March 25, 2025

CDT Unveils Smarter and Faster Project Delivery Lifecycle Process

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – 

The California Department of Technology (CDT), in partnership with the Government Operations Agency and other key state organizations, did a soft launch in February on a new way to get technology projects off the ground faster and more effectively. The Project Delivery Lifecycle is designed to speed up approvals, improve purchasing processes, and ensure projects deliver real value—especially those projects leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).

According to Deputy State CIO and CDT Chief Deputy Director Jared Johnson, there’s a lot at stake.

On March 12, CDT hosted a webinar for customers on the PDL to promote how the new project lifecycle will eventually replace the Project Approval Lifecycle for IT and non-IT projects.  “When we started talking about PDL, we started with GenAI in mind,” said CDT Deputy Director of Statewide Project Delivery Tim Issertell. “That’s where this whole concept came from.”  What’s new about the PDL? 

• Instead of massive, years-long projects, state entities will now test ideas first—using Proofs of Concept (POCs) and Minimum Viable Products (MVPs)—to confirm they work before fully committing.
• Expert support from the Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) will help entities with early planning, best practices, and project management guidance and resources. 
• CDT will continue to oversee approvals and purchasing while making the process clearer, more efficient, and more transparent. 
• State entities will now be able to secure funding and resources as projects move forward through a phased approach, rather than locking in funding and resources upfront. 
• CDT and the Department of General Services will offer more flexible purchasing options—like the Request for Innovative Ideas (RFI2)—making it easier to test new solutions and choose the best fit before committing to a large-scale rollout. 

The PDL is a key part of California’s commitment to smarter, more responsible digital government, aligning with Governor Newsom’s GenAI and with the state’s current technology strategic plan, Envision 2026. By making the project process more practical and adaptable, the state is working to meet the growing needs of the administration, technology partners, and most importantly, California residents. 

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Event questions and answers

Does Google Analytics now track media files even if with no local referral link?

DWSN Member:  Mark Urquhart

DWSN coordinator/presenter: Linda Tracy

Unlike Universal Analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) collects media file (i.e., PDF, word, excel) download information without the need of any extra script. When our team sets up Data Streams for agencies, the File downloads enhanced measurement is automatically turned on by default (by Google). There are a few other “new” measurements GA4 also tracks, we just haven’t had too much time to explore them all yet. Here is the list of “new” measurements GA4 tracks:

• Page views
• Scrolls
• Outbound clicks
• Site search
• Form interactions
• Video engagement
• File downloads

Here are also some references to read a little more on each enhanced measurements:

• Google Analytics Help: [GA4] Enhanced event measurement
• Analytics mania: Enhanced Measurement in Google Analytics 4: The Guide

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Event questions and answers

Do you prefer to use the desktop app or in the browser for Figma?

DWSN Member: I personally prefer the desktop app, but there’s no significant difference between the desktop app and in-browser.

What departments currently use Figma or are in the process of switching?

DWSN Member: The Office of Data and Innovation uses Figma a bunch. We’re fans!

How does the state template differ from the forthcoming “design system”?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: The last version of the state web template is meant to be a bridge to the Design System as well as a research opportunity to help inform the design system.

What contrast and color blind testing/simulators are used?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: We use Colour Contrast Analyser. 

ADA compliance, how do you check your design? EI, which tools, what level of compliance? A, AA, AAA?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: We check our design by using these automated tools and meet WCAG 2.1 AA compliance:

Automated Testing

• Lighthouse
• Siteimprove
• Jaws Inspect
• Colour Contrast Analyzer

Additionally we do Manual testing meeting our checklist requirements using these tools:

• Jaws
• NVDA
• Voiceover

How does the state template differ from the forthcoming “design system”?

DWSN Member: The Design System is more about building a community, a shared language, nomenclature, aligned purpose, and better collaboration across the state. The Design System is going to replace and expand on the state web template as the very latest CA Design Standard including a new technology approach. Also, the DS will drop the bootstrap dependency. V6 of the state web template is going to be the bridge to the DS, providing continuity while the DS is being built and matured

Are these being tested on mobile devices?

DWSN Member: Yes, we do a quality assurance check on these devices.

