Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Christina Carter
Table of Contents
I. Project Overview / Management Summary 3
II. Introduction 4
A. Purpose 4
B. Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations 4
C. User Details 5
D. User Hierarchy 5
III. Project Definition 6
A. Problems – Overview 6
B. Problems – Detailed 6
B. Objectives 8
IV. Alternative Solutions 9
A. Solution 1 9
Description 9
Cost Analysis 9
Impact Analysis 10
Benefits 10
Risks 10
B. Solution 2 11
Description 11
Cost Analysis 14
Impact Analysis 18
Benefits 18
Risks 18
V. Recommendations 19
VI. References 20
Ocwen 3
Background: Ocwen Loan Servicing prides itself on being on the “cutting edge of technology.” In that
respect, Ocwen needs to upgrade current technology in order to stay ahead of competition. Ocwen is the
leader in outsourcing and has a global advantage of working 24 hours a day (OSW Team, n.d.). Thus,
obvious deficiencies must be improved in the investor accounting department in order to maintain
competitive advantage. Ocwen is a quick responding and fast-paced company. Documentation and
instruction creation has been overlooked in the past in order to get a project into production. All
documentation and instructions must be created to reduce future training and maintenance time. Finally,
Ocwen has a significant amount of turnover in the investor-reporting sector and must maintain the
Recommendation: To add Investor Accounting databases and functionality to the current Intranet to
avoid global connection and compatibility issues. To add a Knowledge Management database to the
Investor Reporting Section of the new Intranet. While transitioning over to the Intranet, remove outdated
software and replace it with Oracle procedures and tables using PHP for functionality. Also, create proper
documentation and instructions; in the event that the creator/programmer leaves the company, all will not
be lost.
II. Introduction
A. Purpose
Ocwen’s core competency includes using technology to increase operating efficiencies and can
“Ocwen is one of the top technology vendors serving the mortgage and real estate industries. OTX has
created advanced e-commerce and software solutions that automate time-consuming mortgage and real
estate processes, thereby enabling their customers to increase operating efficiencies, reduce overall costs
and enhance revenue streams” (Ocwen Technology xhange, n.d.).
Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, specifically Investor Accounting, requires a tool to efficiently, timely, and
accurately complete daily tasks. Up to this point, the process has been manually intensive with potential
for human error and required timely advising from supervisors and management. Time is money and
The purpose of the project proposed by Investor Accounting is to ease the transition from
outdated technology into a user-friendly front-end tool in a single location using an Intranet. Along with
this updated documentation, instructions, and knowledge databases will be implemented. All employees
need access to previously resolved questions that other analysts have encountered for troubleshooting
and instructions. The programmer needs access to all documentation regarding a procedure in order to
This document will discuss the current problems with the system in detail. It will also describe a
possible solution and address the result if the system is left unchanged, including cost and impact
analysis.
In this document some acronyms are used and need to be defined to the reader for clarity.
Abbreviations and Description
Acronyms
OLS Ocwen Loan Servicing, subsidiary of Ocwen Financial Corp.
MDB Microsoft Database
CSV Comma Delimited File
RS Real Servicing
DB Database
IIS Internet Information Services
Investor Accounting Refers to Loan Setup, Cashiering, and Investor Reporting
ICP Incentive Compensation Plan
Ocwen 5
C. User Details
This list includes all the people that would be directly impacted by this project.
User Name Role
Christina Carter Director of Loan Servicing Automation /
Documentation Author
Sorena Sodupe Testing in UAT – Loan Setup
Jason Snyder Testing in Production – Cashiering
James Melton Manager Cashiering
Brian Laforest Director Investor Accounting / Approver
Justin Henry Manager Investor Reporting
Jason Jastrzemski Manager Loan Setup
D. User Hierarchy
The chart explains the hierarchy of decision makers and personnel that will be utilizing the new
tool.
