Need_Statement_-_RD_LenderX_Salesforce_Development.pdf

ATTACHMENT RFI

ENTERPRISE and PROGRAM SUPPORT SERVICES for

SALESFORCE/TRANSACTIONAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Project Title: Rural Development (RD) Lender Exchange Salesforce Development

NEED STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

The USDA RD Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for developing, maintaining and operating a portfolio of automated systems in support of Rural Development’s core programs:

Business and Cooperative Program (RBS); Housing and Community Facilities Program (RHS);

and Rural Utilities Program (RUS). These programs provide financial assistance in the form of guaranteed loans, direct loans, and grants. Users of the RD Commercial Loan Portal system include RD servicing agents, Lenders, and current or potential customers. With mandated initiatives, our existing legacy systems must be enhanced to allow the necessary access to information and the functionality to more efficiently implement our loan programs.

On many occasions, a business process may be duplicated between two or more non-integrated systems guided by different policies. To improve each Agency’s efficiency and effectiveness, USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue’s announced a new mission upon his arrival, “for USDA to be the most effective, most efficient, and most customer-focused Department in the entire Federal Government.” The Commercial Loan Portal will digitally transform our ability to serve our customers by strengthening the value and timeliness of information provided, ensuring the preferred channels of engagement provide consistent support to our customer communities.

BACKGROUND

USDA Agencies serve customers and Lenders through a variety of programs and in response to the mission of USDA. Currently, the Program Offices within RD are not integrated as it relates to commercial lending programs and have not taken advantage of opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The following list highlights opportunities for improvement targeted by the Commercial Loan Portal program:

• Currently, there is limited or no access to USDA systems for the customers of the commercial loan programs registered with USDA.

• To apply for assistance or check the status of a claim, customers/Lenders commonly visit one of the 477 state offices in person.

• Agency data on loans is siloed. Every time customers apply for a program or its renewal, they must provide the same financial data and personal information, even if it has been previously collected by the USDA. Additionally, RD has no consolidated way to verify loan history data for inconsistencies.

• USDA employees often manually retype all applications in a variety of systems or solely rely on paper applications.

As a result of these challenges and others, customers and the USDA RD employees that service those customers encounter inconsistent digital information. Systems and applications providing these services do not necessarily follow current design and customer-centric best practices, often using outdated technology, thus increasing the cost of conducting business with USDA RD and reducing customer and employee satisfaction.

VISION

Our vision is to create a revolutionary digital loan experience for RD Service agents and our customers directly. Providing a common loan intake, notification and award process that will scale across program areas. We believe in providing on-line, intuitive, self-service options for our customers with integrated tools and information for our employees that will support our customers’ journey to discover and sign up for the most valuable loan and grant services available through RD and USDA.

RD has two major lending programs which require modernization and harmonization, Re- Connect and OneRD Guarantee. While both programs are under the commercial loan portfolio, there are similarities that must be leveraged and differences that must be accounted for through process alignment and platform capabilities. Part of the vision is to leverage the Salesforce platform for both programs, build on the synergies provided by Re-Connect through re-use of specific sections and/or modular components.

OUTPUTS

Success is defined as follows:

• The product provides our customers with usable tools, resources, and information that support their business activities;

• Our customers can access the product and complete transactions, such as completing forms/applications, from any connected device;

• The product interactivity and functionality are built around the customer’s needs and industry best practices;

• Our customers can easily access their USDA authenticated information and accounts through the commercial lending portal;

• The product engages new and existing customers and lenders through modern design and digital media;

• The product educates customers about RD programs and resources, with streamlined information and plain language; and

• The Commercial Loan Portal works together as a seamless experience for the customer and employee, with an emphasis on local content and personalized customer information.

• The Commercial Loan Portal operates seamlessly with the RD.USDA.gov website.

• The product vision is validated through continual build and testing of hypotheses, user research, and success metrics.

• The build and launch of new digital products into production through agile development methods, including the creation of Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and continued development, enhancements, and problem resolution for those products once in production.

• Usability research with end users is used to determine whether success was met through validated learning.

• The product road map, user stories, system documentation, usability testing results, and any additional documentation is up to date and maintained regularly.