Cornerstone’s appraisers are dispersed across the country. They needed an application
that could track appraisal requests from receipt to completion, which all the members
of their widely dispersed field staff could access. Cornerstone followed a 2-phased
approach, first establishing an extranet system, and then automating the forms process.
Cornerstone chose Adage technologies to build their extranet, a workflow management
system for appraisals.
The system, called STARS (Survey Tracking and Report System) accepts requests from
Cornerstone clients, assigns requests to appraisers, and notifies appraisers of
new assignments via email and an online log. Appraisers use the system to check
assignment details and complete appraisals.
Cornerstone Appraisal Services specializes in high-value home appraisals and loss
control for the insurance industry. Cornerstone provides their customers with detailed
replacement cost valuations and precise risk analysis.
InRule Streamlines the Authoring of Complex Logic InRule rule applications replace
numerous lines of embedded IF/THEN/ELSE and case logic, which was stored and maintained
in custom code. FairPay enjoyed a quick transition moving from their previous applications
to InRule: they were up and running in less than two weeks.
"InRule lets you get up and running very quickly," says a lead programmer at FairPay
Solutions. "It saved my skin!" In addition, FairPay applications must populate a
number of XML elements to categorize medical bills, and according the programmer,
"XML document manipulation is much easier to accomplish inside an InRule rule application."
Flexible, Rule-Driven Forms
Cornerstone loved STARS. However, the original appraisal forms, in Word and Excel
format, were difficult to manage. Cornerstone wanted the ability to design unique
forms, and to easily add to or change the rules used by the forms. Cornerstone originally
approached another software company to develop the forms. Their attempt with this
company was unsuccessful: “It just couldn’t do what we needed,” said Matt Lyon,
a Business Development Manager for Cornerstone. So Cornerstone again turned to Adage.
Adage built an interface for designing and building forms using a business rule
engine from InRule Technology to implement the rules logic.
“With InRule, a developer can deliver a working application even though the rules
are still being defined, allowing the logic to evolve over time. In Cornerstone’s
case, they are continuously enhancing and adding new rules, and they don’t have
to go back to the programmers to do that.” Matt Agee Developer, Adage technologies
InRule gives Cornerstone the ability to author, manage, and test their appraisal
rules without custom programming. According to Matt Agee, a developer with Adage,
InRule removes programmers’ dependency on having the rules completely defined. It
lets programmers work in parallel with business users who are authoring rules, and
reduces the amount of time it takes to complete a project. “With InRule, a developer
can deliver a working application even though the rules are still being defined,
allowing the logic to evolve over time,” he said. “In Cornerstone’s case, they are
continuously enhancing and adding new rules to their production application, and
they don’t have to go back to the programmers to do that.”
The appraisal forms in STARS include checkboxes for special items in a home, such
as a pool, spa, and so on. Based on the boxes checked, the rules build a narrative
for the home using grammatically correct sentences. According to Matt Lyon, other
forms and rule engines they tried couldn’t do this.
“Our new system has helped us adapt to customer needs and gives us the flexibility
to adjust our forms whenever we need to,” said Matt Lyon. “InRule lets us manage
our core logic without requiring custom programming. A business user can write and
test rules quickly and effectively.”
By the Numbers
Cornerstone’s staff of nearly a hundred appraisers and management staff use STARS
to manage several thousand appraisal requests each month. The system includes several
thousand business rules, with more being added on a daily basis.
A Self-Correcting System
The new appraisal system is self-correcting. Cornerstone reviewers check the work
of the field staff, and notify the rule builder of any problems. Rules are updated
quickly and easily, and errors are never repeated. The effectiveness of InRule has
helped Cornerstone provide their customers the very best service, quality, and flexibility.
For More Information
Kate McGowan
Director of Marketing
kmcgowan@inrule.com