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1.0. Transparency

Transparency means making your code and processes clear, understandable, and traceable - to your colleagues, stakeholders, and future you.

In the same way it's possible to build sprawling spreadsheets that are hard to follow and understand, it's perfectly possible to do the same with code.

Why Transparency Matters

In complex pricing projects, transparency is essential because:

  • It builds trust: When others can easily follow your logic and verify your work, confidence in the results increases.

  • It enables collaboration: Clear code allows multiple people to work together efficiently without constant hand-holding or guesswork.

  • It reduces errors: Transparent code makes bugs and inconsistencies easier to spot and fix.

  • It supports auditability: Regulatory and internal audits require clear evidence of how prices are calculated and decisions made.

  • It ensures maintainability: Code you can understand is code you can improve or adapt as business needs evolve.

Achieving transparency

Software engineers use a combination of best practices and tools to make their work transparent:

Clear and consistent naming

Variables, functions, and modules have descriptive, meaningful names that reflect their purpose. This avoids cryptic abbreviations or overly generic labels.

Modular design and separation of concerns

Code is broken into small, focused pieces that do one thing well. This prevents monolithic scripts where logic is tangled and hard to follow.

Documentation and comments

Good engineers document their code both with high-level explanations (why something is done) and inline comments (how it’s done). This helps others understand the reasoning and flow.

Version control

Using tools like Git records every change, who made it, and why. This history helps track the evolution of the codebase and roll back mistakes.

Automated testing

Tests that verify the correctness of code provide immediate feedback on changes, making the system’s behavior transparent and reliable.

Logging and monitoring

Runtime logs capture what the code is doing in production, which is invaluable for debugging and ensuring the system behaves as expected.

How to incorporate transparency in your pricing code

Pricing analysts can apply these principles to create code that is not just functional but also clear and trustworthy:

  • Name your variables and functions thoughtfully: Avoid vague names like df1 or temp - instead, use names like claims_data or calculate_loss_ratio.

  • Break your code into reusable functions or classes: Each function should do one clear task, like loading data, calculating a metric, or generating a report.

  • Write docstrings and comments: Explain why you’re applying certain adjustments or assumptions, not just what the code does line-by-line.

  • Use version control rigorously: Commit changes frequently with meaningful messages that describe the purpose of each update.

  • Develop unit tests for critical functions: Even simple tests can prevent costly errors and clarify expected behavior.

  • Create logging outputs in your scripts: Log key steps and decisions, especially when automating pricing calculations.

Benefits to Your Pricing Team

By embedding transparency into your code and workflows, your pricing team will gain:

  • Faster onboarding of new team members.

  • Easier knowledge transfer between colleagues.

  • Improved ability to respond to audit requests.

  • Reduced risk of hidden errors and inconsistent assumptions.

  • More time to focus on insight generation and innovation.