A few months ago, as his freshman year at Milton High School was winding down, Jake Sheptyck went to a friend's house after school and was greeted with this perplexing query: "Do you want to see Strong Bad?" Turned out the mysterious moniker...

Some of the biggest innovation in mortgage banking is happening in the back office, tucked out of sight from customers and investors, yet with major ramifications for how quickly and efficiently a mortgage can be approved, closed, bundled and sold. In one of...