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Financial Assistance
Benefit Management
Benefit Management
New Public Benefits Portal streamlines and simplifies the financial assistance process for individuals and families in need. Developed on the Salesforce platform, it offers a single, intuitive environment for everything from benefit eligibility checks and identity verification to application processing, payment disbursement, and real-time reporting. Easily adaptable to evolving policies, it leverages powerful analytics to minimise errors, boost efficiency, and ensure critical resources reach those who need them most.
Team
1 Ux Designer, Project Manager
2 Scrum Teams
My Role
UX Research and Usability Testing for end to end Applicant Experience and Application Processing.
Duration
2022 -2024 (5 release cycles)
Project Brief
How might we empower agencies, nonprofits, and their stakeholders to easily determine eligibility, verify identities, and disburse essential benefits while adapting to evolving policies and ensuring compliance through a streamlined solution built on Salesforce Industries’ Public Sector Solutions frameworks?
Elevate the Applicant and Beneficiary Experience by unifying interconnected programs behind a single, modern portal reducing repetitive data entry, boosting public trust, and streamlining the entire application process.
Unify Data and Visibility for caseworkers and clients to rapidly pinpoint errors, ensure accurate benefits distribution, and track important milestones minimising missed recertifications and delayed support.
Safeguard against Fraud and Manual Delays through advanced identity verification, real time system checks, and flexible policy updates. This allows for quick detection of suspicious claims, reduced processing time, and improved compliance.
Project Overview
Benefit Management
Benefit management isn’t just about distributing aid it’s about efficiency, trust, and dignity. Yet, outdated systems create fragmented workflows, manual bottlenecks, and frustrating experiences for both caseworkers and beneficiaries. This project reimagines how individuals access benefits and how agencies manage them making the process seamless, transparent, and human-centred.
By focusing on intuitive UX, I tackled key challenges: eliminating redundant data entry, enabling real-time eligibility checks, and improving caseworker productivity. Every design decision aimed to simplify complexity ensuring clarity, purpose, and empathy at every step. This isn’t just about better systems; it’s about restoring trust in public services and ensuring support reaches those who need it quickly, accurately, and with respect.
90% of public sector
agencies struggle with
legacy systems
The 2023 State CIO Survey by
NASCIO highlights that legacy
modernisation remains a top
priority for state CIOs,
emphasising the challenges
posed by outdated systems.
67% of caseworkers report spending too much time on manual data entry
A Deloitte report titled "Gov on the Go: Boosting Public Sector Productivity by Going Mobile" indicates, without mobile tech, caseworkers spend 50-80% of working hours on admin tasks.
45% applicants abandon benefit appl. due to unclear online processes.
While statistics may vary, Deloitte's 'Government Trends 2024' highlights UX challenges in government services and the need for better digital citizen experiences.
Collaborative Research & Design Discovery
We started by exploring the public benefits landscape to identify where technology could make the biggest impact. Market trends, policy shifts, and gaps in user experience led us to focus on LIHEAP as the first out-of-the-box product for Salesforce Benefit Management. Through a collaborative, multi-phase research process including competitive analysis, expert interviews, and job performer deep dives, we uncovered pain points across both applicant and caseworker journeys. These insights shaped a more accessible and efficient benefits experience.
Research Deep Dive
01
Secondary
Research
The product team conducted secondary research by diving into government reports, public sector trend analyses, and market intelligence from organisations like NASCIO. This helped in understanding agency goals, citizen pain points, and program-level opportunities across benefits like LIHEAP and unemployment Insurance. The research kicked off with a market playback, focusing on identifying the most impactful starting point. Through an analysis of market trends, business drivers, program complexity, platform capabilities, and product vision, LIHEAP was identified as the optimal choice.
Opportunity Landscape
Benefit Management Use Cases
This table outlines the different categories of public assistance programs, highlighting key benefits under each category to provide a structured understanding of the benefit landscape.
