Replacing three tools with one claims system

USDA Forest Service · October – December 2021

Modernizing a legacy legal-claims application so staff could search, manage, and report on claims without outside software.

FederalResearchInformation architecture

Redesigned claims management dashboard with search, filters, and built-in reporting

ClientUSDA Forest Service
My roleUX Strategist and UX Designer
Team4: me, 1 developer, 1 SME, 1 product owner
TimelineOctober – December 2021
Result: One system replaced the outside tools staff used for reporting; time to find a claim fell from >5min to <5sec in testing.

The business problem

Forest Service staff managed legal claim records in a legacy application that couldn't track or report on them. To get financial, geographic, and statistical claim data, they relied on manual workarounds and third-party software.

Slow search and scattered data created bottlenecks in high-stakes legal work.

Who I had to bring along

Claims staff

Fast search and reporting without leaving the system.

Subject matter expert

Legal and operational accuracy across the claim lifecycle.

Product owner

A prioritized backlog the developer could build in 2 sprints.

Front-end developer

Developer-ready specs consistent with the USDA brand.

What we learned

I ran remote contextual inquiries with staff, interviewed subject matter experts, and audited competitor platforms feature by feature.

Insight 01

Staff couldn't find or update claims easily

Evidence: contextual inquiry of daily workflows.

Insight 02

Basic reporting forced people into other tools

Evidence: observed three workarounds tools include excel with marcos and two seperate portals.

Insight 03

Competitors offered custom search and dashboards

Evidence: primary, secondary, and tertiary competitor audit.

Flowchart of the core claims processes — Core claims process flow

Information architecture sitemap for the claims system — Information architecture sitemap

The decision

Considered

Modernize screens one by one

Why it lost: kept data scattered.

Considered

Fix search only; keep outside reporting

Why it lost: the bottleneck stayed at the end of every task.

Recommended

One system with built-in search, reporting, and dashboards

Every task started with finding a claim and ended with reporting on it.

How I got alignment

I turned the research into epics and user stories with acceptance criteria, then facilitated refinement workshops with the product owner to prioritize them. Each user goal was mapped to a business objective so stakeholders could confirm the order. The workshop identified key data needed at each stage of the claims workflow and ensured it is captured upfront.

What shipped

Before

Reports built in third-party tools
No intuitive claim search
Unclear roles, no real-time updates

After

Built-in reporting and data visualization
Real-time search and filters
One flow to import, update, and close claims

I moved from sketches to low-fidelity wireframes to interactive prototypes, then high-fidelity mockups in Sketch, with developer-ready specs.

Low-fidelity wireframe of the claims dashboard — Low-fidelity wireframe

High-fidelity mockup of a claims screen — High-fidelity mockup

Outcome

I validated the design in moderated usability sessions, using a structured research plan and test script. Staff valued search most for its speed and relevance, and responded well to built-in reporting.

5 mins → >5 secTime to find and update a claim

3 → 0Outside tools needed for reportingWorkflow comparison

57% → 98%Task completion on key flowsModerated tests

Usability testing session notes and findings — Usability testing

What I'd do next

Measure time on task in production, not just in testing, and track how often staff still export to outside tools. Then extend the design system to the next workflow.

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