With the largest network of developers in the P&C industry, we want to highlight different members of our community. Guidewire’s Developer Advisory Group members help shape the developer community by participating in group calls, giving input on Guidewire projects, and sharing valuable feedback from their personal experiences using Guidewire.
This blog includes a brief “get to know you” interview with one of our advisory group members so you can get to know them, understand what motivates them, and read their advice for other developers who may be new to Guidewire.
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Meet Peter Mathsson from If P&C
Name: Peter Mathsson
Job Title: Integration Architect
Company: If P&C
How long have you been working with Guidewire products?
I started working with the Guidewire products about 2.5 years ago. I am relatively new to both the insurance industry and to the Guidewire products. Before this, I worked in telecom, retail, D-TV broadcasting, and other areas.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I would say the things I enjoy most are problem-solving and the ability to visualize how the system landscape will evolve. We have a diverse landscape with multiple insurance systems, numerous support systems, and frontline web applications—all of which need to communicate and share data in various ways. The systems must be flexible so we can fully utilize the capabilities of the new insurance platforms while still supporting the legacy ones. There is always a puzzle to solve, and that makes the work exciting.
And, of course, there is the never-ending technical innovation taking place. I look forward to every new InsuranceSuite release and discovering what new capabilities we can take advantage of to bring more business value and end-user effectiveness.
What advice would you give to someone who is starting out in development or who is new to using Guidewire?
I invested a lot of time educating myself when I started out. I took many training courses and I read the application, configuration, and administration manuals. Now, when I face a problem, I can usually recall having read something about it and quickly locate the information I need.
As an architect, you need to have a helicopter perspective, and I think that’s valuable for developers as well. Don’t focus on a single InsuranceSuite application—make sure you gain a broader understanding of how things fit together. That would be my advice. Building a strong foundation in Gosu and understanding the data model early on will save you a lot of time in the long run.
What are some recent projects or initiatives you’re most proud of?
We have chosen an agile approach to implementing the Guidewire InsuranceSuite. We started with only three agile teams and a very simple policy product: a service-activated roadside assistance product. This gave us an opportunity to learn the system properly; if we modeled the product in a non-optimal way, it wouldn’t have a big impact. I think that was a great way of doing it. This is also the way we continue our implementation: by implementing small chunks of functionality and getting it into production so we can evaluate it.
How did you first get involved with Guidewire and the developer ecosystem?
My involvement began during our RFP process three years ago, where we selected Guidewire as the software provider for our new mobility insurance system. After the RFP, we had an analysis period during which I finally got my hands on the software, documentation, and training material.
Since then, I’ve become active in the broader community to stay ahead of the curve and keep a close eye on technical documentation and release notes to ensure our implementations stay aligned with Guidewire's latest cloud standards.
What’s something fun or unexpected about you that you’re comfortable sharing (hobbies, interests, side projects, etc.)?
I like to test stuff that is a bit odd and a bit off the mainstream. When mountain bikes became popular, I bought an off-road unicycle instead (aka Muni). Nowadays, I commute to work with an electric unicycle.
