Elevating the human experience in a time of crisis:

Using human-centered design

to meet this moment
Propelling the country into an unprecedented Given resource constraints, HHS agencies HCD starts from the premise that
health and economic crisis, the COVID-19 cannot simply scale up existing processes individuals’ beliefs, values, feelings, and
pandemic has put significant strain on the to meet this overwhelming need. To deliver ambitions help to determine what those
nation’s social safety net. Spending billions service that can make a real difference people want from organizations that serve
of dollars on programs to save lives and for the individuals and families that have them. When an agency designs, develops,
keep people afloat economically, health and had their lives upended, agencies should and delivers policies and programs, HCD
human services (HHS) agencies and labor shift their thinking, putting the focus on puts people—the individuals and families an
and workforce development programs are the experience they deliver to the people agency serves—at the center of that effort.
dealing with demand for services at volumes they serve. In times of crisis, human- Bringing end users into the design process
most of them have never seen before. Many centered design (HCD) becomes even with public servants and other stakeholders,
individuals and families find themselves more important as a way of targeting designers work to understand customer
interacting with HHS agencies for the limited resources to areas where they needs and then use those insights to
first time ever. can have the greatest impact. improve service design and delivery.
Elevating the human experience in a time of crisis: Using human-centered design to meet this moment

Here we explore the ways in which HHS Another HHS agency used HCD to respond One state used email to survey program
leaders are incorporating HCD practices into to a significant volume of changes being participants about their digital experience
their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. introduced to its programs at a time when applying for Medicaid and food
when resources and timing were tight. assistance. The agency received an
The agency focused on groups that would overwhelming response. Many participants
How can you focus on what’s feel the greatest impact from these offered contact information, allowing
important when everything is changes, including those who would see researchers to conduct more in-depth
their renewal periods extended, those phone interviews. This strategy helped
urgent? Prioritize with data. who would see their premium payments researchers obtain a robust sample, with
During a crisis, government agencies extended, and those who were involved representation from across the state.
should quickly identify actions they can in multiple programs. The agency used this
take that will have the biggest impact. data to map the way information would Another state, while designing a new digital
Combining quantitative data analysis flow when it communicated with clients strategy, wanted to hear from a broad
with HCD techniques, decision-makers about those changes. The map helped cross-section of residents about their
can determine which human needs to streamline communications and create digital needs and experiences. Researchers
demand the greatest focus. a consistent cross-channel experience, engaged a digital market research firm that
especially for people who might otherwise recruits participants online and provides
This principle, for example, helped one be overwhelmed or confused by all the tools for virtual interviews, digital journaling,
state manage a large increase in benefit messages they received about changes and online focus groups. This approach let
applications at the start of the pandemic. to their benefits. researchers collect the information they
Officials hoped to improve service times needed in less than two weeks.
by encouraging more applicants to use
online self-service tools to submit their How can you bring in
applications. Unfortunately, many clients
the human perspective
who started their applications online
abandoned the process before it was
during isolation? Engage
complete. Marrying web analytics data with citizens digitally.
client feedback, researchers determined The HCD approach aims to develop
that the screen with the highest rate of solutions that are viable for the provider’s
abandonment was the final submission organization, desirable for users and other
screen. After entering all of their data into stakeholders, and technologically feasible.
the application, nearly a fifth of applicants To find this point of intersection, designers
were not taking the final step to submit. often rely heavily on field interviews, focus
groups, observations, and workshops. As
Focusing on that last screen, analysts the pandemic has made physical interaction
discovered an opportunity to improve the all but impossible, many designers have
user interface. While a toolbar at the top of quickly expanded their toolkits to include
that screen told users that their applications more digital methods. Not only can those
were 100 percent complete, users actually methods promote safety, but they can also
still needed to “submit” their applications help researchers reach underrepresented
by clicking a button at the bottom of the populations in remote locations and can
screen. Some users skipped scrolling down eliminate the time and expense usually
far enough to discover that button. It took devoted to travel.
only a few hours of analysis and discussion
to locate and improve the design, helping to
prompt more clients to successfully submit
their applications online.