Federal Examples
State & Local Examples
Benefit Administration
Top Global Examples
-
Veterans Affair
-
Department of Labor
-
Department of Interior
-
Social Insurance
-
Social Housing
-
Old Age & Disability Insurance
-
Unemployment Insurance
-
Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
-
Emergency Assistance Programs
-
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
-
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
-
Disability Insurance
-
Woman, Infant, Children
-
Tax Credits
-
Unemployment Insurance
-
Supplemental Security Insurance
-
Child Care Subsidies
-
Integrated Eligibility
-
Health and Human Services Platform
Program Complexity
Benefit Management Program Complexity is determined by policy requirements, eligibility criteria, renewal/recertification processes, evidence submission, and case management procedures, including compliance with longer timelines and intricate workflows.
Requires service requirements to be met for eligibility
-
TANF (cash assistance + Job search requirements)
-
Child Welfare (complex case management, light eligibility determination, provider payments)
-
Multiple benefits
with one application and entry point for the applicant + -
Programs that have its own application and processes to determine eligibility & entitlement
-
Multiple benefits (SNAP, TANF,
Medicaid) with one application & entry point for the
applicant -
CHIP
-
Medicaid
Flexible funding source
to allow social service
programming to tailor
to population's needs
-
Liheap - Utilities, Fuel,Heating
-
Standalone programs benefits
-
Programs for Integrated Eligibility
Disaster assistance to get assistance as soon as possible to applicants/beneficiaries
-
DSNAP
-
Flood
-
Fire
-
Emergency Food Assistance Program
-
Emergency Rental Assistance Programs
Policy Requirements
take time to Implement
-
SNAP
-
Social Security Insurance
-
Unemployment Insurance
-
Disability Insurance
-
Tax Credits
-
Child Care
-
Child Support Enforcement
-
Woman, Infant, Children
High
Low/Easy
Medium
Health
Human
Services
Platform
Emergency Assistance
More
complex
program
policy
Includes
financial
& services
assistance
Integrated
Eligibility
Block Grant
Programs
Competitive Analysis
Competitive Landscape
The competitive landscape analysis helped us identify key players in the benefit management space, evaluating their capabilities, focus areas, and gaps to shape our product strategy
Leading CRM / CRM-Adjacent
Solution Vendors
(Social Care, Financial Assistance
Judicial Assistance)
(Social Care, Financial Assistance)
PSS cloud
Niche Solutions on
AppExchange
Circe Case Management
(Social Care)
Exponent Case Management
(Social Care)
Product
Niche Solutions
(Social care & Financial assistance)
Bonterra Eto(Efforts to outcome)
Penelope (social care & FA)
Apricot (social care & FA)
Competitive Feature Prioritisation Summary
This prioritisation matrix distilled our competitive analysis into two categories: table stakes and differentiators, helping us identify where Salesforce must match the market and where we can lead with innovation.
HIGH PRIORITY / IMPORTANCE
Essential capabilities with strong competitor coverage.
-
Decision Explainer Integration (Community Portal & Caseworker Screens)
-
Benefits Disbursement & Budget Mgmt.
-
Batch Redeterminations & Recertifications
-
Intelligent Case/Task Assignment & Checklist
-
Constituent Communication
& Notifications -
Reporting & Data Analytics
-
Multi-benefit Integrated Eligibility
-
Cross-Department Collaboration
-
Provider Management & Verification
-
Auto-population of Intake
Forms & Case Objects
MEDIUM PRIORITY / IMPORTANCE
Differentiating capabilities with moderate competitor coverage, enhanced with unique features.
-
Community Portal & Constituent Identity Verification
-
Constituent Outreach & Engagement
-
Relationship Intelligence & Analysis
-
Offline Capabilities for Field Investigations
-
Integrated Care Plan & Outcome Management
-
Timeline View & Notes Integration
Benefit Management Pain Points
Poor Applicant/Beneficiary
Experience
-
Lack of modern portal UX leads to confusing and duplicating information
-
Public trust declines based on public expectations and organisational performance
-
No single front door for Many of the interconnected programs for citizens
Lack of Visibility into
Timing & Processes
-
No single view of client/beneficiary
-
Inaccurate benefit determination and payment Errors take time to resolve
-
Benefits are not getting to the beneficiaries without insights as to why
-
Reporting changes/recertifying untimely leads to loss of benefits
Processing Delays -
Manual
-
A flood of applications with newly eligible applicants/beneficiaries
-
Legacy back-end with a lot of clicks/keystrokes with siloed systems
-
Losing skilled staff to an attractive employment market
-
Unable to update to the new policy/rule changes in a timely manner
Product Vision
Benefit Management will deliver innovations to empower organisations to transform digital experiences while reimagining integrated service delivery that is person-centred and powered by automation and collaboration to improve lives.
