California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)
Public Assistance (PA) is part of the Cal OES Engage Community Portal connecting Californian subrecipients to state government to make the reimbursement process quicker and more efficient by modernizing existing systems.
This project won the California Government Technology Innovation Award for Public Service in 2023.
- $244 Million in Projects closed out in the first 4 months after GoLive
- 5,507 Registered Users in the first 4 months after Golive
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) - serves as the state’s leadership hub during all major emergencies and disasters securing resources through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Public Assistancecan reimburse local governments for emergency work, protective measures, and debris removal. It also reimburses for repairs and/or replacement of disaster damaged public facilities and infrastructure.
Although funds are awarded to government entities and certain private nonprofits, the Public Assistance program is intended to benefit everyone – neighborhoods, cities, counties and states. Public Assistance dollars help clean up communities affected by disaster-related debris, repair roads and bridges, and put utilities and water systems back in order.
A critical part of my approach was developing a deep understanding of the complex workflows that needed to be digitized. The Public Assistance (PA) program exemplified the intricate processes that were trapped in paper-based systems.
Creating detailed process mapping was essential to designing an interface that could transform this paper-based bureaucracy into a streamlined digital workflow—one that would support time-sensitive disaster response rather than adding additional hurdles. #California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Engage Community Portal Landing Page
The Current Process Flow:
During my research, I identified critical gaps in this workflow that needed to be addressed in our digital solution:
Market Reality: Government agencies aren't exactly known for their cutting-edge technology. Legacy systems were creating inefficiencies at critical moments when time and clarity matter most.
Quickly we had realized that the research was inconsistent between teams resulting in prototypes which did not match the approved flow.
After weeks of user interviews and system analysis (and enough coffee to float a small battleship), I identified three critical problems that needed immediate attention:
Being the unicorn product person—part designer, part researcher, part manager, part diplomat, and occasional therapist for frustrated users—I knew that solving this entrenched mess would require more than just pretty buttons and a color palette.
I rolled up my sleeves (metaphorically; it was summer in Sacramento) and dove into the user experience abyss:
Conducted 27 stakeholder interviews, during which I heard variations of "I hate this system" in enough different ways to compile a thesaurus
Conducted a comprehensive analysis using established Laws of UX and design principles to identify specific issues with the portal
Armed with mountains of evidence and a vision for something better, I prepared to champion the voice of users in a system that had forgotten they existed.
With a diagnosis that would make any product doctor prescribe immediate intervention, I developed a strategy that balanced political realities with what users actually needed.
Vision: Create a central platform connecting Californians to state and local municipalities, making grant funding more accessible by modernizing government legacy software with a SaaS CRM.
Speak Human, Not Government - Replace bewildering acronyms with clear, descriptive language that actually tells users what each service does
Phase 1 focused on the grants management portal, targeting the highest-volume user journeys with the most significant pain points. I used a weighted scoring model to prioritize initiatives based on:
As a product unicorn (not the billion-dollar kind, just the "does-everything-because-nobody-else-will" kind), executing this transformation meant wielding influence without authority—my favorite sport in the corporate Olympics.
Phase 1 focused on the grants management portal, targeting the highest-volume user journeys with the most significant pain points. I used a weighted scoring model to prioritize initiatives based on:
Phase 1 focused on the grants management portal, targeting the highest-volume user journeys with the most significant pain points. I used a weighted scoring model to prioritize initiatives based on:
Beyond the numbers, we transformed how Californians access critical emergency services funding. The simplified interface, intuitive workflows, and modern technology stack created a platform that actually helps people during their time of need—instead of becoming yet another obstacle.
After surviving this project with most of my sanity intact, I walked away with some hard-earned wisdom:
What began as a bewildering maze of government services transformed into an actually usable platform that connects Californians with critical resources when they need them most. And at the end of the day, that's what makes all the bureaucratic battles worthwhile—knowing real people can now access emergency services without first having an emergency of their own trying to navigate the website.
