Reimagining Procurement: A Human-Centered Approach to Vendor Selection
Case Study
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
The Problem
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) needed to select the right vendor to bring their online Recreation Hub to life. In 2023, record-breaking demand—52 million park visits and nearly 3 million overnight stays—pushed their outdated, inaccessible online reservation system to its breaking point. Visitors struggled with a difficult booking process, and staff faced an overwhelming number of support calls and inefficient tools.
Without a clear, data-driven way to evaluate vendors, OPRD struggled to find the right solution. They needed a human-centered approach to vendor selection that prioritized the diverse needs of visitors and staff.
The Solution
Anthro-Tech partnered with OPRD to design a human-centered vendor evaluation process for their Recreation Hub.
Visitor and staff personas. Anthro-Tech designed these personas and coached OPRD staff during the usage of them throughout the project.
Phase 1: We interviewed over 1,300 park visitors and 3,500 Oregonians to create user personas and define UX and accessibility requirements for the Request for Proposal (RFP). We also developed an evaluation rubric to ensure vendor proposals aligned with human-centered design principles.
Phase 2: More than 80 OPRD staff participated in interactive demos, evaluating each vendor’s reservation system on key tasks like usability and accessibility.
Phase 3: We conducted usability tests, accessibility reviews, and a scored survey of each vendor’s content strategy.
With this data, OPRD confidently selected a partner to bring their vision of a seamless, inclusive Recreation Hub to life.
The Impact
By applying HCD, OPRD reimagined how government approaches procurement—prioritizing user needs over just technical specs. Engaging thousands of visitors, residents, and staff led to a scalable, repeatable evaluation framework that keeps usability and accessibility at the center of vendor selection.
This approach demonstrates how a human-centered process can add clarity, fairness, and user focus to vendor selection—a model any organization can adopt when evaluating new technology.
Early testing and demos uncovered critical issues before implementation, preventing costly mistakes. Beyond selecting the right vendor for the Recreation Hub, OPRD set a new standard for technology decisions—proving procurement isn’t just about buying software; it’s about creating solutions that truly serve the community.