The Houston Permitting Center (HPC) serves as the central hub for permitting and licensing across more than 40 business units representing seven City of Houston departments. With over 600 permit, license, and registration types available, customers often struggled to locate accurate regulatory information because content was spread across multiple departmental websites with inconsistent organization and presentation.
The City sought to create a centralized, user-friendly self-service portal that would simplify access to permitting information, improve regulatory compliance, and reduce the burden on staff by enabling citizens and businesses to find answers online. The new solution needed to consolidate content from multiple departments into a single authoritative source while providing guided assistance for determining permit requirements.
About the project
The primary goal of the project was to improve public access to permitting and licensing information by replacing a fragmented collection of departmental websites with a centralized self-service portal. Key requirements included consolidating permitting information, standardizing content organization, improving search capabilities, providing guided permit selection, and integrating with existing Oracle systems.
TrazerEdge implemented a Drupal solution hosted on Acquia Cloud Site Factory featuring a custom responsive theme, standardized taxonomy, and migration of more than 400 permit pages and associated documents. The new Permit Finder enables users to quickly locate permits through keyword search or taxonomy-based browsing, while Oracle Policy Automation provides interactive, wizard-style interviews that guide applicants to the permits relevant to their projects. Integration with Oracle Service Cloud adds live chat support, and Drupal Webforms facilitate online requests for services such as room reservations, water meter requests, and technical support.
The project was delivered using a structured project management approach that included requirements gathering, wireframing, technical specifications, iterative development, quality assurance, deployment, user training, and ongoing support and maintenance.
The result was a modern, centralized permitting portal that significantly improved the customer experience by making regulatory information easier to find, understand, and act upon. By consolidating information from multiple City departments into a single searchable platform with guided self-service capabilities, the solution reduced confusion, improved access to permitting information, and provided a scalable foundation for future digital services.
Why Drupal was chosen
Drupal was selected because it provided the flexibility and scalability needed to consolidate content from multiple departments into a single platform while supporting a highly structured information architecture.
Drupal's powerful taxonomy system enabled the City to standardize the organization of hundreds of permits and related documents, making information easier to browse and search. Its robust content management capabilities simplified ongoing maintenance across multiple departments, while its extensibility allowed seamless integration with Oracle Policy Automation for guided permit interviews and Oracle Service Cloud for live customer support. Drupal also delivered a responsive, accessible user experience and provided a foundation that could continue to evolve as the City's permitting services expanded.
Technical Specifications
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