C E O - B ill
E rb e y
P r e s id e n t -
R o n F a r is
V ic e P r e s id e n t -
S c o tt A n d e r s o n
D e p a rtm e n ts
A ffe c te d
I n v e s to r
D ir e c to r o f A c c o u n tin g
A u to m a tio n -
D ir e c to r - B r ia n
C h r is tin a C a r te r L a fo r e s t
M a n a g e r M a n a g e r Lo a n M a n a g e r I n v e s to r
C a s h ie r in g - S e tu p - J a s o n R e p o r tin g - J u s tin
J a m e s M e lto n J a s tr z e m s k i H e n ry
c r a p t a c u l Buy
a r SmartDraw !- purchased copies print this
document without a watermark .
Visit www .smartdraw .com or call 1-800-768-3729.
Ocwen 6
“Increasingly, Intranets are being used to deliver tools and applications, e.g.: collaboration (to
facilitate working in groups and for teleconferences) or sophisticated corporate directories, sales
and CRM tools, project management, etc, to advance productivity. (Wikipedia, 2006)”
This document’s purpose is to explain the business case for implementing an Intranet for Ocwen Loan
A. Problems – Overview
The following is a brief list of problems that Ocwen has been experiencing. The list includes only
some of the problems at Ocwen, but all of the problems that will be addressed in the project.
• Inadequate Applications
• Outdated technology
• Insufficient Documentation
• Minimal Instructions
B. Problems – Detailed
For those parties interested in more information about the problems at Ocwen, the subsequent
Due to the existence of global offices and hundreds of thousands of folders on the network,
Ocwen has expanded across many territories including Bangalore, Mumbai, Orlando, West Palm
Beach, Chicago, and soon Atlanta. With this growth has come a lack of consistency between application
usage and connections. Numerous ODBC connections exist on employees’ computers. Since every
business sector is a profit center, costs are strictly managed. The cost structure leads directors of
business units to cut costs by not upgrading software. Over 75% of the computers contain outdated
software including Microsoft Access ’97 and Microsoft Excel ’97. Access and Excel ’97 are not compatible
with their comparative tools in versions ’00 and ’03. Therefore, outdated procedures/macros in the ’97
version are written so that they are compatible for all users. Archaic procedures are highly ineffective and
will soon be extinct. At that point, all procedures will need to be re-written. Ocwen has an SQL Server
with Oracle that is not put to as much use as it could be. The system works well in that the Progress
production tables are copied over daily into staging (reporting) tables. The automation that gives Ocwen
its competitive advantage is written in PL/SQL and resides on this SQL server. Numerous other
procedures have been written, but without a proper front end tool, they are not utilized effectively.
Due to Ocwen’s fast paced growth, little or no time has been spent documenting programs or
creating instructions on how to use these tools. An individualized program can exist for a single
employee. When that employee leaves, the new person may not have been trained on how to use the
tool. At this point, the program ceases to be used and months will go by before management realizes.
Then, the creator of the process, if still at Ocwen, must explain to the new user how to use it.
Typically, when a new analyst comes in to investor reporting, training takes an average of 6
months in order for him or her to understand how to completely perform a remittance or reconciliation
report. Even then, training takes at least 6 months to 1 year for the new analyst to be able to complete
reports without the guidance of a supervisor. Throughout any month workload can be extremely high or
nonexistent. In a typical month on the job, analysts have two weeks where they are very busy meeting
deadlines and two weeks where they have almost nothing to do. Wasted time is unproductive for the
C. Objectives
The next outline contains a summary of the objectives for the project. In depth objectives can be
• Improve Efficiency
• Provide accurate and timely remittance files and accompanying wires for 99.75% of investors
Since the proposed project is not, at this point, a critical issue, the choice to upgrade to current
Cost Analysis
The project costs include all measurable costs association with Solution 1. Since Solution 1
means doing nothing, these include the current costs associated with leaving the system as is.
Explanation of Costs:
* 2008 is an estimation of when Microsoft ’97 applications will no longer be supported, it could be 2009,
but the costs would remain the same in the long run.
In house personnel – A liaison between the consultants and business units would be necessary and it was
adjusted for inflation.
Managers – No additional management should be required
Consultants – Estimation based on current rate of $150 hour.
Hardware – Necessary hardware to keep the redundant data housed on servers.
Software – Estimation of licenses to upgrade all users to Office 2003.