02
Primary
Research
To ground our product direction in real-world needs, we conducted a two phase qualitative research study,
first with policy experts, then with frontline caseworkers. This effort was led in close collaboration with my Product Manager and supported by the research team, who helped coordinate and schedule participant interviews. Together, we uncovered both systemic inefficiencies and day-to-day operational pain points across the benefits ecosystem, ensuring the solution was deeply aligned with the people who shape, manage, and deliver public assistance programs.
Qualitative Research
Phase 1 - Expert Interviews
Building foundational understanding
Identify the overall journey
Identify key challenges and opportunities
Build the foundational domain understanding and generate assumptions
to validate in user interviews
Participant Details
10, Internal + External SMEs
Phase 2 - Job performer study
Discover end user needs & pain points
Identify and validate the jobs to be done for key job performers
Discover their key need and pain points
Identify the potential opportunities
Validate few early concepts
Participant Details
6, Former eligibility workers (all based out
of AMER)
2, Former customer assistance workers/ intake specialist (all based out of AMER)
Phase 1 - Expert Interviews
Our goal was to build and validate our understanding of the journey, key job performers, jobs to be done, and challenges within major financial assistance government programs in the US. Additionally, we aimed to identify potential opportunity areas to prioritise financial assistance capabilities and address pain points effectively.
5 Internal Experts
Rob Bremby
RVP, Sales
Courtney Hawkins
Industry Executive, Digital Transformation
Jim Ritter
Engagement Director
Tiffany Blair
Principal Strategist
Christi Oakey
Industry Strategy &
Go-To-Market Executive
+ 5 External Experts
Health and economics policy advisor
40 years Experience in
Pub sec
P1
Chief Emergency Management Officer
P2
Former Chief of State at Colorado Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing
P3
Former Senior Director IT at State of Indiana
P4
Former Chief Operating Officer at Texas department of state health services
P5
Executive Summary
Financial Assistance
Programs
Each program is unique with few commonalities in eligibility criteria, population base or agency but lots of nuanced variations within those criteria
These nuanced variations create silos
and complexity in program operation
& administration
Journey and Job
Performers
The financial assistance journey is non-linear and includes a lot of back and forth between the citizen and the agency
Key job performers:
Citizen/family, intake specialist, eligibility workers, case workers,
benefit specialist, provider handlers, program admin, auditors/ reviewers
Product Implications
A successful FA tool will need to set the back-end foundation with cross-program/tool integration, ease of flexibility & managing complexity
At the front end FA tool will need features to enable citizen guidance and engagement for application & maintaining eligibility, and creating easy to use tools for workers and citizens
Challenges and Opportunities
Opportunities
Work on ease of use
Silos & disconnected
systems & program structures
Incompetent
complexity handling
Custom and
inflexible tools
Poor tools usability
Agency and citizen
non-engagement
Unified experience for
citizen & worker
Ease of system modifications
Manage & demonstrate
complexity handling
Empower citizen guidance
for application & eligibility
Enable timely & relevant engagement
Lack of citizen guidance
Challenges
5 broad categories of job performers
Citizens
Operation and
Benefit Management
Case Management
Finance
Program Monitoring
Individual or Family
Find and figure out what programs they are eligible for.
Seek support and guidance to apply.
Provide self reported information.
Provide proofs via documents for
self-reported information.
Report changes to self-reported information /new life circumstance
for an ongoing benefits.
Understand how to maintain their eligibility.
Follow-up/ communicate with the workers/ agency.
Intake Specialist
Provide assistance to citizens for their application.
Conduct interviews of the citizens.
Enter data for offline applications.
Eligibility Specialists
Review the submitted information on application.
Review or Determine the eligibility.
