Houston Permitting Center

Drupal Implementation and Oracle Policy Automation Integration

Drupal 8 implementation and integration with Oracle Policy Automation and Oracle Service Cloud

HPC Home Page

HPC Home Page

HPC Home Page
HPC Home Page
HPC Permits A to Z
HPC Permit Detail Page
Project Planner with Oracle Policy Automation

Project Highlights

  • Drupal 8 implementation, hosted on Acquia Cloud Enterprise
  • Custom theme development for a responsive design with various breakpoints to adapt to any screen size
  • Consolidation of permitting data from multiple departments and websites in a single Drupal portal
  • Standardized the organization and presentation of information using a single taxonomy
  • Content migration for 400+ permits and associated PDFs
  • Permit Finder including keyword search and browsing content organized in a taxonomic structure
  • Integration of Drupal 8 with Oracle Policy Automation for self-service wizard-style project interviews
  • Integration of Drupal 8 with Oracle Service Cloud for live chat
  • Download & print application forms and other related documents
  • Webforms for room reservations, online water meter requests, technical support
  • Bookmark permits of interest for later use (logged in users only)

Services Provided

  • Project Management
  • Requirements and Wireframes Definition
  • Technical Specifications and Implementation
  • Theme development
  • Drupal site-building and Webform implementation
  • Custom development for integration with Oracle Policy Automation and Oracle Service Cloud
  • Quality Assurance
  • Deployment
  • Training
  • Support and maintenance

Project Overview

The Houston Permitting Center (HPC) combines the majority of the City of Houston's permitting and licensing into one convenient location. The HPC opened in June 2011 with a mission to help customers achieve their goals while complying with the City’s regulations. HPC encompasses 40 business units from seven City departments. Collectively, the business units are responsible for enforcing all building and fire codes, regulating the operation of specific types of businesses, issuing noise and sound permits as well as burglar and fire alarm permits, performing identity verification, and more. Over 600 types of permits, licenses, and registrations can be purchased at the HPC.

The City determined that a significant portion of non‐compliance resulted from a lack of user‐friendly, intuitive, searchable online information. It had also determined that the disjointed and uncoordinated structure of city departments’ websites caused confusion for prospective customers. Management was looking to dramatically improve customers’ access to relevant regulatory information through self-service capabilities.

The City of Houston Public Works and Engineering Department, Planning and Development Division sought to redesign the HPC website and develop a Permitting Wizard as a self-service option for citizens. The solution needed to consolidate permitting information from multiple departments and websites in a single convenient HPC Portal to provide information and services to HPC existing and future customers.

TrazerEdge implemented Drupal 8 integrated with Oracle Policy Automation and Oracle Service Cloud to provide a robust and user-friendly self-service portal for permit and license applicants.