Case Study

Summary

State unemployment insurance (UI) programs were strapped for resources as UI claims surged during the pandemic, exposing our country’s urgent need to modernize UI. As a result, the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) partnered with two pilot states — New Jersey and Arkansas — on strategic modernization projects aimed at improving claimant experiences. 

The New Jersey Department of Labor (NJDOL) tapped Nava to help build a modern, flexible, and resilient end-to-end unemployment insurance system. One aspect of our work is helping New Jersey build a self-service claimant portal that reduces barriers to accessing benefits and an application programming interface (API) that connects the claimant-facing portal front end to the staff-facing back end.  

Approach

Nava used an iterative approach to help roll out the new claimant portal, which means we directed a higher percentage of claimants to the new intake application with each launch. We started by releasing the application to 10 people, then 25 people, then to 10% of claimants, 50%, and finally to 100%. In between launches, our team triaged and prioritized issues, enabling us to de-risk the portal while building stakeholder alignment. Additionally, our agile methodology allowed us to help NJDOL quickly deliver value to claimants by releasing new features every week. 

Outcomes

In April, New Jersey launched the claimant portal to 100% of standard unemployment claimants, meaning most claimants except for a few uncommon application types. The portal encompasses a new intake application, claimant homepage, and API that delivers claimant data to agency staff. 

The intake application is where people go to apply for benefits. It’s intuitive, allows people to apply for benefits in fewer steps than the legacy application, lets people save and finish their application later, and is accessible on all devices. From the time they begin to the time they hit submit, 50% of claimants complete the initial application in under 28 minutes. Once someone submits their application, they’re directed to a confirmation page that has plain-language instructions on what to do next, contributing to a 20% increase of claimants taking the right next step after submitting their claim. 

People can manage their benefits using the portal homepage, which displays personalized messages about the status of one’s claim. What’s more, the claimant portal is available in Spanish — New Jersey’s second-most common language. 

Most importantly, the API we helped build connects the front-end intake application to the portal back end so that agency staff can easily access claimant data and adjudicate claims. Building the API was integral to launching the new portal to the public. 

Process

When we began this work, another vendor, Truss, had already partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor to design and build the portal front end. Our job was to help New Jersey finish the front-end work, integrate third party applications with the portal, and connect the front end to the back end, where claims are processed, via an API. 

One of the biggest challenges we faced was ensuring that a submitted application would make it from the portal’s front end to the claims processing and mainframe systems on the back end. We then had to ensure that our API triggered the appropriate follow-up tasks for agency staff.

To address this challenge, we analyzed code from the legacy system and worked closely with agency staff to understand the legacy system’s automations. This enabled us to replicate or improve automations in the new system, as needed.  

Throughout the process, we used decision records to align with stakeholders on requirements and to brainstorm how the new system might meet these requirements. Once we landed on a solution, we used the decision record to get official approval on system changes. 

We also helped New Jersey build an automated testing system so that we could quickly and rigorously test each release without burdening agency staff. The end-to-end tests mimicked how claimants and agency staff navigate the UI system. We ran these tests before making changes to ensure the system works for those who need it. Unlike traditional manual testing, which is time-consuming, our approach sped up the process. The tests also generated a gif that illustrated each step of the test, making it easy for NJDOL to validate test results. This cost-effective, scalable, and repeatable approach ensured that every new release integrated with legacy systems so that a claimant could successfully navigate the end-to-end process. 

Finally, we conducted in-person user testing of the new intake application with nine workers in New Jersey. Through this testing, we were able to identify parts of the portal designs that were confusing or unclear. We used our findings from user testing to iterate on the designs, leading to a 20 percent increase of claimants taking the correct next step of verifying their identity after submitting their application.

Conclusion

UI is a lifeline for many, so it’s important that UI systems function for those who need them. In an effort to improve UI delivery in their state, New Jersey partnered with Nava to build a state-of-the-art claimant portal and associated API. The resulting portal is highly usable, accessible, and efficient, contributing to excellent benefits delivery and increased trust in New Jersey and its systems. 

Special thanks to Chloe Hilles for contributing to this article.