Verify all the documentation.
Follow up/communicate with the
applicant from time to time.
Address the discrepancies arising in post-program monitoring/Quality assurance.
Provider Handlers/Licensing
Director
Manage provider payments.
Manage providers compliance needs and licensing requirements.
Case Worker/ Case
manager/Benefits Specialist
Administer the benefits.
Provide assistance and planning for additional supports or services.
Communicate constantly to
understand additional family need.
Create plans for additional.
Financial Analysts
Monitor the overall disbursements for program and providers.
Review and manage discrepancies.
Manage accounting systems.
Program
Administrator/Manager/
Head of operations
Monitor overall operation to ensure program integrity.
Quality assurance for determinations.
Quality assurance for determinations.
External Auditors
Conduct overall audits and reviews.
Authorise for payments/benefits
*NOTE: We conducted the next round of studies to learn in detail, validate these categorizations further, and understand these performers’ Jobs to be Done (JTBD) in depth.
Benefit Management Journey
The overall journey is non-linear and includes a lot of back and forth between the citizen and the agency
*
*
*
*
across different phases
Phase 2 - Job performer study
Goals
-
Conduct an in-depth exploration of the application
processing journey for benefit determination. -
Understand the profiles of the two key job performers
and their associated tasks. -
Identify desired outcomes, needs, pain points, and
potential opportunities within app. processing. -
Validate early concepts related to the application
guidance flow and Constituent 360.
Method
We conducted eight one-on-one moderated interviews with former government workers who had served as eligibility specialists (n=6) and customer representatives (n=2) within the past three years.
Additionally, we held concept feedback sessions with four of these participants. Each session lasted approximately 90 minutes.
Executive Summary
Efficiency and promptness
is paramount
The primary outcome of application processing for benefit management is to complete all tasks within the set timeframes that are defined by benefit program policy.
Maintaining accuracy is
critical
The secondary outcome for application processing is accurate benefit determination through flexible adherence to due process and data validation.
Having visibility for scope
and impact of work
The ultimate success for workers is to comprehend the overall scope of work and understand its impact on constituents. Having clear visibility can provide sense of fulfilment for workers and clarity for supervisors.
From expert interviews we identified-5 broad categories of job performers
Citizens
Operation and
Benefit Management
Case Management
Finance
Program Monitoring
Individual or Family
Find and figure out what programs they are eligible for.
Seek support and guidance to apply.
Provide self reported information.
Provide proofs via documents for
self-reported information.
Report changes to self-reported information /new life circumstance
for an ongoing benefits.
Understand how to maintain their eligibility.
Follow-up/ communicate with the workers/ agency.
Intake Specialist
Provide assistance to citizens for their application.
Conduct interviews of the citizens.
Enter data for offline applications.
Eligibility Specialists
Review the submitted information on application.
Review or Determine the eligibility.
Verify all the documentation.
Follow up/communicate with the
applicant from time to time.
Address the discrepancies arising in post-program monitoring/Quality assurance.
Provider Handlers/Licensing
Director
Manage provider payments.
Manage providers compliance needs and licensing requirements.
Case Worker/ Case
manager/Benefits Specialist
Administer the benefits.
Provide assistance and planning for additional supports or services.
Communicate constantly to
understand additional family need.
Create plans for additional.
Financial Analysts
Monitor the overall disbursements for program and providers.
Review and manage discrepancies.
Manage accounting systems.
Program
Administrator/Manager/
Head of operations
Monitor overall operation to ensure program integrity.
Quality assurance for determinations.
Quality assurance for determinations.
External Auditors
Conduct overall audits and reviews.
