Custom Application Design – Dept. of State Permanent Records Archive
The UX Challenge
The Department of State’s permanent records management & information access systems for processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other record requests were a patchwork of disparate technologies. Outdated systems created inefficiencies across the entirety of the process, causing a backlog of more than 11,000 FOIA requests, dating back almost a decade with 8,000 new requests each year. With new federal mandates, the current process made it difficult for the Department to respond within the required timeframe, which often led to missed deadlines and costly litigation. The client request: design and develop a single cohesive records management platform and retire more than 10 legacy applications. *Due to client sensitivity, I am happy to discuss this project with you, but am limited on what I can show.
The UX Approach
The team partnered with the Department of State to transform business processes across the Department by:
1. implementing a new FOIA case management system across the entire Department;
2. consolidating and retiring 10 legacy records applications into one intuitive custom search repository for all record types;
3. utilizing advanced analytics capability to improve search relevancy, and automate internal record submission to Records Managers.
After sitting down with the Client I explained the value of the human-centered design process for both the business and the customer when designing software. To begin, I recommended a phased approach to user interviews and focus groups while at the same time auditing the current systems to better understand the current state of user needs, problems, and technical and functional requirements.
Scheduling interviews and laying out target customer needs was done using personas and an initial prioritization of features by the client based on Department priorities and federal mandate deadlines.
Analyzing current system requirements and developing a system relationship map against feedback gathered from users resulted in the discovery of duplication, lingering legacy features, poor taxonomy, limited search engine best practices, and a lack of intuitive behavior. Keeping in mind significant bandwidth constraints and security restrictions, the team introduced industry best practices and modern code languages to set the client up for future longevity and enhancements.
The UX Impact and Final Product
This revolutionary transformation allowed the Department to streamline business processes, increase ease & accessibility to more than 1 BILLION Department records, and bring much needed uniformity to FOIA processing. The modernization will help the Department comply with new federal mandates to digitize records, and set the stage for records management across the entire federal government.
My role: product manager, user research & requirements gathering, content audit, wireframe design & annotated prototype presentations.
