Transforming Communications for Child Care Services

Role: Sr. Service Designer & UI/UX Design Lead
Team: Team Platform, Government of Alberta
Duration: 12-month agile engagement
Focus: Digital transformation, accessibility, stakeholder alignment

Alberta Child Care Services relied on fragmented communication systems—emails, physical notices, and disconnected tools—leading to inconsistent messaging, delayed updates, and high administrative overhead. Operators lacked real-time access to critical information, and staff struggled with manual workflows.

As the Design Lead, I was tasked with reimagining how internal staff and licensed child care operators communicate across the province. The goal was to design and deliver a modern, accessible, and scalable communications platform that would support:

• Two-way messaging
• Timely, structured bulletins
• Role-based access
• Integration with existing operator portals
• Full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance

To achieve this transformation, I led a multidisciplinary approach:

• Service Design & Research

• • Conducted contextual inquiries, journey mapping, and stakeholder interviews across child care operators, regional staff, and policy teams.
  • Mapped pain points and created a service blueprint to capture the holistic end-to-end communication lifecycle.

• UX/UI Design Leadership

• • Led co-design sessions with operators and internal users to ensure the platform reflected real-world use cases.
  • Developed high-fidelity wireframes and prototypes in Figma aligned with GoA’s digital standards.
  • Designed modular, mobile-friendly UI components for bulletins, messaging, and status updates.

• Agile Delivery & Governance

• • Worked closely with product owners, developers, and QA analysts in Agile sprints.
  • Authored epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria in Jira, with weekly demos and stakeholder reviews.
  • Created design system documentation to ensure reusability and consistency across services.

• Change Management

• • Facilitated training workshops and onboarding materials for over 200 staff and operators.
  • Delivered stakeholder presentations including briefings to senior executives and the Minister of Child Services.

The new communications platform successfully launched and is now used across all regional offices and licensed child care operators in Alberta. Results included:

• 75% reduction in turnaround time for policy and service updates reaching the field.
• 90% adoption rate within 3 months of rollout, supported by intuitive design and streamlined onboarding.
• WCAG 2.1 AA compliance ensured accessibility for all users, including screen reader and mobile access.
• Improved stakeholder trust and interdepartmental collaboration due to consistent and transparent communications.
• Set the foundation for future digital service enhancements by creating scalable components and data feedback loops.