Authorise for payments/benefits
*SOURCE: Phase 1 expert Interviews
To deep dive into application
processing, in this study we focussed on these 2 job
performer profiles
Understanding Our Users: Personas
Eligibility specialist
“Being an eligibility specialist, there was no typical day. I am either checking phones and voicemails, making changes, processing applications, or making redeterminations. I have a caseload of between 700- 800 families and individuals. It's just an insane amount of work, not an insane amount of pay, and not much recognition. Literally, we are drowning in casesand if you could stay afloat, it’s a
good day.“
Eligibility Specialist, State of Michigan
Main Job: Process public benefits applications and determine eligibility within the defined timeframes
Goals & Motivations
Jobs to be done/key tasks
• Have a stable job
• Help people
• Complete tasks on time
• Treat customers with respect
• Feel accomplished and
recognised
• Review application info
• Determine eligibility
• Verify docs
• Follow up with applicants
• Address discrepancies in QA
• Authorise payments/benefits
Pain Points
• Overwhelmed by caseload
• Limited time for client empathy
• Managing client engmt. is burdensome
• Manual data entry is tedious and
error-prone
•Struggles to meet application deadlines
• Difficulty judging client-reported
info
• Slow, outdated tech causes delays
• Frequent policy/process changes
• Lacks recognition and accomp.
• No performance visibility
Application Processing - Jobs to be done
Uber jobs
Process an application within a defined timeframe while maintaining accuracy, so that the needy individual or family
could get the benefits quickly
Phases
Renewals/ Reassessments
Assess and Verify
Determine and notify
Manage and Monitor
Intake
Assist in filling and collecting key information & necessary
paperwork from constituents for further processing and
preliminary eligibility
determination/screening
Gather first intake info. via call or in person and communicate next steps
Refer the application to
appropriate worker/regional
or county office
Provide customer assistance to applicants for application
and paperwork
Gather, cross-check and validate the self-reported information by constituent to establish its truthfulness and make right judgement on eligibility
Identify and prioritise app. due soon to determine missing info, paperwork and prepare for further Comm.
Gather or request for all the right info, right paperwork verbally and digitally
Assess the truthfulness of self-reported info. and decide what info. to verify
Validate or cross check info. on income, household, assets, expenses etc verbally and through paperwork
Review and communicate the
full eligibility and benefit
calculation for the constituent to ensure they start getting the
accurate benefits quickly
Review the calculation to
validate the accuracy of benefit
determination by automated
systems
Approve for benefit
distribution
Notify citizens about the eligibility results and next steps
Process the final eligibility
check based on validated info.
and the provided paperwork
Manage and track the benefit
disbursement passively to ensure the constituents are still qualified for the desired benefit
Refer for additional
programmatic services post
approval
Support in conduction of regular audits at federal level or do quality checks manually
Address queries for ongoing case
Re-assess the clients
after a defined timeframe to ensure their eligibility status for the benefits is maintained based on current needs
Determine any changes
that affacts eligibility
Gather the paperwork
for new information
Approve for new
benefits
Communicate or notify about the new changes
before starting them
Review and Revalidate
all the previously
submitted information
Process self reported or
auto-determined change of
circumstance/info. for constituent to reassess eligibility and ensure the accurate amount of assistance is being disbursed
Cross check for any new
changes identified manually
or automatically on the case
Process any new changes reported by the client
Communicate or notify about the new benefit determination before starting them
Micro jobs or tasks
Main Jobs
Application processing journey map
Renewals/ Reassessments
Assess and Verify
Manage and Monitor
Determine and notify
Intake
Getting hold of citizens in call is challenging
Application are not
organised by priority
Managing customer Engmt.
(phone, call, emails,
interview)affects
productivity & efficiency
Manual review of
app. & paper works
is tedious & error
prone
Incomplete applications &
missing required paperwork
Getting up to speed with
unfamiliar case is challenging
Separate systems for doc.
& application management
create a disjoint experience
Making judgements
for the truthfulness
of self-reported info
is challenging
No centralised system for verification
Current Income verification
is most challenging.
Identifying what
verifications to request
for specific info can be
challenging
Explaining abt app. denial
to citizens is challenging
Manual checks & review
required for eligibility
determination
Notices are hard to
understand & missed often
Lack of recognition and
sense of accomplishment
Current Income verification
is most Manual audits are time consuming.
Monitoring & updating
changes in income,
specific household
relationships is hard
Recertification and COC can be a time
consuming and cumbersome process
for complex changes(such as
household or income)
Renewal deadlines are often
missed by citizen
Overpayments due to delay in
processing changes
Pain Points
Feelings
Workflow
Request missing info &
additional docs with deadlines
Make judgements
on truthfulness of
self reported info
Conduct interviews
& collect info.
