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City Services & Operations

Citizen Services Portal

Transformed paper-based permit applications into a modern self-service portal serving 10,000+ residents monthly.

Timeline: 6 monthsTeam: 4 developers + 1 designer
75%
Processing Time Reduction
From 3-4 weeks down to 5-7 business days
10k+
Monthly Submissions
Up from 2,000 in-person visits
4.8/5
User Satisfaction
Based on 1,500+ survey responses
$500k
Annual Cost Savings
Reduced staff time and paper costs

The Challenge

The permit application process was entirely paper-based, requiring residents to visit City Hall during business hours.

  • Residents had to take time off work to visit City Hall during limited business hours
  • Paper forms were frequently incomplete, requiring multiple trips
  • Staff spent 60% of their time on data entry and phone inquiries
  • Processing times averaged 3-4 weeks due to manual routing between departments
  • No visibility for applicants into application status

Our Solution

We built a responsive web portal that allows residents to apply for permits online 24/7, with real-time status tracking and automated workflow routing.

  • Modern React-based frontend with accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA)
  • Smart form validation that guides users through requirements
  • Document upload with automatic format verification
  • Real-time status tracking with email and SMS notifications
  • Automated routing to appropriate departments based on permit type
  • Integration with existing backend systems via REST APIs
  • Staff dashboard for processing applications and generating reports

Technology Stack

Next.jsReactTypeScriptPostgreSQLRedisCloudflare WorkersSendGrid
“The new portal has completely transformed how we serve our residents. What used to take weeks now takes days, and our staff can focus on complex cases instead of data entry.”
Sarah Chen
Director of Operations, City Services

Lessons Learned

  • 1Early and frequent user testing with actual residents was critical to getting the UX right
  • 2Investing in API integrations paid off by eliminating duplicate data entry
  • 3SMS notifications had higher engagement than email alone
  • 4Mobile-first design was essential - 65% of users access via smartphone

Ready to Start Your Project?

Let's discuss how we can help your department achieve similar results.

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