Online Service Redesign for Vulnerable Populations
Client: Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
Challenge:
ISC knew that the Indian Status Card application process was not performing well, creating frustration and disengagement among Indigenous users, undermining service delivery, and increasing support costs as users tried to find answers.
Services Provided:
Jumping Elephants developed a research-based approach, which focused on understanding Indigenous users and their needs, defining the problems, developing possible options, and then proposing new navigation and wireframes. The specific research and design activities included:
A heuristic analysis
Moderated interviews covering 10 categories with a total of 34 questions
Stakeholder interviews to reveal a range of attitudes towards end-users and preferences for the status quo. Usability interviews were also conducted to gain a deeper understanding of how to better the user journey and the current performance score
Curated prototype testing
Multiple stakeholder presentations throughout the project, client mentoring, and end-of-project consultation
Although Jumping Elephants has worked with vulnerable populations on several projects, in this case, the situation was particularly important, delicate, and required a special level of care and consideration at all phases of the project. We were proud to be involved in such an interesting project, but also aware of how important it was for our participants that we needed to get it right.
Results:
The evidence-based approach generated several important insights that were then incorporated into the final information architecture and solution design. The new concept provided ISC with a clear understanding of their users, as well as some specific next steps for improving the design and delivery of the Indian Status Card.