New York Unemployment
Online Enrollment
Designing an easier, faster, and more friendly online enrollment experience for New York unemployment benefits
ROLE
UX/UI Design, UX Research, Brand Design
Project Overview
Problem
While facing the stress of being out of work, many New Yorkers find the online enrollment process for unemployment benefits to be confusing and demeaning.
Confusion and stress over eligibility and the application form lead them to delay their enrollment, ask for help from NY Department of Labor personnel, and generally feel unsure about the process.
Solution
A mobile-first online enrollment experience that:
Makes users feel supported and dignified
Is responsive across devices, increasing accessibility
Provides information and instructions in a clear and accessible way, reducing user error and need for help
Create a new visual identity for NY.gov that embodies New York and builds trust and ease into how users interact with state government services
NY.gov is the state government website where New Yorkers can access government services
Personal Takeaway
This project tapped into a mode of working that’s very fulfilling for me. It was inherently hopeful and about creating something that helps meet people’s most basic needs.
Why mobile-first?
83% of Americans own smartphones and 25% of low-income households rely on a smartphone for internet access. (Source: Code for America)
Designing for mobile ensures 1 in 4 Americans are not kept from accessing important services just for lack of a computer. It also adds another, intentionally designed, point of access for everyone.
Process
Research
Goals
Better understand the context and needs of New Yorkers who are applying for unemployment benefits online
Discover best practices for designing government enrollment processes by looking to similar projects across the US
Identify common pain points in the current process
Understand what would make the process feel easy and welcoming on mobile devices despite its complexity and many people’s negative expectations of interacting digitally with government services
Primary Research
I analyzed the current ny.gov website and online unemployment benefits application to better understand the enrollment process, how information is presented, and the content, terminology, and structure of the application form.
Secondary Research and Competitive Analysis
I reviewed reports and case studies by leaders in the field of designing online government processes and pulled valuable points of guidance that were relevant to the goals of this project.
Methodologies
User Interviews and Survey
The survey and interviews were done with New Yorkers who have applied for unemployment benefits before.
An early survey revealed that figuring out eligibility and completing the application were the most difficult aspects of their experience
A series of user interviews allowed me to better understand their mental and emotional journey through the process, and dive much deeper into the key problems that surfaced
The interviews included a mini-usability test of the current website and application form to observe how people respond to the information, instructions, and application questions
An affinity map helped reveal patterns and common pain points noted in the interviews, from over-arching ideas about
interacting with government services to the intricacies of the New York unemployment benefits application.
Interview Insights
Getting lost on NY.gov —
Where’s the front door?
Many participants get lost on the ny.gov website due to its navigation and the multiple pages about unemployment benefits
Many also had trouble finding the entry point for the application, feeling that links and buttons led them in circles
Needing to create or sign into an account before getting to the form was a confusing extra step
Expectations of government websites —
Outdated and not mobile-friendly
Most will do “official” processes like this on computers because they expect it will be tedious, and require researching terms and rules, and going through a lot of information
All expect government sites to be outdated, poorly designed, densely packed with information, and not made for mobile
Lack of context and guidance —
Never fully understanding the process
Nearly all felt generally unsure if they were doing things correctly or answering “correctly” because the intention and implications of questions and answers were unclear
Nearly all participants felt they didn’t understand the overall process, including key aspects such as what to expect after submitting their application
Language that feels “demeaning,” “high-stakes,” and “confusing”
All participants negatively described the language at some part of the process
Nearly all were confused about terms in the application specifically, noting even familiar terms felt unclear when they didn’t know what the question was trying to get at or how the government defines the term
Patterns that appeared in my research and interviews led me to create both
a primary (above) and secondary persona
Information Architecture
Simplifying the current user flow and removing roadblocks
Removing the account requirement
The current system requires users to create a NY.gov ID account to access the online application. This creates an added barrier in the first step of the application process.
I removed this requirement while still giving users a way to identify and access their applications. An account is only required if their claim is approved and they want to manage their benefits online.
Users begin at the site’s informational page about unemployment benefits and can go straight to the application or use an Eligibility Questionnaire to check eligibility before applying
Consolidating information and the entry point to the application onto one page
This information and the entry points to the application currently exist across four pages on the existing ny.gov.
