions

3. Source Field: Choose the exact piece of information from your selected source

The mapping configuration creates the "shopping list" of data that your view will display.

Example Simple Mappings

Display Name	Source	Field
Applicant Name	Tasks	Application Form → Personal Details → Full Name
Annual Income	Tasks	Employment Verification → Annual Income
Credit Score	Tasks	Credit Check → Credit Score
Loan Amount	Loan Request	Amount
Property Value	Tasks	Property Valuation → Valuation Amount

Configuring JSON Schema (Step 2 of 3)

After defining your mappings, you need to tell the system what type of information to expect and how to validate it. The system often provides helpful templates, but you can customize:

Field Types: Specify whether each field contains:

• Text (names, addresses, descriptions)
• Numbers (amounts, scores, quantities)
• Dates (application dates, verification dates)
• Choices (employment status, property types)
• Yes/No values (first-time buyer, self-employed)

Validation Rules: Set appropriate limits:

• Minimum and maximum values for amounts
• Required vs. optional fields
• Acceptable formats for specific data types

Example Schema Decisions:

• Loan Amount: Number, required, minimum €10,000, maximum €2,000,000
• Credit Score: Number, optional, between 300-850
• Employment Status: Choice from list (Permanent, Contract, Self-Employed)
• Application Date: Date, required, cannot be future date

Configuring UI Schema (Step 3 of 3)

Finally, define how your view should look and feel for users. This determines the visual presentation:

Layout Options:

• Single column for simple views
• Multiple columns for comparison data
• Grouped sections for related information
• Tabbed layouts for complex views

Display Formatting:

• Currency formatting for monetary amounts (€50,000.00)
• Date formatting (DD/MM/YYYY or other preferred formats)
• Percentage displays for ratios
• Color coding for status indicators

Grouping and Organization:

• Group related fields together (all personal info in one section)
• Use clear section headers
• Order information by importance or workflow sequence
• Add helpful descriptions where needed

Step 4: Advanced Mapping for Multiple Applicants

If you handle joint applications, you can create views that show information for each person:

Grouped Display

• Choose "Grouped" display mode
• Select "By Participant" grouping
• Define what information to show for each person

Example Multi-Applicant View Structure

Main Applicant: John Doe
├── Annual Income: €65,000
├── Credit Score: 750
├── Employment Status: Permanent
└── Employer: ABC Company

Co-Applicant: Jane Doe
├── Annual Income: €45,000
├── Credit Score: 720
├── Employment Status: Permanent
└── Employer: XYZ Corporation

Combined Summary:
├── Total Household Income: €110,000
└── Average Credit Score: 735

Step 5: Multiple Loan Facilities

For loans with multiple components (mortgage + finishing + furnishing):

Facility Summary Display

You can show:

• Individual facility details
• Combined totals
• Comparative information

Example Multi-Facility View

Mortgage Facility:
├── Amount: €450,000
├── Interest Rate: 3.2%
├── Term: 25 years

Finishing Loan:
├── Amount: €50,000
├── Interest Rate: 4.1%
├── Term: 7 years

Summary:
├── Total Loan Amount: €500,000
└── Weighted Average Rate: 3.3%

View Display Configuration

Layout Options

Choose how your view appears to users:

1. Form Layout: Information displayed as labeled fields
2. Card Layout: Information grouped in visual cards
3. Table Layout: Information in rows and columns
4. Custom Layout: Advanced formatting options

Styling and Formatting

• Field Labels: Customise how field names appear
• Value Formatting: Control number, currency, and date displays
• Conditional Formatting: Highlight important values
• Grouping: Organise related information together

Access Control and Security

Role-Based Access

Configure which users can see each view:

• Loan Officers: Day-to-day application processing
• Senior Officers: Approval and oversight
• Managers: Portfolio management and reporting
• Administrators: System configuration and maintenance

Permission Levels

Set different access levels:

• View Only: Can see the information
• View and Bind: Can see and configure data sources
• Full Control: Can modify view definitions

Testing Your View

Before deploying to all users:

1. Preview Mode: Use the preview function to see how your view looks
2. Test with Sample Data: Check the view with different types of applications
3. User Feedback: Get input from the people who will use the view daily
4. Iterate: Refine the view based on feedback

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

• Use clear, descriptive names
• Follow consistent naming patterns
• Avoid technical jargon
• Consider your users' language preferences

Information Organization

• Group related information together
• Put most important information first
• Use consistent field ordering across views
• Consider the natural workflow of users

Performance Considerations

• Don't include unnecessary fields
• Group related information efficiently
• Consider the frequency of updates needed
• Balance comprehensive information with load times

Managing Existing Views

Updating Views

When you modify a view:

1. Changes apply to all new applications automatically
2. Existing applications will refresh their views
3. Users see updated information immediately

Monitoring Usage

Track how your views are being used:

• Which views are accessed most frequently
• Which fields are most valuable to users
• User feedback and requests for changes

Maintenance

Regular maintenance includes:

• Reviewing view performance
• Updating field mappings when system changes
• Removing unused views
• Adding new views as needs evolve

Troubleshooting Common Issues

View Not Showing Data

• Check that all required tasks are completed
• Verify field mappings are correct
• Ensure user has appropriate permissions
• Check that required task data or bid information exists

Incorrect Information Displayed

• Review field mapping configuration
• Check data source selections
• Verify calculation expressions
• Test with known good data

Performance Issues

• Reduce number of fields if possible
• Check for unnecessary data sources
• Review grouping and display options
• Consider splitting complex views

Advanced Features

Audit Tracking

All view access is automatically tracked:

• Who viewed the information
• When it was accessed
• Whether it was marked as reviewed or consumed
• Complete audit trail for compliance

Getting Help

If you need assistance:

• Contact your system administrator
• Reference the technical documentation
• Use the help system within Banclo
• Reach out to support for complex configurations

Materialised Views are powerful tools that can significantly improve your workflow efficiency. Take time to plan your views carefully and gather user feedback to ensure they meet your team's needs.