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Our vision is to revolutionize and automate the loan servicing workflow of the global financial community.
Cooperation and SMEs in Loan Servicing Software Implementation
After the painstaking task of selecting a software vendor what comes next? Is the software taken as it’s delivered? Is the software configured to meet every requirement and wish before it is used? Can the vendor help find the path that gets a go-live date in a reasonable timeframe and satisfies as many of the requirements as possible?
To answer these questions, a partner with the experience and expertise is needed. Shaw partners with your business and provides Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) that can guide the team through all the variables that will present themselves over the course of a project. The businesses SMEs will need to help lead the project as well so the vendor can access all the nuance and value your organization cares about the most.
It’s very important for software vendors and clients to work together during loan servicing software implementation because it will ensure a smooth and quick transition. Cooperation is vital when replacing and installing new software because it can only be accomplished when both parties are working together.
Business and technical requirements need to be defined prior to project development. Projects should be arranged so that planning and preparation for each phase is completed prior to constructing activities. Projects should be planned together in the spirit of partnership and with client approval. Executing the vision of the client is what both parties want, and it can only be done in a united collaboration between the two.
Shaw makes it easy to manage a project from beginning to end. Shaw partners with the client to determine the following: project scope, business and technical requirements, detailed project plan, data conversion, change control, testing phases, user training, and documenting necessary methods and procedures. To accomplish this, both Shaw and our clients rely heavily on the expertise of SMEs from both sides to translate the plan to a successful conversion.
Shaw provides SMEs to lead all project phases. There are several benefits of using a Shaw SME. A Shaw SME knows both the product and the business very well. This person has extensive installation experience. They can execute the client’s vision and help them avoid common mistakes.
SMEs are essential in the loan servicing software industry for the knowledge, experience, and hands-on training skills that they bring to the table. A SME can be an indispensable and invaluable part of a team when it comes to getting projects completed efficiently. SMEs listen to your needs, solve problems, and bring projects to successful completion. Shaw SMEs include support for: project management, business and technical requirements definition, data conversion, interface development, test script developments, training, methods and procedures documentation, mock conversion, conversion, and post-conversion user and project support.
While a Shaw SME will have participated in such an installation many times over, a client’s SME is a true expert in the client’s specific business or technical model. Even companies of similar size, in the exact same industry, can have substantial variations in their business model. The degree to which organizations utilize technology, value data, and depend upon reporting to run their business can vary. Shaw will depend on the client’s SMEs to help us understand unique aspects of your business, such as GL configuration, complexities that come with multiple legal entities, and your company's interpretation of compliance and guidelines to name just a few.
From Shaw’s perspective, this understanding can only be gained from the client’s SMEs, which makes them critical to the success of the installation. Client’s SMEs will be asked questions about the business that have not been considered for a long time. To provide accurate answers in a timely manner, the client will rely on Project Managers and access for their SMEs to all the people and departments that understand each part of the business. Communication between Shaw and the client is paramount, and so is communication amongst all the internal client teams. Meaning, everyone must understand how important such an installation is to the business. This is where executive leadership can make an enormous difference. For the most successful installations, everyone from top to bottom knows very well in which direction the business is going, they understand what’s at stake, and how crucial their participation is to reach their collective goal.
SMEs aren’t just those who understand the day-to-day operations of the business. Someone who knows how data is expected to flow through the enterprise is just as important. Technical SMEs, who know and understand all the dependent interfaces and technical workflows, are as critical as the Director of Loan Servicing. Shaw’s Spectrum system, while the accounting and collections system of record, is still just a piece of a larger enterprise. Financial institutions today rely on an enormous amount of data about their borrowers. Technical SMEs need to communicate and execute in coordination with their Shaw technical counterparts to ensure the business has access to the accurate and timely data they need to do their jobs.
Shaw will provide a Project Manager for each installation. Shaw strongly recommends that the client utilizes their own Project Manager to work with Shaw’s to provide timely and accurate communication and reporting. Well-coordinated Project Managers can provide the transparency needed to understand where teams are behind, which bottlenecks may exist, and help company leaders make adjustments to keep projects on track.
It is easy to see how valuable SMEs are, both from the Shaw side and the client side. Their in-depth understanding of how things work today and how they could work tomorrow allows finance companies and banks to become the digital lenders they need to be in today’s marketplace.
Shaw puts a high priority on working together with clients during loan servicing software implementations in order to provide the best experience possible. If you’d like to learn more about Shaw’s SMEs or how we can help you implement the best loan servicing software in the industry, please reach out to us at solutions@shawsystems.com and we’d be happy to help.