Responsive Wireframes
Making information easy to skim and digest
To ease the experience of consuming and understanding a large amount of information, I:
Edited and reformatted copy into skimmable sections and emphasized important details
Included in-page navigation on the landing page that appears upon scrolling
Restructured application questions that users noted as confusing or unclear
Made numbered sections for the application form to clearly communicate length and remaining sections so users always know where they are in the process
UI elements to provide clarity, ease, and visual relief
Iconography to make terms, sections, and actions more clear, and to create a more friendly overall experience
Accordion elements to offer explanations of nuance and provide answers to common questions without making a user lose their place
Clear, prominent buttons that make navigation clear and use consistent language
A New Visual Identity
Meant to feel more like a New Yorker helping you navigate the subway than a list of rules and procedures
As a key point of access to critical public services, NY.gov needs to embody New York’s bold spirit while instilling a sense of trust, clarity, and support.
Research insights informed the visual identity, from deciding which icons were necessary to experimenting with how color could help counteract the feeling of being overwhelmed by information.
I created UI elements designed to make interactions as easy, error-proof, and reassuring as possible.
Prototype, Test, Iterate
Round 1: Testing early to get initial insights before going high-fidelity
An early round of moderated usability testing with a wireframe prototype allowed me to understand how users responded to the new presentation of information and new application form.
Areas of Interest:
How comfortable do users feel completing this complex and official form on a mobile device?
How confident do users feel in how they’re completing the application?
How much do users understand the process? Are they getting too little or too much information?
The good news
Behavior change: Before testing, most users strongly felt they needed to use a computer to apply for government services, but all participants said they were open to completing this enrollment on a phone after completing the test
All participants had an overall positive experience, noting it was easy to use and most things were clear
Most said they were put at ease by the added “help text” and new progress bar
Users liked seeing other suggested benefits programs, noting they weren’t familiar with some of those listed
Enduring points of confusion
Most users still found one or a few questions confusing due to question structure or terminology
The amount of information and questions still felt like a lot to digest in one sitting
Round 2: Testing at High-Fidelity
Revisions from the first round of testing were incorporated into high-fidelity mockups for a second round of testing. I ran moderated usability tests on a high-fidelity prototype with 5 participants.
The good news
Behavior change: Similar to the first round of testing, most participants initially had a strong preference for using desktop with a process like this, but all were open to doing it on a phone after completing the test
All participants had an overall positive experience, with many describing aspects that made them feel reassured and like someone was there to help them
Nearly all noted that the branding was clear and friendly, and that the overall design feels made for mobile, giving them reassurance that they are seeing everything they need to see
Remaining pain points
Nearly all noted that the rules and instructions for when to file were confusing and nerve-wracking
Nearly all misunderstood what a NY.gov ID was because of the name—many thought it was something “official” issued to New Yorkers, not an online account
Revisions
Removing another roadblock —
Let users apply as soon as they lose their job
The current process restricts when users can apply based on hours worked and money earned in the week they want to apply. All participants found the structure of these rules difficult to understand.
In early interviews, this sometimes caused situations of “being turned away at the door” when users prepared to apply only to realize they had to wait a few extra days.
My design proposes allowing users to apply as soon as they lose their main source of employment and meet other eligibility requirements. If they have earned money or worked any hours that week, their benefits would be adjusted as they would normally be, but those factors do not dictate or complicate the act of applying.
New forms of feedback for added reassurance
To show users their information is being saved as they go through the application, a “saving” status would further communicate that information entered by a user has been saved.
A small, but useful change in terminology —
Changing “NY.gov ID Account” to simply “NY.gov Account”
Testing revealed the association of “ID” with state-issued IDs is nearly unavoidable for users in the mindset of completing a government form. Removing it from the name helps ensure users understand what a NY.gov account is.
Next Steps
Conduct a new round of interviews and usability tests with participants who are actually in the situation of wanting to apply for NY unemployment benefits
Prototype and test the Eligibility Questionnaire feature which many users said would be really helpful and something they would have used before beginning the application
Research and interviews geared toward the visual identity
Prototype and test the application for use on desktop devices
Reflection
This project tapped into a mode of working that’s very fulfilling for me. It was inherently hopeful and about creating something that helps meet people’s most basic needs.
It also presented meaningful challenges like making people feel comfortable talking about the stressful and very personal experience of losing their jobs, and navigating what is usually a tense and private moment in their lives.