Federal Government Application Portal
Consolidated fragmented multi-portal digital services into a single WCAG 2.2-aligned customer portal, serving four distinct user groups under federal delivery guardrails.
The Challenge
A federal tribunal’s digital services had fragmented across multiple portals, each serving different user groups with different workflows and different levels of accessibility compliance. The brief was to consolidate into a single, unified portal that met WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards within federal delivery guardrails.
Discovery and Design
I co-facilitated discovery alongside the functional consultant and was sole UX/UI designer across the entire engagement. The portal served four distinct user types (applicants, representatives, contributors, and organisations), each with fundamentally different mental models, goals, and regulatory contexts. Discovery involved 20+ internal stakeholders with conflicting requirements and critical governance considerations; no end-user research was conducted, so the design work required synthesising stakeholder perspectives into coherent user-type models.
What grew from an initial scope of 9 workshops expanded to 15+ workshops, hugely exceeding the original plan, as the complexity of aligning stakeholder expectations became clear.
I also authored a formal proposal for the adoption of Figma by this agency, making the case for modern design tooling within a federal environment. This was the first time Figma was successfully used at this agency.
Hands-On Build
This wasn’t a hand-off-to-dev engagement. I built the portal hands-on as a Power Pages developer, working within federal security and compliance frameworks. The tech stack spanned Microsoft D365, Power Pages, Dataverse and Power Automate, with responsive front-end development using advanced CSS, JavaScript and Liquid scripting. I built metadata-driven smart forms and dashboards to support diverse case types and user roles, plus a model-driven app for internal staff to manage submissions and contributions. Beyond build, I contributed solution design, system architecture and technical documentation, producing UI screens, complex application flows, and process design diagrams to support solution architecture and stakeholder alignment. The accessibility standard was non-negotiable: WCAG 2.2 AA, verified through axe, Lighthouse, and Siteimprove across all user flows.
Why This Matters
The combination of Baseline security clearance + WCAG 2.2 delivery + federal portal build is the rarest credential set in my portfolio. Very few candidates bring both the design capability and the hands-on development skills to deliver accessible government digital services at this level, with the clearance to do it.
Hard Skills
Power Pages, D365, Dataverse, Power Automate, model-driven apps, Liquid scripting, JavaScript, advanced CSS, WCAG 2.2 AA, axe, Lighthouse, Siteimprove, Figma, business analysis, solution design, system architecture, process design diagrams, technical documentation, responsive front-end development
Soft Skills
Workshop facilitation (15+ workshops, exceeding original scope), stakeholder alignment across 20+ stakeholders, Figma adoption advocacy (first use at this agency), working within federal security and compliance frameworks, impartial requirements synthesis across competing stakeholder needs
Note: This client is permanently non-disclosable. The contribution, method, and technical approach described here are my own to share; the client identity, tribunal name, and any identifying details cannot be disclosed.