Digital government
Modernizing a public-service case management journey
A modular citizen and staff service platform that replaces fragmented intake and review steps with accessible, traceable case workflows.
The context
The operating problem we designed around
The case study focuses on a configurable service pattern: public intake, identity, evidence, assessment, assignment, review, decision, correspondence, and follow-up.
The architecture preserves authoritative systems while introducing a modern journey and workflow layer that can expand service by service.
Residents and staff were navigating separate forms, manual handoffs, and limited status visibility. Modernization had to improve the end-to-end service without requiring a high-risk, all-at-once replacement of established records systems.
Delivery approach
From ambiguity to an operable system
Map the whole service
Designed resident and staff journeys together, including exceptions, evidence, correspondence, and escalation.
Separate policy from interface
Represented configurable rules, stages, requirements, and templates outside hard-coded screens.
Modernize incrementally
Introduced APIs and workflow modules around authoritative systems in controlled phases.
Test with real accessibility needs
Validated content, keyboard use, assistive technology, error recovery, and low-bandwidth behavior.
The solution
Capabilities designed as one operational system
Resident portal
Guided applications, saved progress, evidence submission, communication, and status tracking.
Staff case workspace
Queues, assignments, evidence, assessments, decisions, notes, and supervisor oversight.
Configurable service model
Stages, rules, forms, templates, service levels, and permissions adapt across programs.
Integration layer
Governed interfaces connect identity, payments, records, notifications, and reporting systems.
System architecture
Clear boundaries between experience, domain, and platform layers
LAYER 01
Digital experience
Accessible web journeys use shared design patterns and plain-language content structures.
LAYER 02
Case domain
Services manage applications, parties, evidence, tasks, decisions, correspondence, and audit events.
LAYER 03
Policy configuration
Versioned rules and templates support controlled policy change and effective dates.
LAYER 04
Legacy boundary
Adapters isolate modern workflows from established record and departmental systems.
Advanced capabilities
Intelligence introduced with evidence, controls, and operability
Document assistance
Human-reviewed extraction and classification can reduce repetitive evidence handling.
Service-demand analytics
Privacy-aware operational data supports staffing, throughput, and service design decisions.
Knowledge support
Cited retrieval helps staff navigate approved guidance while retaining decision accountability.
Potential outcomes
What the engineering approach enabled
- A clearer journey for residents and service staff
- Traceable case ownership, decisions, and communication
- Faster introduction of additional digital services
- Reduced dependency on high-risk wholesale replacement
Engineering lessons
What carries into the next platform
- 01Digitizing a form without redesigning the service preserves most of the original friction.
- 02Policy configuration still requires governance, testing, and version ownership.
- 03Accessibility must be validated throughout delivery, not audited only before launch.
Services applied
Technology landscape