The Product: Court Case Management System
Applicaiton used by all federal courts to track and process court cases.
What is the CMM.....
The Case Management Modernization (CMM) program, spearheaded by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), is a multi-year initiative to overhaul the Judiciary’s case management systems, including the Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) and Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). This modernization aims to improve efficiency, security, and user experience in managing and accessing court information.
The Project: Review the CMM HCD Process and Advise On Improvements
Brought in to help the leadership team, less experienced with HCD, to improve their process and apply modern best practice product design methods where possible.
Review Existing HCD Process
I conducted a thorough review of AO Courts’ current human-centered design (HCD) process as they transitioned from their legacy CM/ECF system to a new federal case management platform. This included analyzing design workflows, meeting rituals, team roles, and decision-making structures across multiple pods. I audited key design artifacts such as user stories, wireframes, and usability testing practices, identifying where the process aligned with modern HCD best practices — and where legacy system constraints or waterfall patterns were limiting impact.
Identify Gaps And Advise
Through direct observation of meetings, analysis of deliverables, and structured team conversations, I identified key systemic gaps that were undermining the team’s ability to deliver strong, user-centered outcomes. These included late-stage research, rigid flow handoffs, fragmented experience mapping, and a lack of divergent concept work. I distilled these insights into a set of root-cause observations tied to real work products and ceremonies — providing the organization with a clear view of where to improve and why it mattered.
Mentor Staff
As part of the engagement, I acted as an embedded design mentor to the internal team — guiding designers, business analysts, and product owners on how to apply more flexible and outcome-focused design techniques. I supported them in adopting more modern approaches to problem framing, concept exploration, and user testing. I also helped introduce more collaborative working norms such as design critiques, co-design sessions, and lighter-weight kickoff workshops to foster stronger cross-role alignment and iterative delivery.
My Role: UX Strategist ConsuLtant
I served as a design strategy consultant, guiding AO Courts in evaluating and evolving their human-centered design process through hands-on mentorship, process analysis, and actionable recommendations.
Deliverable: COmprehensive Process Review and Recommendations
My final deliverable was an interactive Figma-based report (and PDF file alternative/parallel) that clearly visualized the current, planned, and ideal HCD processes, highlighted key gaps through structured observations and audits, and provided actionable recommendations with embedded tools for stakeholder engagement, prioritization, and follow-up. It was designed to function both as a standalone resource and a collaborative planning tool.
Report Contents
Summarizes six core systemic issues in the current HCD process, with supporting evidence, impact, and practical next steps for each
Evaluates key artifacts and ceremonies across the design process, showing what’s in place, what’s working, and where improvements are needed.
Visually compares how work moves through the old, proposed, and ideal design processes, highlighting differences in how work is scoped, chunked, and delivered.
Outlines a practical, low-disruption transition plan to evolve toward the ideal process using current resources and project constraints.
Offers a focused set of quick-win recommendations and pilot practices that teams can adopt right away to build momentum and reduce friction.
Intentionally Blurred
I can not share artifacts from this project, but the blurred image shows an overview of the report structure and hopefully gives a feel of the depth of the report
Outcomes
My report and recommendations were well received by executive leadership and our extension was extended with the desire for me to lead workshops and begin immediate implementation of the quick wins and process changes that were mplementable without signifiant team and project restructure.