01: Overview
From PDF
to service
The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs publishes and maintains the BC Building Code. The 2024 version was available as a single 2,000-page PDF. While technically accurate, it was difficult to navigate, especially for professionals who rely on it daily.
The opportunity was to transform the static document into a publicly accessible, interactive web application that improves access without altering the regulatory content. I was brought on as the Service Designer.
02: The Problem
Friction at
every level
The existing PDF experience created barriers at every layer. The challenge wasn't surface-level: it ran through how the document was structured, accessed, and used in the field.
- The PDF required deep prior knowledge to navigate effectively
- Users struggled to locate relevant requirements quickly
- Mobile usability was limited for field use
- Search and filtering were minimal
- There was no contextual guidance to support interpretation
"This wasn't a visual redesign. It was a service transformation involving policy, governance, structured data, accessibility, and long-term maintainability."
Nick McInnis, Service Designer
03: My Role
Service Designer
as systems thinker
My role focused on aligning policy, technical, and user needs across the system. Delivered through iterative 2-week sprint cycles with regular demos and co-design sessions.
04: Understanding the Users
Who was
actually using it
Before defining workflows, I worked with Ministry stakeholders to identify key user groups. Personas were developed to guide decision-making and keep the team aligned on real-world trade-offs.
These personas helped the team make practical decisions: breadcrumb clarity for Building Officials, in-line glossary for Designers, responsive layout for Contractors. When trade-offs emerged, we asked: "Which persona does this decision serve?"
05: Journey Mapping
Mapping the
future state
I mapped current-state journeys based on the PDF experience and defined future-state interaction flows that reduced cognitive load while preserving legal integrity.
The journey map surfaced key pain points: too many search results without ranking, complex cross-references with no context, and uncertainty around version currency. Each became a design opportunity.
- Too many search results without clear relevance ranking
- Complex technical language with extensive cross-references
- Difficult to track position within large documents
- Need to juggle multiple tabs and sections simultaneously
- Uncertainty about version currency and updates
06: Design & Process
Two phases,
one system
Rather than designing pages, we designed interaction patterns:
07: Search & Navigation
Find what
you need fast
Full-text search with structured breadcrumbs, effective date filtering, and contextual glossary support built into every page. The search-first approach reduced time-to-clause significantly in usability testing.
- Breadcrumb navigation improved confidence scores in testing
- Effective version filter prevents users from applying outdated requirements
- Code Division and Part filters narrow results to what's relevant
- In-line glossary tooltips eliminate need for external reference documents
08: Documentation & Sustainability
Built to
last
As a service designer, sustainability was critical. The tool needed to evolve as the Building Code is updated over time, not require a redesign every cycle.
- Step-by-step workflow guides for common tasks
- Feature logic documentation for development handoff
- Knowledge transfer sessions with Ministry stakeholders
- Future scalability guidance for upcoming code updates
09: Outcomes
What I shipped
The project shifted the BC Building Code from a static document to a structured digital service, one that can evolve alongside the regulatory content it carries.
10: Reflection
Balancing
constraints
This project required holding multiple competing priorities in tension, and finding design decisions that served all of them at once. Personas helped anchor decisions in real-world use cases rather than abstract feature requests.
As Service Designer, my role was to ensure the experience worked as a coherent system, not just a collection of screens.
- Legal integrity: every word of regulatory content had to remain unchanged
- Policy constraints: government publishing requirements shaped what was possible
- Accessibility standards: WCAG AAA was non-negotiable for a public service
- Technical feasibility: solutions had to be buildable within sprint timelines
- Public usability: the end product had to work for real people under real conditions