Washington Technology Solutions, also known as WaTech, has released a new Service Catalog, with the aim of simplifying access and comprehension of the technology services the state IT agency offers.
“Customer feedback revealed it wasn’t always clear which IT services WaTech offered, and some were uncertain about the services that were available,” Donna Edwards, WaTech’s customer services support manager, said in an email. The previous service catalog, she added, was “complex and difficult for WaTech customers to use and understand.”
That catalog was written for a more “IT-only audience,” Edwards said, and it wasn’t always relevant and engaging for the many state agencies and other organizations that rely on IT services. The service catalog redesign project began in August 2023.
The new catalog, released Dec. 11, takes a more customer-centered design structure, and was developed in coordination with eight agencies: the Washington state departments of Health, Veterans Affairs, Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Revenue, and Agriculture; the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board; the Washington State Arts Commission, which participated via workshop; and the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.
“The partnership resulted in a simplified service listing, making it easier for our customers to find and use the services we offer. We also introduced an easy-to-understand rate structure and bundled solutions for more straightforward planning and budgeting,” Edwards said.
“Collaboration across silos” was one of the key guiding principles officials turned to when developing the service catalog, to encourage cross-department collaboration, allowing WaTech to streamline and consolidate more than 70 technical services into 13 business services.
The partnership with other agencies, Edwards said, led to more simplified service listings, an easier-to-understand rate structure, and bundled solutions for more straightforward planning and budgeting.
“The aim of this project was to improve how our customer agencies interact with our catalog of services, which aligns with one of WaTech’s strategic goals, to enable customer success through service delivery,” Edwards said.
