Full service rebuild
The system's being replaced. The experience needs to be user friendly and modern — which means the rebuild and the service redesign have to move together, not one after the other.
Complex systems need human understanding before they need more technology.
Starting with people, evidence, and a clear reference point, we design services that drive connectivity. Then we help you build it.
We partner with California agencies and mission-driven organizations modernizing the services residents depend on — from the first round of research through delivery, and for as long as the system needs to keep working.
Where we come in
Where we come inA mandate with a deadline, no map underneath it.
An AI directive, an accessibility requirement, a legislative deadline — real, and due, with no plan yet for how to get there.
Good scope, hard seams.
The brief is sound. What's harder is everything it touches — the handoffs, the dependencies, the places where two good decisions don't quite meet.
What we do
Six ways we help — start with one, or start with all of them.
Research & DiscoveryUnderstand the problem before anyone commits to a solution.
We study how a service actually works — for the residents who use it and the staff who run it — so modernization decisions rest on evidence, not assumption.
Sub-services
- Stakeholder & user research
- Service design discovery & journey mapping
- Workflow & process analysis
- Needs & readiness assessment
What you get
- A synthesized findings report, grounded in evidence
- A prioritized opportunity map
- A clear account of what's working, what isn't, and why
Procurement codesNAICS 541910, 541720, 541611 · PSC B506, R410 · UNSPSC 80141600, 81141902
Strategy & AdvisoryA clear, sequenced path from complexity to a plan you can act on.
We turn evidence into direction: what to modernize first, what to defer, and how to sequence the work so each phase stands on the last.
Sub-services
- Modernization roadmaps
- Program strategy & prioritization
- Operational & governance readiness
- AI opportunity assessment
What you get
- A sequenced modernization roadmap with clear priorities
- A readiness assessment covering operations, governance, and data
- Recommendations your leadership can defend — with the evidence behind them
Procurement codesNAICS 541611 (primary), 541618 · PSC R408, R410, R406 · UNSPSC 80101500, 80101600
Human-Centered DesignServices people can actually use — accessible by default.
We design experiences around the residents and staff who depend on them — clear, consistent, and accessible from the first draft, never retrofitted.
Sub-services
- Experience & interface design
- Service blueprinting
- Plain-language & content design
- Design systems
- Accessibility — Section 508 / WCAG 2.1 AA
What you get
- Accessible, standards-aligned interface and service designs
- A design system your teams and vendors can build on consistently
- Plain-language content residents can understand the first time
Procurement codesNAICS 541430, 541490 · PSC R499 · UNSPSC 82101500, 82141500
Responsible AI EnablementAI applied with judgment — governed, transparent, and in service of residents.
We help agencies find where AI genuinely belongs, put the right guardrails around it, and move from opportunity to implementation safely.
Sub-services
- AI governance & responsible-AI guardrails
- Opportunity-to-implementation planning
- Vendor & tool evaluation
- GenAI risk assessment (SIMM 5305-F)
What you get
- An AI opportunity assessment tied to real workflows
- Governance guardrails aligned to state policy, including SIMM 5305-F
- An implementation plan that protects privacy, civil liberties, and public trust
Procurement codesNAICS 541611, 541512, 541990 · PSC R408, R425 · UNSPSC 81111800
Engineering & BuildWe deliver what we design — usable, governable, built to last.
The capability that lets us finish what we start. We lead delivery and build what we've designed — coordinating internal teams, vendors, and system integrators so nothing is lost between the blueprint and the working service.
Sub-services
- Delivery leadership & implementation planning
- Phased roadmap execution
- Partner & system-integrator coordination
- Custom application development
- Systems design & integration
- Maintenance & support
What you get
- A phased implementation plan with realistic milestones
- Working software faithful to the designs residents and staff validated
- Coordinated delivery across teams and vendors — with documentation and support that outlast the engagement
Procurement codesNAICS 541511, 541512, 541611, 541618 · PSC DA01, DA10, DE01, R408 · UNSPSC 81111500, 81111800, 81112000, 81112200, 80101600
Training & Change EnablementTeams that adopt new systems — and get real value from AI.
New systems only matter if people use them well. We train and support the teams who carry the work forward — including hands-on AI enablement for product and design teams.
Sub-services
- AI enablement training for product & design teams
- Curriculum development
- Change management
- Adoption & sustainment support
What you get
- A curriculum built around your teams' actual workflows
- Staff who use new tools — including AI — responsibly and well
- A sustainment plan so adoption holds after the engagement ends
Procurement codesNAICS 611430 · PSC U008, U099 · UNSPSC 86132000
Who we serve
The organizations running the systems residents depend on.
State agencies
Program leads modernizing services Californians depend on.
Local & regional government
Sacramento region and beyond, close to the communities served.
Mission-driven & civic organizations
Serving the public interest alongside government.
Prime contractors & system integrators
As the human-centered design and responsible-AI specialist on your team.
Built to grow with you into utilities, healthcare, education, and critical infrastructure.
Modern by default
Current patterns, applied where they earn their place.
Modernization isn't a rewrite in a newer language. It's building on standards that hold — and layering intelligence into the workflow only where it measurably helps the people doing the work.
Standards, not legacy habits
Accessible components, plain-language content, clear data models, and integrations built to survive the next procurement cycle.
AI where it earns its place
Applied to real friction — summarizing what staff would otherwise read line by line, surfacing the right record at the right moment, drafting what a person then reviews. Never AI for its own sake.
A person accountable for the outcome
Every AI-assisted step stays visible, reviewable, and reversible, with privacy and transparency designed in from the start.
Proof
Founded by the team behind This Waay — bringing private-sector design discipline to public service.
How to engage
Certified, and straightforward to put on contract.
Certified small business
A California-certified Small Business (Cert. #2053279) and an SBA-certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) — both current, not pending.
The SB/DVBE Option
California agencies can contract directly with a certified small business for qualifying services and IT up to $249,999.99 — a fast, low-friction way to begin.
Prime or subcontractor
We prime right-sized engagements, and team with primes and system integrators as the human-centered design and responsible-AI specialist.
Let's find the signal.
Tell us about the program you're trying to improve. We'll propose a right-sized way to begin.
Start a conversation →