CherryChain, simplifying and strengthening digital trust

CherryChain is an innovative Fintech start-up which, together with industrial partners (Volksbank, Dolomiti Energia, Dettaglianti Alimentari Organizzati and Bit4ID), tackles research and development aimed at simplifying and strengthening digital relationships. The R&D process aims to generate new value in the ecosystem between companies, customers and suppliers in order to make the best use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and Smart Contracts.

Developing new solutions to simplify and strengthen digital relationships between companies and their stakeholder ecosystems means creating tools to improve trust between customers, suppliers and corporate stakeholders by reducing processing times, costs and digital risks. Our goal is to formulate new business models associated with a distributed approach, which requires great effort in order to obtain a solution that will comply with regulations.

Another feature of this company is the quality of itsteam, in perfect Agile style. A working group able to apply Extreme Programming, Domain Driven Design and Test Driven Development techniques in software development. All of these are practices that require involvement and physical proximity between Developers, Product Owners and Stakeholders to develop high quality software (working software). Take for example pair-programming or mom-programming, where developers work in pairs or the programming where the whole team is involved simultaneously in the development of the tests and, later on, of the code.

FBK and CherryChain: the company was able to join FBK thanks to the launch of a research collaboration agreement in the DLT and Smart Contract sector. In particular, working with Silvio Ranise‘s research team (Security & Trust) with whom regular “discovery and design” workshops for new solutions on an empirical basis are necessary, or entire days working alongside users and stakeholders, facilitated with Agile techniques for the elicitation of development requirements.

Working in the suspended but productive time of CORONAVIRUS, under certain conditions, is possible. How did CherryChain respond to the current situation?

“With the invitation to adopt “agile work” something has definitely changed. You may think that, for a team like ours, working remotely would cause a lot of trouble due to the distance between partners, users and developers, with a possible setback, with traditional ways of working that would end up lowering product quality.  For sure, information systems mediated communication reduces accuracy in the examination of the processes for all those aspects that cannot simply be rationalized in a video interview. Some “distance between theory and practice” is produced. But, thanks to the background as well as to the passion in grasping those aspects of the domain that derive from Agile practices, we are able to reduce this distance and focus on the development of what we need to do (the working software).”
Carlo Rizzi (Founder and R&D manager)

Carlo Rizzi holds a PhD in Information Systems & Organization, is a graduate in Business Economics with proven experience in the ICT Research and Development sector. He promote Agile development via www.6agile.it, is Certified Scrum Product Owner and Scrum Master, is a member of the Italy based association Italian Agile Movement. He has provided support with Planning and Control and Project Management actions to executives of FBK, the European Institute of Technology, Trento RISE and the University of Trento, where he is a part-time contracted professor of Business Organization and Human Resources.