The state Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) project has formed a team specifically focusing on human-centered research and design services for all digital endeavors across the project, which is developing software to replace the child welfare legacy system.
The CWDS DesignOps team, as it is known, brings together staffers previously assigned to individual digital services. Team members report through one organization to operate as a collective, working on a common backlog prioritized by product leadership across the digital services. This change will give CWDS an enterprisewide view of important features that will help the project deliver software and expedite the deployment of CWS-CARES, the California Automated Response and Engagement System.
The team is led by Gregg Hill as product owner. DesignOps occupies a studio space, now referred to as the CWDS Research + Design Studio, on the first floor of CWDS headquarters in Sacramento. The project is part of the Office of Systems Integration, which is part of California Health and Human Services.
CWDS, meanwhile, has chosen Cambria Solutions to provide Front End Development Services to assist in the replacement of the legacy system. CWDS, which is pioneering the development and operation of cloud software in the public sector, is using agile processes rather than a traditional “waterfall” model. The project is taking an innovative approach, using DevOps tools and processes, free/open source software (FOSS) and the user-centered design that the DesignOps team is spearheading.