Program
requires
interview?
Understand
household
structure,income,
expenses etc.
Review
paperworks
Perform
verbal checks
Cross-verify
info form
online systems
(SSI portal)
Schedule & prepare
for interview
Gathering
Assessing
Verifying
Phone
mail correspondence
Review and address voicemails, calls and emails
Yes
No
Review submitted documents
& prepare application.
Review submitted
info & docs
Identify gaps duplicates
& missing info.
Assess preliminary
eligibility
Assist customers and gather
information to fill up the app.
Phone
Communicate the
next steps
Run eligibility check
& review calculations
Notify & communicate
about the result
Approve & Auth.
for benefits
Collect & enter
verification data
for calculation
Eligible
for benefits
Yes
No
Process changes
reported by citizens
Address citizen
queries for benefits
Manual/auto
checks for income
/employment
changes
Support in randomaudit & checks
Collect & do
reverifications for
Info. changed
Notify about
next renewal
Validate
previous info
Continue the
benefit
Restart new benefit from next month
Notify about
the result
COC/info
that affects
eligibility
Begin recertification well
before benefit end date
(policy-dependent)
Yes
No
Renewal Period
Processing timeframe
Benefit Period
t’’
Day 0
t+t’
t days
“If you can get hold
someone on call that is
half the battle won”
“If we can process app.
with least follow ups
and connects that would
streamline everything”
“Are they being truthful in
what they are reporting/saying.
How can we verify a specific
info what is being reported”
“If there is centralised
systems for everything &
verifications are automated
that would save a lot of time”
“You feel sense of accomplishment
when you are able to complete your
task and clients get the outcome
they need or looking for”
“Post-eligibility we don’t touch
the cases unless there are any
new alerts generated or any
new changes being reported”
“Reassessments are a lot easier as
long as not a lot changed, it’s not
challenging, it ia just time
consuming”
A successful application would be completing it accurately in a
short timeframe with the accurate number of benefits issued
Summary: Key Insights and opportunities
Key Insights
Product Implications/Opportunities
High Caseloads:
Caseworkers feel overwhelmed with the volume of applications and tasks.
Implement automated task prioritisation and workload balancing tools to help caseworkers manage their caseloads more efficiently, reducing burnout and improving processing speed.
Complex Workflows:
The application review and processing
steps are often confusing and disjointed.
Develop intuitive, guided workflows with step-by-step assistance to minimise errors and help caseworkers navigate complex cases more effectively.
Integrate disparate data sources into a unified system that provides a 360 deg view of applicant and case data, enabling faster and more informed decision-making.
Data Silos:
Important data is fragmented across multiple systems, making it hard to
get a comprehensive view of cases.
Automate repetitive tasks such as data extraction from documents and validation to reduce manual workload and increase processing accuracy.
Manual Processing:
Data entry and document handling are
time consuming and prone to errors.
Lack of Real-Time Insights:
Updates on application status and
benefit distribution are delayed.
Introduce realtime dashboards and tracking tools that provide instant visibility into application progress and disbursement timelines, helping caseworkers stay updated and proactive.
Communication Gaps:
Reaching out to constituents is
inconsistent, often leading to missed updates or unresponsive applicants.
Implement multi-channel communication strategies (email, SMS, portal notifications) to ensure applicants receive timely updates and reminders, improving responsiveness and reducing follow-ups.
Concept feedback
We also did a concept feedback session with 4 participants (eligibility specialists) where we did a walkthrough of the low-fidelity design to understand first impressions, perceived usefulness and issues.
The learnings from these are categorised as in the above table
Customer Value points in a UI should be retained because of the positive impact.
(Positive)
Highlight
Issue causing major dissatisfaction, not at all useful or affecting workflow
for most participants
(Blocking)
Showstopper
Potential issue that some participants might not find valuable
(Warning)
Issues
Key learnings or insights or results that may merit additional research.
