case studies
Jaywing helps Egg pioneer the use of Blaze Advisor to deploy credit analytical insight to the application process in a fraction of the typical time.
Both the Egg and Jaywing teams have considerable banking experience and are acutely aware of the importance of optimal automated processing to gain significant competitive advantage.
Background
Jaywing has worked with Egg since 1999, providing consultancy and services that range from insight and modelling to systems design and management.
Both the Egg and Jaywing teams have considerable banking experience and are acutely aware of the importance of optimal automated processing to gain significant competitive advantage.
In terms of application decision systems, the quicker analytical insight can be deployed via new scorecards and business rules the quicker the business is aligned to its current performance.
This means coupling the most current and detailed data with an unconstrained rules development environment; one which gives the business the ability to test and release rapidly and securely. Elsewhere it is still often the case that this deployment cycle is carried out by the IT department. Credit teams have to compete with organisation wide demands on the same resource; amendments typically taking around six to twelve weeks, restricting the business to just one or two changes per operating quarter even if IT change priority is granted.
Strategy
In 2002 Egg engaged Jaywing to evaluate the application decision engine market. Following a full review, Fair Isaac Blaze Advisor was chosen as the most suitable product available. Whist the product featured a first-rate rules development environment and data flexibility, it didn't provide either the testing capability or release mechanism required.
Jaywing led a bespoke design that included a release mechanism and test harness, a version control system was added by Egg technology and integrated with Blaze Advisor. The main components of this innovative design are now integral parts of later versions of the Blaze Advisor application development environment.
Deliverables
The Jaywing and Egg technical and business teams worked very closely together to implement the design in less than three months.
The business deployment team at Egg is provided by Jaywing who look after ongoing rule specification, maintenance, testing and release.
Following the initial implementation for Egg Card, further developments were rolled out across all of Egg's unsecured lending products requests; for acquisition, cross-sales and limit increases. Jaywing also designed and built the processes through which daily, event-driven segmentations and behavioural scores are made available to Blaze Advisor for use in application decisions.
Results
Over the last five years there have been over 170 successful releases, which equates approximately to a release every one and a half weeks. The IT environment no longer restricts change, and the Egg credit team has total control over its release schedule.
Egg Retail Credit Director Neil Cawley said "Jaywing has an astounding performance record. The team's ongoing expertise and dedication have provided us with the unique capability to change our credit rules quickly and securely."
"Once decisions have been made the business is now able to implement within days, even for relatively complex developments. These have varied from minor amendments such as policy rules and cut-off changes, through to new scorecards and new product launches. Due to this architecture and team, Egg has successfully pursued extremely aggressive development timescales without ever compromising on accuracy."
Neil added "Jaywing's contribution to Egg's business in this area has reaped exceptional benefits. Quite simply, hundreds of thousands of more informed decisions have been made than would otherwise have been the case."
