Start with the St. Stephens service area, not a generic software brief
St. Stephens is recorded as a census-designated place in Catawba County, North Carolina. The 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year population estimate is 9,457, with a margin of error of 913. That figure describes the place; it does not establish legal demand, case volume, search behavior or revenue. For a firm serving St. Stephens, the useful local question is operational: which people, matters and service areas should the proposed tool cover, and which activity belongs outside that scope? A clear geographic definition prevents a local service page or intake process from quietly becoming an undefined statewide system.
Recommended approach
Bring a written description of the communities and matter types the firm intends to serve. Use the consultation to decide whether location should be a field, a routing rule, a reporting dimension or simply part of the firm's public messaging. Do not treat the St. Stephens population estimate as a forecast for software usage.
