Permitting that residents can finish without a visit.

Challenge

Residents printed forms, queued at a counter, and called to ask where a file sat. Staff re-keyed data into two internal systems. Accessibility was an after-the-fact PDF. Leadership needed a service that met public digital standards and still fitted unionized back-office process.

Approach

1. 01

   Rewrote every form in plain language and broke applications into saveable steps.

2. 02

   Built a case system with SLAs, assignments, and a resident-facing status page.

3. 03

   Met WCAG 2.2 AA in the primary flows and tested with assistive technology users.

4. 04

   Kept a counter mode so in-person staff use the same cases as the public site.

Outcome

Most routine permits complete online. Staff stop re-keying. The city has a service it can explain to residents and to auditors.