Government as a product

Product management in government has been adopted globally, from national digital services organizations like the U.S. Digital Service, 18F and the UK Government Digital Service to cities large and small.

In the context of product management, the City of San Rafael has numerous products of its own, from the fire department’s vegetation management program to human resources’ recruitment process.

San Rafael product examples
Pay a parking ticket Get your street swept Sign a trespass letter Get a building permit Attend a public meeting Get a public record Register for a class	Buy a swim pass Report a pothole Get a business license Borrow a book Get information about… Buy a parking pass And many, many more!

By applying a product mindset to our services, we can better align our efforts and investments to the City’s overall mission and make sure that what we do is designed for people who need to use them. This process requires getting feedback and input from the community (or internally, employees), analyzing the approaches of other cities or agencies, and applying the process of iteration and continuous improvement so that our services get better and evolve over time.

Every department has multiple products that, if managed within a product management framework, can help the city better serve its community, but also bring a stronger sense of pride and ownership to the work of everyone who works for the people of San Rafael.