Describe your image
License & Permits
Products
ServiceNow Platform
CSM Workspace
Public Sector Digital Service
Playbooks
TEAM
Ryan Griffin - Product Owner
PSDS Engineering Team
Platform Playbook Design Team
CSM Playbook Design Team
Duration
3 months
(April - June 2023)
My Contributions
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Led design strategy for the License & Permit playbook project
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Established a clear, reusable framework to support current and future playbooks
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Facilitated cross-functional collaboration between internal teams and the platform team to align on vision and execution.
Outcomes
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~70% improved case resolution time
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Demonstrated playbook viability for complex workflows
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Increased government investment in playbooks; million dollar contract
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Drove broader industry adoption and increased business investment
Opportunity
License and Permits Problem
Independent design of license and permit request forms across government agencies creates inconsistent user experiences and workflow inefficiencies, especially as request complexity and verification requirements vary widely.
Playbooks Problem
Playbooks were initially seen as useful only for simple tasks; we needed to prove their value on a complex use case to drive adoption and investment
Key Challenges
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Fragmented, ad hoc forms slow down processing and confuse constituents
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No consistent framework for simple vs. complex application needs
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Manual, repetitive work for agency staff due to missing capabilities
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Playbook capabilities were initially very limited and required lots of additional functionality
Discovery
Applied Research
Reviewed real-world license and permit applications from multiple government agencies, identifying two different experiences based on varying levels of complexity; simple and complex. Application processing times varied based on complexity: simple applications could be completed same day, complex applications sometimes required several days, weeks, or even months.
Fishing permit form (Simple single page)
Adult care permit (Complex, page 1 of 32)
Journey Mapping
Mapped end-to-end user journeys that showcased a "simple" and "complex" workflow, aligning design, product, and engineering on key stages and identifying gaps in our current capability.
Simple user journey
Complex user journey
Activity Mapping
Defined base, simple, and complex intake sets to clarify requirements across experience types, enabling precise activity mapping and a scalable playbook foundation.
Simple flow
Complex flow
Design
Strategic Execution
With our team aligned on the core experience, I partnered with product and engineering to assess which enhancements required significant effort and should be prioritized early. I coordinated asynchronously across multiple development groups, ensuring quick wins were delivered efficiently while maintaining momentum on more complex, iterative solutions.
Designing New Capabilities
At the end of our spint our team had designed and develeped 12 new components to address core needs:
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Dual-view “Schedule Consultation” flow for constituents and agents
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Single-screen “Propose Decision” interface for rapid manager approvals
Agent schedule screen
Constituent schedule screen
Propose decision - Agent view
Propose decision - Agent view
Specification
Designed New Capabilities
Documented and launched 12 new reusable capabilities, the most of any sprint to date, that addressed core user needs and enabled any team across the ServiceNow ecosystem to rapidly implement new playbook experiences.
Simple configuration page
Visual design page
Outcomes
Delivered a scalable License & Permit playbook framework that demonstrated clear value to government clients, enabling broader adoption and positioning the platform for continued growth.
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Designed 12 new reusable components
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Improved playbook capabilities drove multiple governmnet contract wins
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Saw a ~70% improved case resolution time for government agents
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Streamlined simple and complex workflows into one scalable framework
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Demonstrated playbook value and flexibility for complex problems to core platform team
My Role & Learnings
As lead designer, I was able to drivethe playbook vision from research through to delivery, ensuring early cross-functional alignment. I learned very quickly that by creating design assets, such as the journey mapping effort, our team was much more in sync with communicating our efforts and goals.
Creating clear, detailed documentation of a complex use case accelerated playbook adoption within the CSM organization. Multiple teams were enabled to repurpose features from the sprint and significantly reduce development requirements across the ecosystem.