Customer Claims Portal
The research goal: to identify pain points and opportunities for the online claim filing process
Duration
February - April 2023
Methods + Tools
Heuristic Eval / Task Analysis / Remote Usability Tests / UserZoom GO
Role
Research team (6 members)
Client
FPL Home - Sponsored Project
Problem space
Florida Power & Light (FPL) Home is a home protection company that provides coverage to customers who experience power surges that damage their appliances and electronics. Known problem areas with the digital claims process include high percentage of claim process drop-offs, and low NPS scores.
OVERVIEW
Outcome
A multiphase research project including a heuristic evaluation, task analysis, and usability testing. The detailed evaluation collectively identifies pain points and opportunities for improvement to the online claim filing process. Recommendations will inform changes to empower customers to self-serve and ultimately reduce the high volume of support calls, address drop-off rates, and improve NPS scores.
RESEARCH PROCESS
Nielsen Norman’s 4 phase approach to UXR
This four-phased approach classifies research methods into four stages. Though the team was entering the project mid-product cycle, completing each stage of the process ensured alignment with project objectives and goals.
01Discover
Stakeholder interviews
02Explore
Task analysis
04Listen
Post-test questionnaire
03Test
HE + usability test
A multi-phase approach to enhancing the credibility of the overall study
Multiple research methods were employed to triangulate found information. Diversifying user research methods ensures reliable and accurate results by considering multiple ways of collecting and interpreting data. We conducted a heuristic evaluation, and collected both qualitative and quantitative data from participant usability tests.
DISCOVER
Understanding the digital insurance claims process and known problem areas
FPL offers several products to their customers to ensure their electronic devices and home appliances are protected in the event of a power surge. When this happens, insureds file a claim to report and process items under their coverage. The client team has already identified multiple inefficiencies that makes the process cumbersome and lengthy for both customers and FPL representatives.
Known problem areas
⇧ High number of claim process drop-offs
⇧ Increased volume of support calls
⇩ Low NPS scores
How might we simplify the online claims submission process and empower customers to self-serve?
PROBLEM STATEMENT
EXPLORE
Following a walkthrough, the research team conducted a hierarchical task analysis to understand the goals and tasks of the user.
The research team practiced a breadth-first approach when conducting our hierarchical task analysis. Pairing the analysis outcome with a heuristic evaluation, the team identified design details that either facilitated or impeded a user’s progress within a task. The higher number of subtasks for task 2 reveals potential points of friction that could be resulting in the drop-off issue.
TEST
The research team evaluated the digital claim submission process against Bastien and Scapin’s 8 heuristics.
The team conducted individual evaluations, and calculated the average rating for each heuristic on a rating scale of 1-5 (with 1 being the poorest rating, and 5 being excellent). For each heuristic, the team outlined the description, provided the average rating, and an annotated visual of the issue to further support rationale for the rating. This comprehensive breakdown of heuristic issues offers insight into the specific usability challenges we should anticipate while conducting tests with live participants.
Top recommendations
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Follow WCAG guidelines for font contrast and sizes.
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Consider user personas to represent different customer mental models, which account for alternative paths to completing a claim.
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Upon submission of information, indicate specific incorrect values so users can correct them.
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Adhere to a simplified style guide with more consistent font and color choices.
These heuristics were rated a 2 on the ratings scale and have a “high” severity level rating.
RECRUITING
Using existing FPL personas and respective demographic information, the team created screeners to satisfy the needed criteria for each persona.
Common traits across all participants were that they were a Florida resident, owned home insurance, and make insurance purchasing decisions in their household. Differences included age, income, and attitudes toward financial decisions.
The Golfcart Retiree
“We want to enjoy retirement without having to worry about anything going wrong in our home.”
Age: 65-75 | Income: 75k-100k
The Empty Nesters
“We want to play safe and protect ourselves from financial risks as we prepare for retirement.”
Age: 40-60 | Income: 150k-175k
The Futuristic Family
“We are handy, but we don’t want to have to worry about the cost of repairs that we can’t fix.”
Age: 30-40 | Income: 75k-100k
METHODOLOGY
Remote one-on-one usability tests conducted in a single session via UserZoom GO
USABILITY TEST RESULTS
The usability test structure probed for past claims submittal experience, and evaluated key tasks: determine claim type (task 1), upload a document (task 2), and check status of a claim (task 3).
Average interview session:
45 minutes
Average user satisfaction rating:
4.4 / 5
Participants deemed Task 1 as most difficult, with an average rating of:
4.2 / 5
80% of users completed Task 1, while Task 2 and 3 saw a 100% success rate
Average user expectation rating:
3.9 / 5
Though most rankings were generally positive, participant quotes and session observations showed that participants gave fairly high ratings despite struggling with tasks. Thus proving the importance of triangulating findings.
LISTEN
The team consolidated the identified pain points, their frequencies, and qualitative insights gathered from sessions to distill and categorize the issues into three main areas of concern.
SUMMARY
Recommendations
✧ Clearer systems feedback
✧ Utilize visual hierarchy and grouping to support scanning of text
✧ Create a design system with consistent guides for colors, text styles, and components
✧ Revise instructional copy to add clarity and improve understanding
NEXT STEPS
Conducting benchmark testing on known metrics such as process drop-offs, volume of support calls, and NPS scores to track the product’s performance overtime.
Additionally, added usability tests using this same protocol can provide additional metrics based on the defined tasks and allow the opportunity to satisfy all persona groups with a larger sample.