1.
애자일(Agile). 소프트웨어 개발을 하는 분들 사이에 많이 회자하는 단어입니다. 그런데 어느 때부터 투자 및 트레이딩에서도 같은 단어를 자주 씁니다.
Agile Trading 혹은 Agile Investment.
어떤 배경이 있을까요?
먼저 자주 접했던 Agile의 뜻을 알아보았습니다. 옥스포트사전의 정의입니다.
Able to move quickly and easily
Able to think and understand quickly
Relating to or denoting a method of project management, used especially for software development, that is characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans:
유명한 웹스터사전은 이렇게 정의합니다.
marked by ready ability to move with quick easy grace
having a quick resourceful and adaptable character
Agile은 Quick 과 Adaptable을 섞어놓은 의미가 아닐까 합니다. 이를 우리말로 어떻게 번역해야 할까요? 흔히 ‘기민한, 좋은것을 빠르고 낭비없게 만드는 것’라고 번역합니다만 그리 단순해 보이지 않습니다. Agile Manifesto를 보면 이렇게 시작합니다.
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
공정과 도구보다 개인과 상호작용을
포괄적인 문서보다 작동하는 소프트웨어를
계약 협상보다 고객과의 협력을
계획을 따르기보다 변화에 대응하기를
목표를 위하여 서로 호흡하고 변화에 빠르게 대응하여 나가는 모습이 애자일입니다. 하여튼 쉽지 않은 번역입니다. 그래도 단어를 찾으라고 하면 ‘임기응변(臨機應變)’이 아닐까 합니다.
2.
Agile Investment, Agile Trading을 언급하는 이유가 무엇일까요? 저도 궁금했습니다. 그런데 어떤 글을 읽으니 이해가 쉽게 되었습니다. 읽어보니까 여의도의 문화와 크게 다르지 않습니다. 월스트리트나 여의도나 애자일과 맞지 않은 조직문화를 가지고 있습니다.
I have come to the conclusion that investment banking culture is polar to Agile culture. My reasoning is thus:
- Investment banks are extremely hierarchical in nature; Agile is not. Agile can live with some hierarchy but not investment banking extreme.
- Short-term in outlook: investment banks are short-term in the extreme – microseconds in some instances. Agile teams can react in the short-term but only by taking a long term view of engineering and quality.
- Investment bankers are not engineers and do not understand engineering. Nobody from IT ever got to run an investment bank, you don’t get up the ladder from a support function, you get there from selling and banking. A large part of the Agile story is about returning to good engineering principles. The lack of engineering skills, thinking and culture in investment banks undermines Agile.
- Investment bankers think you can solve every problem with money. Throwing money at Agile can work in pockets (by the best team) but doesn’t last or scale.
- Investment banks are individual focused: individual bonuses, the power of the one trader to make money or break the bank (from Kweku Adoboli to Nick Leeson and before.) Agile is team focused.
- Investment bankers think applying more pressure is the way to get results; Agile people now that applying pressure breaks things. A little pressure can help but apply too much and things snap, bankers don’t get engineering so don’t get this.
- Risk aversion: yes, investment banks are highly risk averse when it comes to IT. Perhaps because they take so much “risk” directly with money they very risk averse in their operations.
- Investment banks are contradictory: they say they embrace and manage risk but actually they are risk averse (at least in operations); they say they value the team but their actions say otherwise; they call themselves “financial engineers” but they no nothing about engineering; and so on. Agile is about honesty, facing up to truth and acting on it. Investment banks recent track record shows that honesty is sometimes questionable, to say the least.
이런 문화를 가진 월스트리트가 애자일에 관심을 가지는 이유는 무엇일까요?
먼저 금융위기에 이어진 저성장과 높아진 규제입니다. 현재는 High Return이 가능하지 않습니다. 고빈도매매처럼 고수익을 올리 수 있었던 전략들도 규제앞에 놓여져 있습니다. 한 곳에 오래 머무르면 이익을 얻기 보다 손해를 볼 확율이 높아집니다. 더 높은 이익을 제공하는 새로운 시장과 상품을 찾아서 발빠르게 욺직여야 합니다. 또 규제와 같은 변화에 발 빠르게 대응할 필요가 있습니다. 이를 ‘애자일’로 표현하는 듯 합니다.
또다른 하나는 IT중심적인 투자의 보편화입니다. Low Latency, Big Data 등은 모두 IT가 기반입니다. IT 개발방법론에서 가장 큰 영향력을 얻어가는 방법이 Agile Methodology입니다. IT의 흐름이 투자에 영향을 주지 않았을까 합니다.
이런 결과 폭포수방식의 개발 보다는 애자일방법의 금융시스템 구축이 보편화하고 있습니다. 물론 여의도가 아닌 월스트리트에서.
In this environment, it is clear that traditional waterfall development methodologies offer sub-optimal results. The pace of change in trading applications and the wider environment in which they operate has become so fast, the old-school process of designing complete software applications with lengthy specifications can no longer dominate the development cycle.
Agile development practice does away with the lengthy pre-implementation specifications and replaces it with increased, real-time interaction between development teams, business heads, and product leaders. One of the interesting features of agile development techniques, is the level of human engagement and interaction that it requires. It embraces collaboration and brings IT development closer to the heart of the business.
Agile is also an acknowledgement that there are no crystal balls when it comes to software development. No one is capable of predicting and therefore planning for the future. Instead, new requirements are allowed for by the development of shorter, iterative packets of code that add features and functions as they are required in near real time. The results of agile development are quicker release cycles and a constant revolution of product functionality. It enables businesses to move faster and develop a competitive position rapidly and with lower risk, since positions can be exited equally quickly. It also improves internal working relationships between separate groups and business units, allowing for improved interoperability throughout the business.
The Irresistible Rise of Agile Development중에서
최근 Tabbforum의 Larry Tabb도 Agile을 강조합니다.
It is amazing to think about the rapid turnaround these markets have encountered, and it only reinforces the age-old mantra: Capital is fleeting. In today’s market, more than ever, while it is important to be quick, it is equally critical to be agile. And that agility often is dictated by back-office systems capabilities.
Agility is the new paradigm by which market participants will be judged. Who has it? Who needs it? How do you achieve it? All important questions that market participants across the spectrum have to answer.
The Agile and the Dead중에서
‘How to Create an Agile Trading System‘는 이런 배경으로 나온 보고서입니다. ZeroAOS도 Agile Trading이 가능하도록 합니다. 매매에서 가장 중요한 전략을 시스템과 분리하여 독립적인 라이프사이클을 갖도록 하였습니다.(^^)
