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COOKIE POLICY
The permitting process for elevators and amusement devices are a critical service of state governments. Permits must be entered, installations tracked, code violations managed, among other ongoing priorities. Within these responsibilities, departments can often rely on processes with manual data entry and little to no automation to support their tasks. However, doing so can affect productivity and risk resulting in errors, which can threaten a department’s ability to meet a state’s legal obligations. Further, various departments coordinating the permitting process can frequently work in isolation and hamper timely execution. So, when a state labor and workforce development agency was looking to streamline how they service elevator and amusement device utilities, they turned to UDig. We quickly began designing an application that could elevate how employees worked and meet the department’s business goals and legal requirements
The state labor and workforce development agency manages a plethora of permitting and other related tasks daily. Yet existing processes were stifling how efficiently employees could work and expedite responsibilities. Further, while they used a legacy system to support their tasks, they were seeking another solution that could modernize how they worked. In addition, an existing build of a separate solution left them with an application on legacy software that had operational challenges, further holding back their progress.
Within this environment, the state agency experienced the following challenges:
We knew that to help our client move forward, we had to start from the ground up and build a solution that met the unique goals of all stakeholders.
During our support, open communication and collaboration was central to our work. Rather than replicate the legacy system, we took this opportunity to evaluate the business process and identify opportunities for improved efficiency. By doing so, we helped each stakeholder involved in the project have a voice and inform how this solution meets their needs. Through iterations and frequent meetings, we supported our client with a strategic, actionable process that helped them align their intended vision with their solution’s true impact.
We prioritized the following elements:
Relevant Stakeholders: From the project’s start, we included all stakeholders early on in the process. Through an agile method, we received their input and buy-in from the design, workflows, and functionality. This access to ongoing feedback and perspectives ensured we were delivering solutions at each step exactly as we needed to create their desired impact.
Forward-Looking: We knew the solution we designed had to carry them forward as business needs expanded. So, we created an extensible application that the agency can scale as they need to add additional departments.
User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX): Improving the workflow experience was a critical element we wanted to address. So, we prioritized UI/UX from the very beginning to ensure the application worked exactly how employees needed it to.
Systems Integration: The state agency needed the system to integrate seamlessly with third-party payment processing and document management software. So, we addressed this priority early on while working extensively with their data team to covert data from their existing application.
Automation: Helping employees to work more productively was a key aim for the solution. We knew that automation had to become a central tool supporting how they worked, specifically around email processing in specific time-consuming areas.
Demo Reviews: Rather than wait to share our work at the final build, we engaged our client in demo reviews along the way. This process made sure that we iteratively built business priorities into the design at every step.
Today, the state labor and workforce development agency has an innovative, user-centered solution that seamlessly works with existing systems and can transform how they support Elevator and Device utilities. Queries that could once take over 30 seconds to load now take 1 to 2 seconds. Invoicing steps that required manual effort now rely on automation to fast-track the work. And workflows and processes that lived in isolation now unite within an improved system that empowers employees to do their job easier and more quickly. In addition, the solution helped the state agency migrate away from its legacy software to have robust, forward-looking capabilities that can grow with them. This improved environment further helps ensure that the department can meet legal needs of state requirements while minimizing risks to the data. From start to finish, we left them better and ready for tomorrow.