(Neutral)
Data points/Insights
Application processing screen: Homepage
“The top portion, the new apps in process, completed all that speaks to me the most, because I can see what's coming, I know what's due, when it's due. The first thing that I look at is being able to arrange them what is due today, tomorrow, 30 days from now”
-Eligibility specialist, California
Applications categorised by due dates are really
valuable and relevant
Applications completion status is valuable to
provide sense of accomplishment
Ability to quickly identify and prioritise action/task is missing
Workers would like to see info & msgs to feel accomplished for completing applications on time
Ability to determine the complexity of the application(household size/number of applicants) also helps choice of the particular application
Categorisation into new v/s in process may not be
relevant(new v/s renewal can be more relevant)
Having a separate list of tasks can be valuable
Application processing screens: Intake
“Recommended actions kind of helps drive the work with some quality
control”
-Eligibility Specialist, Michigan
“It's great to see the field missing, and more helpful to know the actual details it's missing”
-Eligibility Specialist, Ohio
Ability to view the missing fields with specific field
name was perceived really valuable
Ability to request information via a textthe
message is valuable.
Guidance on recommended action can be useful
from Quality control perspective
A full view of the application with sections should
be easily discoverable
The due date and timeframe of the application
should be available upfront
Ability to set self-reminder to remind future
action/task can be valuable
Ability to take notes on application can be valuable
Ability to quickly get to specific details of different
household member in application can be very valuable
Insights
During our research and analysis, we identified several key challenges faced by both caseworkers and citizens within the benefit management ecosystem. These insights highlight critical pain points related to system fragmentation, eligibility complexities, outdated tools, and communication gaps. Addressing these challenges became the foundation for designing a more efficient, user-friendly, and integrated benefit management experience.
Disjointed Systems and Inconsistent Data
Fragmented tools and siloed data across agencies make it difficult for caseworkers to verify information efficiently, leading to delays in benefit processing.
Complex and Inconsistent Eligibility Rules
Eligibility criteria are often too complex and vary significantly across programs, making it hard for both citizens and caseworkers to understand or apply correctly.
Rigid and Outdated Tools
Lack of flexible systems that can quickly adapt to policy changes results in time consuming manual updates, increasing the risk of errors.
Poor Communication and Notification Clarity
Citizens often miss important updates or struggle to understand what is expected of them due to unclear and inconsistent notification formats.
Caseworker Efficiency Gaps
One of the primary challenges identified was the inefficiency in case management, stemming from manual processes, disorganised workflows, and lack of automation. Addressing these can significantly enhance productivity and reduce workload.
Communication Gaps
Communication between caseworkers and citizens is often inconsistent, leading to missed updates and delayed actions. Clearer and more timely notifications can improve engagement and ensure necessary follow-through.
Product Roadmap
Our collaboration played a crucial role in designing a streamlined benefit management system that simplifies the applicant journey across multiple stages. Through in-depth discovery workshops, we identified key user needs, process inefficiencies, and critical gaps, shaping a solution that enhances both applicant experience and caseworker efficiency.
Unified Application Flow
Eliminates redundant data entry by guiding applicants through a seamless, step-by-step process where information is auto-filled across multiple forms. This reduces drop offs and ensures a smoother onboarding experience.
Smart Eligibility Pre-Screening
Helps applicants understand their eligibility upfront with a guided pre-screening tool that provides real-time feedback on qualifications, reducing errors and increasing application success rates.
Intelligent Document Management
A centralized document matrix allows users to upload, preview, and validate documents in real time. Automated prompts guide them through missing requirements, reducing delays and processing errors.
Caseworker 360° Dashboard
Consolidates all applicant information into a single, easy-to-navigate interface, reducing the need for manual cross-referencing. Caseworkers can view history, pending tasks, and realtime updates, improving efficiency.
Effortless Benefit Recertification
A self-service portal allows beneficiaries to easily update life changes, renew benefits, and receive proactive alerts for required actions. This ensures compliance and prevents benefit disruptions.
Real-Time Application Tracking
Keeps applicants informed with live status updates, estimated processing times, and notifications. This reduces anxiety, eliminates unnecessary inquiries, and enhances trust in the system.
