CIS

City of San Antonio: BuildSA Release-2

The project aimed to fulfill the Development Services Department’s (DSD) commitment to modernize its licensing/permitting application and renewals, building permits, and payment processes through a self-service customer portal, along with an internal portal for inspectors and code enforcement field agents.

improve operational efficiency for citizens and businesses through an online self-service experience for all core DSD functions. City of San Antonio (COSA) The City of San Antonio launched the BuildSA initiative to using the Accela Civic Platform. The project aimed to streamline workflows, increase transparency for external users, and improve self-service delivery.

Accela Citizen Portal

As a technical writer, I collaborated with DSD product owners, subject-matter-experts, Public Works Directors, and Chiefs to understand business workflows for applications, renewals, permits, and code enforcement, and to develop clear, accurate technical, developer documentation, and training guides for a broad citywide audience.

Problem 

The Development Services Department faced many technical limitations stemming from outdated Hansen and ECCO systems that prevented City contractors and citizens from efficiently self-managing and tracking requests, as well as providing field agents a resulting in in-person visits for services such as

Solution

Accela Citizen Access (ACA), an industry-standard for government cloud services, was selected as the best-fit SaaS solution. I adapted traditional methods to align with the hybrid Agile Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and produce structured, comprehensive documentation alongside rapid, user-centric feature delivery.

Methods

  • Agile Documentation Lifecycle Management

  • User-centric Design

  • Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

  • Scrum / Kanban

Project Teams

COSA/DSD

  • Project Manager

  • Product Owners

  • Subject Matter Experts

  • Data Managers

Voyatek

  • Engagement Manager

  • Project Manager

  • Lead Architect

  • Business Analyst

  • Software Developers

My Roles

  • Technical Writer

  • Content Planning / Strategy

  • Information Design

  • Quality Assurance / Editor

Timeline

January 2019 – May 2021

My Approach 

I designed and implemented an agile documentation framework for the Citizen Portal project, which ran in parallel with the development lifecycle. This involved gathering information from project teams, managing content review cycles, and securing approvals that produced user-centric technical and non-technical content.

A full suite of documentation, including admin guides, functional requirements, and API, was delivered in lockstep with the evolving project, resulting in increased team productivity, reduced errors, and improved code quality.

Deliverables

Software Documentation

  • System Requirements

  • Information Design

  • Test Plans

User Documentation

  • User Training Manuals

  • Installation Manuals

  • Quick-start Guides

Developer Documentation

  • Functional Requirements

  • Administration Guides

  • Configuration Guides

Tools

  • Jira / Confluence

  • Microsoft Word / Excel

  • Adobe InDesign / Lucidchart

Outcomes 

The primary objective of the BuildSA project was to modernize the City of San Antonio’s (COSA) civic operations. By implementing a new self-service Citizen Portal, the project successfully moved key Development Services Department (DSD) functions online. This empowered residents and businesses to independently manage tasks such as submitting building and fire permit requests, completing contractor license applications, and renewing licenses.

ACA featured predefined workflows, intuitive citizen-facing interfaces, integrated dashboards, automated fee processing, and an extensible architecture, the implementation eliminates bottlenecks, replacing outdated systems with a streamlined alternative.t.

The City of San Antonio’s legacy licensing and permitting systems operated through disconnected workflows with limited visibility and inefficient service delivery. These issues created delays, reduced transparency, and hindered residents and contractors from managing transactions independently through self-service options. 

Reserve

Deliverables

Project Management Plan

Design Specifications

Requirements Documentation

Training Manuals

Developer Docu

Rates

Peak
$400/night Sun – Thu
$550/night Fri – Sat
$2500/week

Off-Peak
$250/night Sun – Thu
$325/night Fri – Sat
$1750/week