Digitally transforming City services to an accessible, always available platform.

Collaborating with a multi-functional team, we were tasked to digitally transform an in-person building permit application process into an online web application. The goal was to reduce friction for builders and contractors and allow them to access the same service, online.

Company & Year: City of Surrey, 2017 - 2018

Role: Early wireframing and final spec design.
Communication and project facilitation with the team.
Presenting design work to the stakeholder(s) for feedback.

Status: The final application is live on the MySurrey Portal. An access code and account are required.

The application process is a multi-step process that requires careful attention. To reduce this complexity, I designed a progress tracker that gives applicants a sense of where they are within the process, and a links and tips section to give context-dependent information.

Additionally, the entire design process involved frequent discussions with engineering to determine feasibility and understand what backend information we could leverage. Regular presentations were conducted with all stakeholders to align the team.

Application Review

Once the application is submitted, the applicant can see updates and track their submission through their MySurrey Portal Account page. Here, the applicant can track the status of their application, make payments, reupload files, or download the final permit.

The interface needed to be responsive for both tablet and mobile screen sizes. A field study the team and I conducted prior showed us many rely on mobile devices to interact with the MySurrey Portal, we also know builders and contractors are on the go, relying on what’s available at hand.

From our research and demographic data, we know many Surrey residents speak a non-English first language, this meant our copywriting needed to be easy to understand, avoid jargon, but still make it clear what information is required to complete the steps.