Impact Analysis
As with any project, risks and benefits are associated to the different choices that can be chosen.
The following lists all the risks and benefits of choosing to do nothing.
Risks
As the volume of loans boarded increases, the problem will continue to grow worse.
• Lack of efficiency
• Connection failures
If key management and/or the automation teams leave Ocwen, the recovery will be very difficult.
Many procedures will have to be entirely rewritten. Also, when Microsoft decides that it will no longer
support Access ’97, which is definitely foreseeable in the near future, Ocwen will need to upgrade just to
get patches and updates for auditing purposes. Microsoft currently does not support Office ’95.
Presently, ’97 code is not compatible with 2000 or 2003, so Ocwen will need to rewrite all of the programs
at once to avoid system down time. At that point, multiple consultants will have to be hired to complete
the project in a timely matter. Consultants are very expensive, on average $100-$150 an hour.
Benefits
Very few benefits can be associated with taking this course of action and they are listed below.
B. Solution 2
Description
The solution that should resolve all of the previous issues is a centralized Intranet using PHP to
connect to already existing network drives and Oracle Database. PHP was chosen because it is a very
robust programming language with a ton of functionality. The details are specified in the technical
document that will be submitted after approval. As the use of the website is transitioned from the existing
format, a knowledge database should be implemented. The knowledge database will house all
documentation, instructions, and comments regarding all business aspects and will be indexed for
An Intranet exists that houses mostly HR data and is used very infrequently. In this same
environment, executives will be able to use saved queries for continuous monitoring of projects and
metrics. This proposal is to suggest that the “Business Units” section be expanded to include Loan
•Intranet Infrastructure
•Security
•Firewall
All local tables will be moved into Oracle tables. Each process will have a link on the Intranet that can
run the procedure and convert the output to any format necessary. Because all the process will be linked
and stored in the same location, retrieval will no longer be difficult. Since all global employees already
have access and connectivity to the Intranet, the connectivity issue will be resolved. Also, seeing that
Ocwen 14
Office will no longer be the main tool used, outdate technology will be eliminated. During this transition
and rewriting process, documentation will be created for each project along with a set of instructions.
The new system would aid in the training of new analysts without the added expense of utilizing
scarce supervisor time. The knowledge database would give them something to do in their downtime.
The comments will be created by the individual users. Then they will be indexed and stored by the
knowledge management administrator. I created a survey and used a 10-person sample from each
affected department including West Palm Beach, Cashiering, and India locations. 90% of the employees
not only said that they would gladly participate, but were actually excited to know that the database was
even a possibility. In order to get some of the users to utilize this new feature, their ICP will be based on
them creating valuable comments regarding things they learned. ICP is a balanced scorecard that is
based on completing yearly business goals. Investor Reporting Analysts, Automation Programmers,
Managers, Directors, and Executive Level employees are already on this plan. Next year, the scorecard
would need to be modified to include the knowledge base utilization. Cashiers and loan setup employees
do not need to use the knowledge database because most of the slow learning curve exists for the
analysts. Many of the cashier and loan setup employees already utilize many forms of automation which
Cost Analysis
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” (Pearlson, 2004). This quote is the very basis of risk
management and should be applied for researching project decisions and management options. In order
to determine whether the project is beneficial, a cost analysis was performed. The following four charts
show the cost savings for Ocwen.
1. The following table shows the employee cost analysis before the project in West Palm Beach and
Orlando, which are Ocwen’s US locations. The table is derived by calculating the average hourly
wage and multiplying it by 40 (week) and then 52 (year). The average turnover rate and training
period were calculated based on 2005 statistics provided by Jason Jastrzemski. The cost of
training is then calculated based on the average hourly rate multiplied by the training period. The
total cost of the new employee is based on the acquisition costs plus the training costs.
