Appeals Electronic case system

OneSpring worked with a large government agency on a proof-of-concept to redesign an Appeals electronic case transmittal system. The existing system had critical problems. The previous requirements gathering process led to misunderstandings and rework. As a result, the Appeals system was difficult to navigate, overly complicated, had a rigid user interface. In addition, the project had been delayed many times and was over budget. The project would be cancelled if usability was not significantly improved.

 

The objective of the proof-of-concept was to validate that using visualization in software definition creates application designs understood by business and development teams (reduces re-work), drives the creation of innovative, user-driven applications (increases usability) and delivers significant ROI to the agency (faster application development).

 

OneSpring facilitated two JAM Sessions™ with a team of Appeals subject matter experts (SME). The existing Appeals system was redesigned via visualization and a prototype system was produced. The prototype was then tested for user acceptance and presented to the Appeals executives and developers.

 

Within those two sessions we helped the Appeals team define their current state and business goals. There were many opportunities for improvement identified. The business goals established included the ability for users of the system to complete form quickly, accurately and with minimal training. Usability and requirements metrics were also established around concepts such as learnability, effieciency, memorability, error handling and satisfaction.

 

With that information in mind, the team began documenting basic process flows for the system. The process flows were developed interative based on the dynamic discussions and debates of the SMEs.

 

Once consensus was gained on process flows, visualization of the application began in real-time. The Visualization Designer created every aspect of the system to the exact specifications of the SMEs in a very rapid, iterative and highly productive session. The system the SMEs had envisioned for years came together right in front of their eyes.

 

The design utilized the existing functionality of the system wherever possible to reduce rework. While the approach was unique, it generated no change requests from the originally gathered requirements. The visualization was then tested for usability by an Appeals employee who was not involved in the session. The employee was able to complete the task on the visualized system quickly with minimal guidance.

 

When compared to the traditional way in which software requirements are typically gathered, the time spent gathering requirements went from months and years to hours and days. The use of OneSpring's approach enabled rapid, iterative development and concensus of business requirements. It allowed SMEs to agree on every aspect of the design. It also accelerated the design process and created a simple, efficient application. The produced business requirements were clearly understood by the developers. Had this approach been used from the very start of the original project it would have saved Appeals months of re-work and created a superior application.

 

Contact us today to learn how we can help you with your project, no matter what the size.

 

Project description from USASpending.gov