Integrated Eligibility System Front Door Strategy

Overview

Product Description

An integrated eligibility system (IES) is a platform that allows state residents to discover and apply for various social programs through one application. It allows people access to the many benefits they want and many they may not know they were eligible for.

Project Background

In the past, information and access to New York State social programs were siloed between different state agencies and even between individual programs. This “any door strategy” was thought to make it easy for residents to find what they need. However, it was found that there were inconsistences in what information was provided, residents had to fill out multiple applications to get aid, and many people were uncertain as to what they were even eligible for.

My team was tasked with developing a “front door strategy” that would ease the stresses related to applying for benefits. I was tasked with mocking up example screens and flows that would best represent the potential a fully developed integrated eligibility system could have.

My Roles:

Storyboarding, UX Design, UX Writing, UI Design, Wireframing, Prototyping

Tools Used:

Figjam and Figma

Design Process

Defining the Problem

Our goal for this project was to create visuals to help us articulate the what, why, and how related to IES. Since our main deliverable was to be a slide deck presentation, the team took time to determine what was most important to include, the order of the slides, and the scenario featured on the slides. We decided that the ideal flow would show what life situations may bring residents to NYS websites, how they’d interact with NYS systems such as NY.GOV, and what new features would help them reach the goal of receiving state aid. This flow helped define what screens I needed to create and what ideal features were to be highlighted in the presentation.

Comparatives

We looked into different ways eligibility is calculated for different programs and services throughout the state agencies. New York State myBenefits and NY.GOV services website both presented residents with questionnaires that included question about their backgrounds and needs. At the end of both questionnaires, residents would be presented with long lists of benefits they might be eligible for. The NYS Office of Child and Family Services questionnaire on child care assistance was also used as an example for the project. Each of these “doors” into figuring out eligibility lacked a way to easily share or save results. They also lacked a way for users to track what they have already applied for and their application statuses. We also looked into what other examples of front door strategies existed and found some comparatives such as NYC Access and Social Security Benefits Calculators that were useful for reference.

Mockups

Lo-Fidelity Mockups

The team decided that there were six categories of screens needed to convey IES’ potential. In Figjam, I mocked up a landing page, sample eligibility calculator screens, custom eligibility list screens, a status dashboard, and ways for permission to be given for data portability.

The landing page features icons representing different services and needs people may come to the website for as well as CTAs for the eligibility calculator and for an application for the most common benefits, SNAP, cash assistance, and Medicaid.

The unified eligibility calculator features questions that gather enough information to determine what benefits and services might interest the resident/user the most.

The custom eligibility list provides users with information about what benefits may work for them and their life situations. This screen also provides them with the opportunity to save and return to the lists at a later time.

The status dashboard was designed to be a place where users could gain information about what benefits they applied for and the status of their applications. It is also a place where they can find recommendations for services they may be interested in.

To reduce the need to reenter information, there was a need for a system to share data between New York State agencies and program applications. Data portability screens that ask for permission to share data and the inclusions of a button to pre-fill applications were mocked up to fill this need.

Hi-fidelity Mockups

We iterated on the lo-fi mockups and made changes based on the scenarios that we were developing in tandem with the prototype. I designed the user dashboard to be a place where residents could check on the status of applications and find the service that are recommended to them or that they have indicated they are interested in. This screen changes based on whether the user is new or has interacted with the IES features before. New users are presented with a CTA that leads to the eligibility calculator.

The eligibility calculator was kept simple with only one question per screen to slowly walk the users through the questionnaire.

After completing the eligibility calculator, users are presented with a list of benefits and services that they may be eligible for. They have the option to save this list to their account if they are logged in or email it to themselves. The services that they mark their interest in, will be displayed directly on their dashboards.

To increase visibility of the eligibility calculator and to inform users of other similar services, we made a template for the individual program and services pages. These pages will all have a CTA for the questionnaire and links to benefits the user may want to check out.

To make it easier for users who may have to fill out multiple applications, we added the option for data to be ported for one program to another. Adding the option to pre-fill the application reduces the time and effort needed to get aid.

Next Steps

This project was a unique opportunity to think of the best and most ideal ways to present state services, benefits, and programs to residents and users of NYS products. The mockups were featured in a presentation shown to executives and the ideas were welcomed. Next steps on this project would include complete the full flows and making screen templates to be used throughout the many state agencies and programs. There may also be a need to design specific agency website pages and program CTAs to fit this designs of IES. From there, testing with users for more insights would be necessary to further improve this concept.