Department Avg. Avg. Avg. Turn Acquisition Avg. Avg. Cost Total Cost
Hourly Weekly Cost over Costs Training of Training of New
Rate ($) Hours Per Year Rate (Fixed Cost) Period Employee
Loan Setup 14 Hourly 29,120 20% $5,000 2 $4,704 $9,704
40 months
Cashiering 14 Hourly 29,120 20% $5,000 2 $4,704 $9,704
40 months
Investor 20 Salary 41,600 20% $5,000 6 $19,200 $24,200
Reporting – 40 + Bonus months
Remittance
Flow
Investor 20 Salary 41,600 40% $5,000 9 $28,800 $33,800
Reporting – 40 + Bonus months
Reconciliation
Investor 20 Salary 41,600 30% $5,000 6 $19,200 $24,200
Reporting 40 + Bonus months
Remittance
(J Henry and Jay Jastrzemski, personal communication, April 10, 2006)
2. The following table shows the employee analysis after the project is completed in West Palm Beach
and Orlando. This takes into consideration the decreases in the training period, which affects the cost of
training, which also affects the total cost of a new employee.
Employee Avg. Avg. Avg. Turn Acquisition Avg. Avg. Cost Total Cost
Analysis After Hourly Weekly Cost over Costs Training of of New
Project WPB / Rate ($) Hours Per Year Rate (Fixed Period Training Employee
Orlando Cost)
Loan Setup 14 Hourly 29,120 20% $5,000 2 weeks $1,120 $6,120
40
Cashiering 14 Hourly 29,120 20% $5,000 2 weeks $1,120 $6,120
40
Investor 20 Salary 41,600 20% $5,000 2 months $6,400 $11,400
Reporting – 40 + Bonus
Remittance
Flow
Investor 20 Salary 41,600 40% $5,000 3 months $9,600 $14,600
Reporting – 40 + Bonus
Reconciliation
Investor 20 Salary 41,600 30% $5,000 2 months $6,400 $11,400
Reporting 40 + Bonus
Remittance
Ocwen 16
3. The following table is a duplicate of Table 1, except for the fact that it applies to Ocwen’s India location,
which has a very different salary range. The table describes the cost analysis before the project.
Employee Avg. Avg. Avg. Turn Acquisition Avg. Avg. Cost Total Cost
Analysis Hourly Weekly Cost over Costs (Fixed Training of Training of New
Before Project Rate ($) Hours Per Year Rate Cost) Period Employee
India
Loan Setup $2.20 Hourly $4,576 40% $1,000 2 months $704 $1,704
40
Cashiering $2.20 Hourly $4,576 40% $1,000 2 months $704 $1,704
40
Investor $3.39 Hourly $7,051 40% $1,000 6 months $3,255 $4,255
Reporting – 40
Remittance
Flow
Investor $3.39 Hourly $7,051 50% $1,000 9 months $4,881 $5,881
Reporting – 40
Reconciliation
Investor $3.39 Hourly $7,051 40% $1,000 6 months $3,255 $2,255
Reporting 40
Remittance
(J Henry and J Jastrzemski, personal communication, April 10, 2006)
4. The following table shows the employee analysis after the project is completed in India.
Employee Avg. Avg. Avg. Turn Acquisition Average Average Total Cost
Analysis After Hourly Weekly Cost over Costs Training Cost of of New
Project Rate ($) Hours Per Year Rate Period Training Employee
India
Loan Setup $2.20 Hourly $4,576 40% $1,000 2 weeks $176 $1,176
40
Cashiering $2.20 Hourly $4,576 40% $1,000 2 weeks $176 $1,176
40
Investor $3.39 Hourly $7,051 40% $1,000 2 months $1,084 $2,084
Reporting – 40
Remittance
Flow
Investor $3.39 Hourly $7,051 50% $1,000 3 months $1,627 $2,627
Reporting – 40
Reconciliation
Investor $3.39 Hourly $7,051 40% $1,000 2 months $1,084 $2,084
Reporting 40
Remittance
Ocwen 17
5. The subsequent table groups together the information obtained from the four previous tables. The cost
savings is calculated by averaging the decrease in cost of training time.
