How strategic redesign unlocked funding in just 9 months after 5 years of struggle
Project Overview:
The Seized Property Management System (SPMS) project was a comprehensive UX strategy initiative undertaken to overhaul a legacy system responsible for managing seized property across Canada. SPMIS had been built on outdated technology and faced significant operational inefficiencies, including a high dependency on manual processes and disjointed workflows.
The project aimed to renew SPMIS by focusing on human-centered design (HCD) principles. The objective was to deliver a scalable, flexible, and efficient system that could accommodate the evolving needs of government organizations and enforcement agencies responsible for seizing and managing criminal assets.
Challenges:
Outdated Technology: The system relied on a technology that was no-longer supported, which limited scalability and imposed restrictions on user management and workflows.
Manual Processes: Much of the system's functionality, such as financial reconciliation and case management, was dependent on manual input via Excel, increasing the risk of errors and inefficiencies.
Lack of Integration: Workflows involved multiple systems like GCDocs, emails, and SPMIS, which were not integrated, leading to cognitive overload for users.
User Roles and Workflows: Hardcoded workflows limited the flexibility to add or modify user roles, making it difficult to scale the system as business needs grew.
Inconsistent Data Sharing: Due to cumbersome forms and a lack of standardized data-sharing processes, law enforcement agencies faced challenges in updating and tracking case statuses .
Human-Centered Design Approach:
SPMD engaged Human-Centered Design Office (HDO) to redefine the SPMIS system with a focus on empathy and user needs. The process began with extensive qualitative research, including:
24 Staff Interviews: Involving case officers, warehouse managers, and finance officers to identify key pain points in asset management, financial reconciliation, and case workflows.
17 Client Interviews: Engaging stakeholders from various law-enforcement agencies and legal entities to understand their challenges with the system.
Personas and journey maps were developed based on these interviews, allowing for a deep understanding of user goals, needs, and frustrations across different roles within the system .
UX Strategy and Key Solutions:
The team employed ideation workshops to brainstorm solutions to the most critical issues identified. These workshops culminated in the following strategic recommendations:
Uncovering overlooked personas: the SPMIS renewal identified critical user groups—like warehouse managers, law enforcement, and legal teams—previously ignored by the system. By understanding their unique needs and pain points, the redesign bridged process gaps, reduced operational overhead, and minimized delays, ensuring a more efficient and responsive platform.
Scalability and Flexibility: The new SPMIS was designed to be scalable, accommodating changes in business rules and legislation, such as the Seized Property Management Act (SPMA). This allowed for better management of large volumes of assets and more government clients.
Data-Driven Decision-Making: One of the primary goals was to enhance visibility for clients and internal users, providing real-time reporting capabilities that reduced dependency on manual processes. Improved data access allowed for quicker decision-making regarding asset management and disposal.
Efficient Workflows: The system was restructured to reduce manual effort in financial reconciliation, case tracking, and reporting. The introduction of automated reminders, a more intuitive search function, and streamlined forms (e.g., 1002 forms) helped minimize errors and duplication of data across systems .
Results and Impact:
By focusing on user needs and adopting a UX strategy that prioritized efficiency and scalability, the SPMIS renewal delivered significant improvements:
Time Savings: Automated processes and streamlined workflows resulted in a potential reduction in manual labor, saving up to 25% of the time previously spent on case management and financial reconciliation .
Cost Efficiency: The system’s ability to manage assets and process cases more efficiently translated into reduced operational costs and more funds being distributed back to law enforcement agencies .
Enhanced Client Experience: Law enforcement agencies gained real-time visibility into case statuses and asset management, leading to improved collaboration and decision-making .
Conclusion:
The SPMIS project demonstrates how UX strategy, underpinned by human-centered design, can transform complex systems. By addressing both technical and operational pain points, the renewed SPMIS provided scalable, efficient, and user-friendly solutions that enhanced the management of seized property across Canada.