Original 4 year contract. Second 4 year awarded.
Philadelphia Water’s Plan Review website is the first responsive site for any major U.S. city’s regulatory stormwater management program. Within, users and organizations have instant and easy access to regulatory requirements and application review.
The Philadelphia Water Department wanted to provide a more accessible stormwater management guidance manual, improve the quality of plan review submissions, and streamline the online application process.
Through stakeholder research and user surveys, Tactile determined that 80% of PWD's users visit the site to either submit an application or to access the regulations manual. This resulted in a specifically-designed primary navigation focused on these two actions.
To avoid overwhelming the users, the design was inspired by the “less, but better” philosophy. The minimal site leverages both a concise informational hierarchy and intuitive calls-to-action with conditional fields in the application that only ask questions required by each project's characteristics.. Users are given an unobtrusive reading experience and can achieve their goals efficiently and without distraction.
The 700+ page guidance manual features its own robust search mechanism and a “Read Next” control just above the guide's footer. This control dynamically loads the subsequent content to provide a seamless transition between sections and highlights an always-on sidebar navigation.
The project demanded new levels of collaboration across a vast & multi-disciplinary team.
Rick Orlosky Creative Director, Philadelphia Water Department
Tactile helped develop the PWD Reg Finder, an interactive, time-saving tool for assisting users in locating properties and assessing estimated Limit of Disturbance (LOD) requirements for any development job. Properties can be searched by neighborhood or with a parcel address using an aerial map of the City. Results can be shared for offline use or immediately flexed into a new application ready for submission.
Users can also employ PWD’s file sharing services. Authorized organizational leads have the ability to upload multiple application reference files, such as architectural drawings and inspection photos. A unique tracking number allows clients to view the work and even provide changes, eliminating tiresome back-and-forth communications.