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Elevating the human experience in a time of crisis: Using human-centered design to meet this moment

How can you get to better How can you determine Another agency used an experience
management tool to capture feedback from
solutions faster? Prototype if people are able to use
users of its public website. By adjusting a
and test often. your programs effectively? few keywords in its analytics tool, the agency
Typical design workflows move from Measure impact. easily automated the export of comments
ideation to prototyping to testing. But Given the speed with which government related to COVID-19. Those comments
when an agency needs to move quickly to agencies are forced to introduce new helped task force stakeholders better
protect citizens’ well-being, it can use rapid HHS programs during the COVID-19 crisis, understand how customers perceived the
prototyping to reach better solutions faster it is reasonable to expect that many agency’s response to the pandemic and
while minimizing risk. In rapid prototyping, initiatives will need to be refined after monitor users’ changing digital needs.
developers can quickly mock up solutions they are launched. Voice-of-the-customer
and then validate them with a broader feedback channels can provide cost- As governments grapple with how best to
group of users and/or stakeholders. The effective early warning signals about how serve their constituents throughout this
goal is to create low-fidelity designs, using well new initiatives are performing. By crisis, it is important to stay connected with
paper sketches and wireframes, to improve establishing feedback loops and impact the actual human experience. HCD offers
a service before it is fully deployed. Public targets up front, government leaders can a philosophy, along with practical tools, for
sector leaders and decision-makers can discover both pain points and gain points maintaining that connection and delivering
evaluate a prototype’s performance during and quickly learn what adjustments they solutions to individuals and families looking
usability testing and then decide whether may need to make in their programs. to the public sector for support to get
to move toward implementation. Properly through these difficult times.
used, rapid prototyping can speed the
design process by swiftly gauging how well Properly used, rapid prototyping can speed the design
new solutions will serve the customers for
whom they are designed. In times of crisis, process by swiftly gauging how well new solutions will
rapid prototyping can help agencies quickly serve the customers for whom they are designed.
deploy new solutions without degrading the
citizen experience. In times of crisis, rapid prototyping can help agencies
quickly deploy new solutions without degrading the
One state that wanted to evaluate new
methods for communicating policy changes citizen experience.
used an existing videoconference solution
to engage with constituents. Doing so After it introduced a new case management
helped researchers assess where people system, one HHS agency used postrelease
were struggling with the new materials. surveys to gauge user satisfaction and ease
Researchers could also talk with users about of use. Open-ended feedback provided
aspects of the materials that worked well for rich insights into the features that were
and aspects that needed to be changed. shaping user experience. The development
Over two iterations, developers were able team used this information to prioritize
to improve readability and comprehension enhancements into the weekly production
by 40 percent. support releases. These small, quick-win
opportunities significantly improved the
user experience. In addition, developers
gave the caseworkers who used the
system a voice in its design, resulting in
higher user satisfaction scores after each
release of the system.

3
Elevating the human experience in a time of crisis: Using human-centered design to meet this moment

Amy Freckmann is a specialist leader in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s

Customer Strategy and Applied Design practice. Her human-centered
design teams work with state governments to improve service delivery
and create modern experiences for constituents. She can be reached
at [email protected].

Tiffany Dovey Fishman is a senior manager with Deloitte’s Center

for Government Insights. Her research and client work focuses on
how emerging issues in technology, business, and society will affect
organizations. She can be reached at [email protected].

Jordan Schneidman is a principal in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s

Government & Public Services practice. He has more than 15 years of
experience leading technology transformation programs for human
services organizations. Throughout his career, Schneidman has led the
innovation of solutions and offerings in the areas of human-centered
design, service delivery modernization, and digital technologies.
He can be reached at [email protected].

Shelly Metschan is a managing director in Deloitte’s Government and

Public Services practice, bringing more than 20 years of experience as
a technology transformation leader and more than 15 years focused
on the state, local, and higher education industry. Her work includes
the implementation of large statewide applications, business process
reengineering efforts, contact center implementations, and human-
centered design. She can be reached at [email protected].

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