After more than two decades leading software development across industries, from Asia’s Fintech and Banking solutions to technology solutions for North America’s eCommerce and hi-tech organizations, I’ve witnessed first-hand how transformative true engineering discipline can be. As the new CIO at Mortgage Cadence, I believe the mortgage industry has a powerful opportunity to evolve by looking beyond finance, specifically, to automotive manufacturing.
The Problem with Waterfall
Here’s a stat that should concern every technology leader: up to 85% of Waterfall-driven projects face failure, marked by low business impact, cost overruns, delays, or lack of use.
Waterfall is a linear, phase-based approach where one step must be fully completed before the next begins. In practice, it meant months of planning, massive documentation, and rigid approvals, only for the resulting software to be outdated or misaligned by the time it was ready.
In an industry like mortgage, where regulations shift quickly and borrower expectations change overnight, that simply doesn’t work.
Agile + Global = Speed and Scale
That’s why Agile changed the game. Instead of waiting months to ship, teams now deliver incremental value every two weeks.
When combined with global “follow-the-sun” teams—developers in India, Europe, and North America collaborating in 24-hour cycles—you get something even more powerful: a constant stream of tested, high-quality code and innovation that never sleeps.
But there’s still a missing piece. And this is where the manufacturing world can teach us something critical.
Why Software Needs Engineering Discipline
Let me ask you this: When was the last time you bought a new car and discovered a critical defect?
It’s almost unheard of. Yet in software, even for mission-critical mortgage systems, we’ve normalized bugs, patches, and post-launch fixes. That would be unthinkable on a factory floor. So why is it acceptable in technology?
The issue isn’t a lack of talent. I’ve worked with incredibly gifted developers across continents. The issue is a lack of engineering maturity and disciplined systems thinking.
Lessons from Lean and The Toyota Way
Two books titled, Lean Thinking and The Toyota Way completely reshaped how I think about software development.
The global automative industry revolutionized manufacturing by focusing on three interconnected ecosystems:
- Technology: What is built
- Process: How it’s built
- People: Who builds it and how they improve
They weren’t just building cars—they were building better ways to build cars. That mindset is what the mortgage industry needs.
A Leaner Future for Mortgage Tech
Mortgage lending is one of the most financially and emotionally significant experiences in a person’s life. We owe borrowers more than just faster processes; we owe them flawless execution.
Here’s how we get there:
- Quality First: Software should work reliably from day one with no post-launch clean-up.
- Continuous Improvement: Code quality, team skills, and process efficiency must be refined constantly.
- Waste Elimination: Every rework, unused feature, or communication gap is waste. Lean helps cut it.
- Cross-functional Collaboration: Connect developers, analysts, testers, and customer teams just like manufacturing connects design and production to break down silos.
- Build a culture to support excellence through discipline, accountability and everyday improvements.
The Takeaway
Mortgage tech leaders now stand at a critical crossroads. Those who pair Agile speed with manufacturing-level discipline will leap ahead, delivering not just faster solutions, but better ones.
The tools exist. The methods are proven. The question is: Do we have the discipline to adopt them?
At Mortgage Cadence, we do. And we’re ready to help others make that leap.
By Lokesh Pathak, Chief Information Officer at Mortgage Cadence
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