Departmental Cost Savings after Project in India, West Palm Beach, and Orlando
Cost Savings % Cost Actual Number Number Attrition Cost of Cost of Total
Analysis per Decrease Cost of Emp. of Emp. Rate Savings Savings Savings
Dept. WPB / Savings in WPB / in India Per Year Per Year Per Year
India WPB / Orlando Dept WPB / India
India Dept Orlando
Loan Setup 37% / 31% $3,584 / 12 38 20% (.2*12) * (.2*38) * $12,614
$528 3,584 = 528 =
$8,601 $4,013
Cashiering 37% / 31% $3,584 / 30 30 20% (.2*30) * (.2*30) * $24,672
$528 3,584 = 528 =
$21,504 $3,168
Investor 53% / 51% $12,800 / 6 18 20% (.2*6) * (.2*18) * $23,176
Reporting – $2,171 12,800 = 2,171 =
Remittance $15,360 $7,816
Flow
Investor 57% / 55% $19,200 / 8 20 40% (.4*8) * (.4*20) * $87,472
Reporting – $3,254 19,200 = 3,254 =
Reconciliation $61,440 $26,032
Investor 53% / 51% $12,800 / 6 18 30% (.3*6) * (.3*8) * $28,250
Reporting $2,171 12,800 = 2,171 =
Remittance $23,040 $5,210
T asks Jan Feb M ar A pr M ay Jun J u ly A u g Sep t O ct No v Dec Jan Feb M ar A p r il M ay Ju ne Ju l A ug Sept O ct No v Dec
R e s e a r c h A p p lic a t io n
A n a ly z e R e s u lt s
C re ate A p p ro v a l D o cu m e n t
P r e s e n t R e s u lt s t o B o a r d
F in a l D e c is io n
B u y A p p lic a t io n a n d C o m p ile r
C o n v e r t A ll L o c a l T a b le s t o O r a c le
C o n v e r t C a s h ie r in g P r o c e d u r e s
C o n v e r t IR P r o c e d u r e s
C o n v e rt L o a n S etu p P ro ce d u re s
C r e a t e In t r a n e t ( O T X t e a m )
M o v e F ile s t o I n t r a n e t F o ld e r s
C r e a t e K n o w le d g e D a t a b a s e
T e s t in g
C r e a t e D o c u m e n t a t io n
C r e a t e I n s t r u c t io n
K EY
M ile s t o n e m a r k e r -
s ta rt
M ile s t o n e m a r k e r -
end
G a n tt b a r
Impact Analysis
Benefits
Risks
As with any project, risks are associated to that project. Many risks are unknown so they can not be
V. Recommendations
Ocwen should choose the proactive choice and begin upgrading before it faces consequences
and loss of its competitive advantage. The costs to implement the upgrade now versus later are in
Ocwen’s favor because it would have time to overcome any potential barriers. As Bill Erbey, Ocwen CEO,
has said, “Finally, I think the big difference between our competitors and us is really our global capacity.
We can look throughout the world to get the best resources to provide the highest quality, lowest cost
product” (Wall Street Reporter, 2004). In effect, this procedure will be doing just that.
Ocwen 21
VI. References
McKenzie, G. (2003, October 20). Ocwen adds intelligence to servicing call center. Inside Mortgage
Ocwen technology xchange (OTX) demonstrable GLBA compliance. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11,
OSW Team. (n.d.). Ocwen offers due diligence services . Retrieved April 01, 2006, from
http://www.oswmag.com/news/viewArticle/ARTICLEID=373.
Pearlson, K. E. (2004). Managing and using information systems. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Inc
Prime Zone Media Network. (2004, May 5). Ocwen technology xchange licenses realservicing in multi-
http://newsblaze.com/story/2004050512560100067.pz/newsblaze/BANKFINA/Banking-and-Finance.html.
Wall Street Reporter. (2004, May 7). Interview with William C. Erbey Chairman and Chief Executive
http://www.wallstreetreporter.com/linked/OcwenFinancial.html.
Wikipedia (2006, April 11). Intranet. Retrieved April 11, 2006 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intranet .
Yahoo! (2006, April 20). OCN – Ocwen Financial Corp. Retrieved April 20, 2006 from
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ocn.
Zeidman, P. (2004, July 6). Creating a PHP-Based Content Management System. Retrieved April 23,
2006 from
http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200407/ij_07_06_04a.html\.