{
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  "@id": "https://www.vidyasource.com/blog/modernizing-online-passport-renewal-vidya-success-at-the-state-department/",
  "url": "https://www.vidyasource.com/blog/modernizing-online-passport-renewal-vidya-success-at-the-state-department/",
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  "headline": "Modernizing Online Passport Renewal: Vidya's Success at the State Department",
  "description": "Vidya helped develop the architecture for Online Passport Renewal, which is now live in beta at the State Department.",
  "datePublished": "2024-07-29T00:00:00.000Z",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Neil Chaudhuri",
    "jobTitle": "President",
    "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-chaudhuri/",
    "sameAs": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-chaudhuri/"
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  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://www.vidyasource.com/#organization"
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  "image": "https://www.vidyasource.com/img/blog/passport.jpg",
  "keywords": [
    "Partners",
    "Government",
    "Project Management",
    "Agile",
    "Programming",
    "Testing",
    "Continuous Delivery",
    "Open Source",
    "Accessibility",
    "APIs",
    "AI"
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  "articleBody": "In an era where digital transformation in government is paramount to deliver the most value to customers in America and around the world,\nVidya has played a major role in modernizing crucial government services. Our collaboration with the United States Department of State's\nBureau of Consular Affairs has provided new opportunities for efficiency, user experience, and technological innovation.\n\n## Transforming essential services\n\nThe Bureau of Consular Affairs provides essential services for customers worldwide. Here are just a few:\n\n- Issuing Certificates of Birth Abroad (CRBA) for children born to American parents overseas\n- Processing visas for international visitors\n- Providing passports for U.S. citizens embarking on global adventures\n\nTo provide these services over the years, the State Department has constructed an elaborate\nsoftware and data architecture to automate as much as possible. As all large organizations inside and outside\ngovernment understand, it is critical to invest in modernization to improve\nuser interfaces, performance, and security and ultimately make the user experience as efficient and intuitive as possible for both\nState employees and customers.\n\n## The modernization challenge\n\nIn 2019, Vidya joined the most recent modernization effort as software architects. Anyone who has worked on large-scale modernizations\nknows they aren't just about updating a few lines of code. Modernization is about reimagining entire systems while ensuring uninterrupted service delivery\nto customers who depend on it.\n\nFor those less familiar, there are techniques like [feature flags](https://martinfowler.com/articles/feature-toggles.html),\n[blue/green deployments](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/latest/overview-deployment-options/bluegreen-deployments.html),\nand [canary deployments](https://cloud.google.com/deploy/docs/deployment-strategies/canary). You probably know Martin Fowler\nas one of the signatories of the Agile Manifesto, and it seems like half his website is dedicated to modernization with\ndiscussions of [seams](https://www.martinfowler.com/articles/uncovering-mainframe-seams.html) and\n[integration](https://martinfowler.com/articles/cant-buy-integration.html) among many other related topics.\n\nOn top of technology, it is essential to create a culture of innovation with disciplines like product management, continuous deployment, and organizational psychology. For all these reasons,\nmodernization is one of the most challenging feats in our field.\n\n## Pioneering success: eCRBA and Online Passport Renewal\n\nOur first major triumph was the launch of eCRBA, streamlining the process for American parents to obtain birth certificates for their children born overseas.\nThis service has been a game-changer, offering unprecedented convenience and efficiency.\n\nThe crown jewel of our modernization efforts, Online Passport Renewal (OPR), is now live.\nThe most recent analysis of OPR revealed some welcome accomplishments:\n\n- Processing thousands of passports daily\n- Boasting a remarkable 97% customer satisfaction rate and 80% increased trust in government\n- Generating neutral to positive social media sentiment\n\nDon't just take our word for it! Sean Hollister at The Verge had a [good experience with OPR](https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/3/24190366/us-passport-online-renewal-beta-fast).\nForbes Magazine [highlighted its innovative approach](https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/06/12/online-passport-renewal-launch-how-does-it-work-am-i-eligible-united-states-/) as well.\n\n## The road ahead\n\nWhile we at Vidya celebrate these milestones, we're far from done. There is much more work to do:\n\n- Scaling up OPR to handle full production workloads\n- Modernizing additional State Department services\n- Continuously refining and optimizing our solutions\n\nThere may be even room for AI here, but as urgent as it is to promote safety in AI in general, it's infinitely more\nso for government systems. We will need to explore how to maximize safety and explainability while minimizing hallucinations and\ntoxicity to protect our customers because AI vendors themselves will not.\n\nWhether it's AI or any number of other innovations we have in mind, we look forward to working with the State Department to see how we can\nbest leverage their capabilities for our mission.\n\n## Your partner in government modernization\n\nAt Vidya, we don't just build software. We revolutionize processes. We enhance user experiences. We even bring a touch of humor to even the most complex projects.\nOur success with the State Department is just the beginning.\n\n[Join us](https://www.vidyasource.com/contact/) as we continue to push the boundaries of what's possible in government modernization. With Vidya, the future of streamlined, efficient\ngovernment services is not just a possibility. It's a reality we're creating every day."
}