WaTech’s Resident Portal: Human-Centered Design Meets Custom AI

The Challenge

Navigating Washington’s online government services was confusing and inconsistent, especially for underserved residents. With over 200 state agencies operating on different systems, accessing vital services felt fragmented and inefficient. WaTech recognized the need for a unified, resident-facing platform—but also knew that building it would require broad agency alignment, a flexible integration model, and a compelling vision for both residents and internal stakeholders.

The challenge wasn’t just technological—it was cultural, strategic, and structural. WaTech needed a roadmap that could guide multi-year development while also securing buy-in, budget approval, and legislative support.

The Solution

Over a focused three-month engagement, Launch partnered with WaTech to design a future-ready roadmap for the Washington Resident Portal. We began with deep stakeholder engagement across agencies and resident communities to define key user journeys and identify pain points. We implemented inclusive strategies to gather input from partner agencies and underserved resident populations, ensuring all residents and internal users had a voice in shaping the portal.  

Our phased, cohort-based roadmap approach allowed agencies to align around a shared vision while maintaining flexibility in how they would adopt and integrate. We developed a custom integration maturity model, allowing agencies to opt into various levels of data sharing and participation. Our team also defined the platform’s future-state architecture, user capabilities, and a five-year total cost of ownership—laying the foundation for procurement, funding approval, and phased execution.

Finally, Launch created the reference technical architecture for a personalized AI assistant—Bigfoot Bot—as part of the experience strategy. This intelligent companion will help residents navigate services across agencies, reducing friction and enhancing engagement over time.