Understanding the workflow of a standard Robo-advisor

To further our understanding of what functionality makes up a Robo-advisor, we will break up the various processes into individual steps. These are called workflows, and they represent a high-level view of how a system operates and is used by people.

The capabilities required for any Robo-advisor are dictated by two main sources – regulations set by government agencies and the practical requirements of a digital user experience. While it is the former that sets the more black-and-white requirements, it is typically the latter that defines how the various capabilities form a cohesive platform. Regulations mainly concern the types of information that is exchanged between a Robo-advisor and an investor. This introduces a natural dependency and order that dictates how we must build up a workflow for our Robo-advisor.

For the sake of simplicity, we will choose a singular workflow as the basis for the rest of our book. Every...