How We Built an Enterprise Licensing System for the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission in 5 Weeks!

When the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) was established in 2016 following the legalization of recreation marijuana in Massachusetts, it was tasked with implementing and administering laws to enable safe access to medical and adult-use marijuana in the Commonwealth. To make that mandate a reality, the agency needed to quickly develop a robust system capable of handling the vast influx of licensing needs within an industry with rapidly evolving regulations. From application collection and processing to issuance of adult-use marijuana licenses, the system needed to be versatile and easy to use.

The biggest hurdle was the tight schedule we had to work with to go live within five weeks. Although the typical time requirement for a project of this scale averaged around six months, we were excited to take on the challenge. Our team began development right away, and although the design and implementation of the system overlapped with the finalization of the licensing regulations, we were nonetheless prepared to navigate the task’s complexity. We leveraged our experience with similar projects and our record of accomplishment along our five-year tenure in the cannabis industry to create a user-friendly and highly adaptive system that would meet the Commission’s expectations.

We used an iterative approach through daily Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions in which we presented working prototypes of the system to our clients. Through these sessions, we collected feedback and improved the following prototypes to match the evolving regulations and business requirements. Driving the JAD process with working prototypes engaged the audience and helped us capture the complex business requirements.

The result was a system with three modules out of the box: internal, external, and public. The three modules work together to supply a comprehensive electronic licensing system that provides easy to use interfaces for the Commission staff, the licensee’s community, and the general public. The system is integrated with a number of other systems including the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, IDEMIA, NCourt and METRC.

Thanks to the diligence of our team and leadership of the Commission staff, we launched on time and on budget on April 1st, 2018. Since launching, we have received a great deal of positive feedback from our client and the user community.

Our clients are our partners, and their success is our success. Discover how arc, our powerful cloud based licensing and enforcement system, can be customized to meet your specific requirements. To see it in action, book a demo today.