THE PROJECT

On behalf of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) led a team conduct research to map an end-to-end view of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) experience in order to:

• Understand the cross channel interactions, people, systems, and processes involved in SSI service delivery

• Identify high-impact customer and employee experience improvements to the overall application process. 

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What are the experiences, needs, and expectations of SSI Customers, and those of the staff & technicians supporting them?

What are the relationships between users, business functions, and systems? What are their interactions across channel touchpoints (ex: phone, online, offline)?

Where do the biggest points of tension/pain exist within the current service experience?

What are the most impactful opportunities within the current service experience?

SECONDARY RESEARCH

Review and incorporate existing knowledge to understand the current landscape and process. 

• SSI application forms 

• Prior subject matter expert interview recordings and notes

• Customer feedback data from SSA surveys 

• Policy documentation 

• Publicly-available articles

• Information on SSA's public website

• SSI content on other public websites

• Agency documentation of technical infrastructure and processes

PRIMARY RESEARCH

1:1 Semi-Structured Interviews 

• 11 SSA staff & technicians that have directly interacted with and supported Customers throughout the process

• 3 Customers managing their SSI benefits 

Visioning sessions 

• 2 sessions to collaboratively identified focus areas and pain points with subject-matter experts

ANALYSIS

Affinity mapping to identify key themes

• Ideation and prioritization with SSA stakeholders and SMEs

Creation of a Service Blueprint to provide a holistic view of the relationships between user interactions, business functions and systems, and to show how individual tasks fit in the context of a broader vision

KEY FINDINGS

• SSA staff were constrained by the patchwork of systems

• The heavy workload on staff slowed overall processing time

• Complex applications confused applicants and led  to mistakes  these complexities also often require staff to consult internal experts as they process applications

• Lack of a streamlined view as a claim moves through the system left claimants feeling lost in the shuffle

• These opaque processes and poor communication led to disconnect and distrust between Claimants and Technicians.