Training on google analytics? can you help?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: We do have some resources on our Help with analytics page: https://webstandards.ca.gov/help-with-analytics/ If you can’t find what you need, we are always available to help.

Any recommendations on the best way to backup the UA data, in a way that will make it easy to retrieve useful historical data if needed?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: We used excel for the data and pdf for the user flows and graphics.

Event poll responses

How do you feel about the approach of decoupling the State Web Template from its’ website? 4.3/5

Would you use a NuGet package for the State Template if it existed?

Are you interested in using the Starter Website?

Are you interested in using the new Page Patterns? (1-5) 4.3/5

Select the top three, page patterns you would find most useful.

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Event questions and answers

If you provided us with a UA property to use, then is it the optimized paid one?

DWSN Member: We have them running side-by-side at FTB. We noticed the real-time data was far more accurate on GA4 during Tax Day this week. 

DWSN coordinator/presenter: If CDT manages your Google Analytics, yes, it is the paid 360 version.

Anyone know how to move/export custom views from the Standard (free version) to GA4? or know where to get information on this?

DWSN Member: If you’re an admin for your account (e.g., not a sublet from CDT), you can use the migration guide that Google has provided. It’s linked from the “This service is going away” banner when you first open GA. 

Does the broadband initiative happen to dovetail with a smart device/computer distribution initiative?

DWSN Member: Not specifically. But some kind of perfect fit for the state digital equity data system mapping. Talking about what organizations are sharing the initiatives. Departing of aging shared similar program sharing smart devices. 

Are there any plans to produce a pattern for About Us pages?

DWSN Member: Our accessibility team have raised several concerns about how we currently display our Board and Executive Team…but the template doesn’t have anything that quite fits our need…  

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: It is just the starting point. CDT wants to create a whole library that is useful (for web site project or new initiative to grab different legal sets).
We were exploring the executive profile component and would request an executive profile pattern. I know most organizations usually have a dedicated page.

Have these been tested on mobile and devices with less resolution? This screen looks way higher res than the device I have.

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: Larger Font, increased usability and accessibility. We want people to present forms in sequential order. We will be looking to add more web standards/guidance. We are thinking about Form initiatives. We would like to collaborate with you on how you are doing that and opportunities on Forms and Data Collection. 

What does “sequential” mean? 

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: 

Presenting chunks of content to the end user. TurboTax does sequential form design nicely. 

• • Like a form wizard kind of. 

Does it have comment instructions like in the old State Template 5 or is it just code?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: Yes, we are adding more of that in with every release.

What’s the best way to contact your team if we have further questions or want to establish a partnership with your team?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: You can contact us at digitalwebservicesnetwork@state.ca.gov.

Is CDT testing template accessibility using a mobile device?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: We aren’t there yet testing with mobile device. We are trying to integrate. 

Is this certification template available somewhere?  

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: Once we get the updates, we will communicate with you.

What are you using to test the cert?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: FTB is using HTML version. It doesn’t have to be a pdf. 

Are we required to use the new ADA certification language or is it recommended?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: You are not required to use CDT information. We are posting the one that CDT is using. But, it is recommended. 

We went from v5.5 to 6 and not the Design System. Any reason?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: There are different reasons for that. The Design System is in the early alpha stages. Moving to a Design System is a comprehensive approach. V6 of state template is an attempt to fill the gap between when the Design System is fully ready. It will take several years for the departments to adopt a new framework or update the current site.

I would like to see a site where we could share our digital strategies or working documents? 

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: Hoping to create a dedicated Teams space to have async conversations, create different channels and topics.

How do you organize discussions topics in a Team’s channel? And what software do you use?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: For accessibility, we do it by topic. We use Teams, we have a bunch of different channels.

What does the new Design System use instead of bootstrap and jQuery?

DWSN Coordinator/presenter: Design System uses web components and vanilla JavaScript instead of jQuery.

Tableau and Esri have accessibility, privacy, and performance issues. I wonder if anyone is doing anything with D3 or any other lighter weight tools.

DWSN Member: Tableau Server and Desktop can become accessible by customizing the color palette and they have the tab feature for screen readers.