UX Evaluation: Disability Application Tool

UX Evaluation and Roadmap

Alaska Legal Services Corporation partnered with UX4Justice to improve the usability of Benefactor, an emerging legal technology related to Social Security Disability benefits.

Social Security Disability Insurance programs provide critical benefits to 10.5 million disabled Americans and their families. Applicants who qualify for disability benefits must first apply, and the application process is complex, confusing, and time consuming, particularly for a population facing significant barriers. The average rate of denial for applications nationally is 67% and has not fluctuated for at least a decade. Moreover, in Alaska, if an initial application is not approved, the chances of approval for an appeal are much lower.

To address this concern, Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC) created Benefactor, a new digital tool that helps guide case managers, social workers, and community navigators through the SSD application process to help them create high-quality applications for their clients that get approved the first time. ALSC developed an early version of the tool and then partnered with UX4Justice to improve the usability of Benefator before conducting a pilot with navigators in Alaska.

In Fall 2022, UX4Justice collaborated with system actors and community members in Alaska to conduct a user experience (UX) evaluation and discovery. The UX evaluation identified actionable opportunities for improving the usability of Benefactor, and the UX discovery built a human-centered roadmap for future product development, legal empowerment, and market growth.

In spring 2023, UX4Justice focused on refining the recommendations for immediately actionable design changes and conducted additional testing to reimagine core functionality and content. Additionally, a marketing study was conducted to better understand the tool’s value proposition and develop potential approaches for a successful product launch.

Research Process

Conducted two rounds of interviews with stakeholders involved in the SSD application process to understand pain points, needs and possible interventions.
Conducted moderated observation-based usability testing with navigators to identify pain points involved in using Benefactor to complete a critical set of tasks .
Dynamic creative ideation resulted in hundreds of ideas, which were prioritized by the research team based on difficulty and impact. ALSC partners provided feedback on the feasibility of ideas, which allowed the team to focus on potential solutions that could be implemented immediately. These ideas were packaged into actionable solutions, and tested with navigators in the community to address potential assumptions.
Insights from prior research drove the design of an interactive prototype that better addressed navigator needs. Iterative redesign and testing of the prototype resulted in data-driven recommendations for immediate redesign of core functionality. Additional features were mapped for later development phases.
The research team conducted additional subject matter expert interviews, ideation, concept tests, and prototype design and testing to continue to refine the recommendations.

Recommendations

The research team organized recommendations into a Now, Next, Later Framework.

This allowed the team for focus on prototyping and testing what needs to be prioritized for implementation now in order to improve the user experience of Benefactor, versus what requires additional research or resources and can be revisited in future phases of development to enhance or innovate the product.

The benefit of prioritizing recommendations using this framework is that it acknowledges not only desirability (user needs), but also technical feasibility and organizational viability. Items that meet all three criteria fall into the Now category to implement immediately into the Benefactor MVP.

Now

Prioritize intuitive functionality and feature-rich help to reduce cognitive load, anticipate questions, and increase user confidence.

These recommendations address critical user needs through design changes that can be implemented into the Benefactor MVP with minimal additional research and development.

Update file setup functionality to reflect a decision tree model that makes choices for customizing each applicant file more transparent and intuitive for navigators.
Make tracking and editing applications clearer with a step-by-step applicant checklist and a relocated and renamed "Back to Setup" button.
Use a "...See More" button for tooltips and "Get More Help" on the tooltip button that links to a new comprehensive Help section that lives in the toolbar.
Add descriptive headings, use familiar terms, and define legal terms when needed

Enhance with new tools to address common challenges that are now handled outside Benefactor.

These recommendations are focused on ways to enhance the user experience through new value propositions based on additional features, functions, and services.

Applicant profile dashboard to manage relevant case information from one place.
Calendar function to make scheduling, planning and deadline management easier.
A way to distinguish in-progress vs. closed applications on the applicant list.
Tool to auto-generate customized Medical Records Request packets for each applicant

Later

Conduct additional research into disruptive ideas to guide future decisions for innovative, human-centered development.

Recommendations that fall into the Later phase of the roadmap are focused on ideas to significantly innovate Benefactor that require further research and exploration.

Applicant-facing features to assist with collaboration and communication.
Public-facing version of Benefactor available for individual use.
Enterprise features such as gamification.
Virtual concierge / AI chatbot.
HIPPA compliance.

Learn More

View Project Brief: Benefactor User Experience (UX) Evaluation and Roadmap

Read Reports: Benefactor Phase I Report and Benefactor Phase II Final Report

UX4Justice Student Leadership Team Takes Home Best in Digital Health Award for Benefactor

The UX4Justice Student Leadership team won the Best in Digital Health Award at Bench to Bedside, Utah's top health care innovation competition. The UX4Justice team presented their work on Benefactor, a digital tool designed to help navigators and their clients submit high-quality, comprehensive applications for Social Security Disability benefits that are more likely to get approved the first time around, getting Americans the benefits they need and qualify for more quickly and easily. The team won a $5,000 award to advance Benefactor’s continued development.

UX4Justice Leadership Team accepting a prize check for the Bench Bedside Best in Digital Health Award

From left: University of Utah MBA student Michelle Shuman, UX4Justice Director Sarah Mauet, University of Utah MBA student Sophie Schwabacher, University of Arizona Law Student Amber Shepard and University of Utah MBA student Troy McIntire.