What is the vision and purpose of this new software?
Our current platform was innovative at the time, about 15 years ago, allowing clients to log on to a platform and order a survey. The new platform takes it to the next level. We wanted to focus on making it easier and more efficient for our clients to log on to a platform, see all their orders, see its status, and be able to make it more of a collaborative platform and bring it into the 21st century was our goal.
With the development came challenges. This was supposed to be a one-to-two-year development and we are now pushing year three. But we feel like it is at a good point now and provides more value to the clients. We are comfortable with the platform and providing more value to our clients than our current system can offer.
What are the key benefits of the new software for McSteen clients?
When clients are looking to complete a transaction – a real estate transaction or a title transaction – what they are looking for, in general, is efficiency and the least amount of potential issues for that transaction. So, when we thought about what kind of platform our clients would like to use, we looked at something they could log into, see real-time statuses of their orders, enter orders very easily, and possibly use third-party software title solutions and have it go into our platform.
You would hope that most transactions go smoothly and there are no issues – the real value of our platform shines when there are issues or potential problems with the deals so that they can see the status of it and talk with our team. When there is a rush order or something is going on with the deal, they can log in to the platform, communicate with us and see it in real-time.
How does developing this software give McSteen an edge in the industry?
Lessons learned; how do you go from being a licensed surveyor to a software developer? It was a fun challenge for development. We made the decision to bring the software in-house, but we are surveyors, not developers. My background had a little software development in it so I was able to use that knowledge. But we are building a team, a whole separate division inside of McSteen, which is our software app development team.
It has been a challenge to bring that team up, to have them learn surveying, and then to develop an app for surveyor needs. I often tell them that the work we are doing is groundbreaking; there is nothing like this in the industry.
When other surveyors ask us, how are we able to do the volume of work we do in our system? I say we have this great app and a new one coming out that is even more powerful. It’s really cool to know that not only are we developing new software to make it more efficient and easier for both our clients and our employees, but it’s kinda cool to say that we are making a groundbreaking software platform for an industry that has nothing like it. While other companies are using Excel spreadsheets or pencil and paper, we’re developing a software platform for one of the oldest industries in the world. This transforms the way we do business.
As we look forward and continue to grow, having an internal software development team gives us a huge advantage. If there is a new opportunity, new technologies, and the potential of incorporating AI how that can help our team in the future, no one else is even thinking about that. That gives us a massive advantage. We already have the team on staff familiar with surveying and title so they can bridge those gaps very quickly and develop what we have now, what we are going to launch with, and where we are going to go in the future.
What is the timeline and strategy for rolling out the new software?
Year three of development means we have spent the last two years doing core development of the app. This year we focused less on how to develop the software and more on how to incorporate it into workflow and testing it. We have been testing the software for the past six months via internal micro-beta tests. We just completed our much larger beta test inside McSteen which went really well, and we are really excited about it.
Our plan is to launch this both internally and externally on January 2nd, 2024. We’ve been given great feedback thus far and the coming weeks will be filled with training sessions to smooth everything out. Our employees are excited about the launch of the software and as our clients get to see it, I think they will be excited as well. It’s a lot easier for them to manage their workflow. They are looking for convenience and they are looking for easier ways to make the work simpler. Our current system does a good job, but our new platform takes it to the next level.
Will users have the opportunity to provide feedback on the new software?
As we prepare to go live, we will continue conducting demos and training to gain more feedback. After our training and benchmark testing, we feel very confident that people will love our system. With that said, you don’t really get the truly efficient, easy-to-use solution until you get it in the hands of the user. We are excited to get this in the hands of many people and start collecting feedback right away. There is a Submit Feedback option on the top right of the screen, so everyone will be able to provide feedback.
One of the great things about developing a new platform versus modifying an old platform is you have a lot of flexibility. If users have feedback or they would like to change aspects of the model, it’s an easy fix. We’re excited that at launch it will be a great platform, but after we go live, we are going to spend the next month or so making it even more efficient. Making it the best platform in the world, not just a good platform.
How will the software address security and compliance issues?
We have a lot of banks and lending partners on the platform so this has been a huge item to address early on and will continue to have to address. Security had to start early in the process. When we started talking about the platform’s architecture – how does it actually work – it all stemmed from the security questions.
Very early on we worked with third-party providers and consultants who were experts in the way we architect the system. The system is built in a way that no one part is together. There is one part over here that doesn’t talk to this part over here. The databases are separate, allowing us to have very high security. So, if someone can access one part, they would not be able to access the whole system.
Also, instead of having to manage a lot of logins, we are using Google authentication. Our plan is to make this just as secure as our highest lending partner would need. Not only are we confident in the security, we are prepared to show others how secure our system is. Security starts at the base, it has been involved in the whole process.
What is the most exciting aspect of this project?
Just the idea of taking on this project was something fun, new, and exciting. At the end of the day, I’m most excited to be able to provide value through a software platform for our employees and clients. If I can make their job, their life, just a little better, a little more efficient, just a little bit easier, that’s what drives me every day.
I want employees and clients to have a smooth and quick process which can be shown throughout the whole system. It’s also what gets me excited for the future; it’s going to keep getting better and better. It’s not just going to stop on January 2nd. I have a vision to continue to develop and make it better every day.