Persona
Barbara
Barbara
Ensures accurate and timely processing of benefit applications while assisting applicants through the system. Helps streamline workflows and reduces processing delays for better service delivery.
Job to be done
Reviewing and verifying applicant information
Processing eligibility assessments
Managing benefit approvals and renewals
Assisting applicants with application issues
Donisha
Individual Applicant
Seeks program benefit information, determines eligibility for herself and her family, and applies for benefits with ease. Ensures compliance by providing necessary documentation and reporting life changes in a timely manner.
Job to be done
Discover and understand available benefits
Determine eligibility for herself and her family
Apply for and receive benefits seamlessly
Provide proof for self-reported information
David
Case Worker
Assists individuals and families in accessing the benefits they qualify for by collecting information, verifying eligibility, and calculating benefits. Ensures applicants receive the right support by maintaining clear communication and addressing additional needs.
Job to be done
Guide applicants through the eligibility determination process
Collect and verify required information for benefit calculation
Ensure accurate and timely benefit distribution
Communicate with citizens to understand additional needs
Provide support for recertification and ongoing eligibility
Application Journey
Key Features
01
Integrated Eligibility & Pre-Screening
This feature leverages Salesforce Business Rules Engine (BRE) to power a guided pre-screening Omniscript, dynamically evaluating responses. It provides real time eligibility feedback and personalised benefit recommendations, ensuring applicants apply only for programs they qualify for.
The Problem Statement
Applicants often struggle to understand eligibility criteria, leading to incorrect applications, frustration, and wasted time for both citizens and caseworkers. The complexity increases due to state specific eligibility variations, causing delays in approvals.
Donisha
Individual Applicant
"As an applicant, I want to quickly determine my eligibility so I don’t waste time on the wrong programs. I need a pre-screening tool that provides realtime feedback and clear next steps."
The Process
Individual Application Creation
Salesforce Business Rules Engine (BRE) powers the eligibility determination process by evaluating Donisha’s responses from a short pre-screening Omniscript. Only eligible benefits are displayed based on key inputs, ensuring a streamlined experience and reducing unnecessary steps.
Once Donisha selects a benefit, the system dynamically loads a modular Omniscript powered application flow, backed by the Salesforce Discovery Framework. This framework stores initial applicant data within the Assessment Framework and generates a Preliminary Application Reference (PAR), enabling Donisha to save progress and resume later.
Upon submission, an Individual Application (IA) record is created in Salesforce. However, application data initially remains within the Assessment Database, awaiting review and validation by David, the Caseworker. Once vetted, the information is transferred to the main benefit database(SF BPO), ensuring data integrity and compliance.
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02
Application Review, Benefit Determination & Disbursement Approval
This feature enables caseworkers to efficiently review applications, validate eligibility, and approve benefit disbursements using a structured, guided workflow. With Salesforce Business Rules Engine (BRE) and Omniscript-powered workflows, caseworkers can seamlessly process applications, ensure compliance, and assign benefits all within a centralised case management console.
The Problem Statement
Caseworkers often face complex, manual processes when reviewing applications, leading to delays, inconsistencies, and back-and-forth communication with applicants. Verifying eligibility against program rules requires cross-referencing multiple data points, while benefit determination demands precision to avoid errors in disbursements. Without a structured UI and automation, caseworkers struggle with disorganized workflows, missing documents, and inefficient communication, making the process time consuming and frustrating.
David
Case Worker
As a caseworker, I want a structured, guided review experience that ensures I don’t miss critical steps. I need instant access to applicant data, automated eligibility checks, and a seamless way to determine and approve benefits all while maintaining transparency with applicants.
The Process
Caseworker Dashboard & Application Review
Salesforce Benefit Management streamlines caseworker workflows by providing a structured and intuitive experience for reviewing applications, verifying eligibility, and approving benefits efficiently. David accesses his Work Queue, where applications are prioritized for review, ensuring he can focus on high-priority cases. With automated eligibility assessments powered by the Business Rules Engine (BRE) and a guided interface that consolidates applicant information, household details, and supporting documents, David can confidently determine benefit eligibility and make informed decisions. The Decision Explainer provides a transparent breakdown of calculations, reinforcing trust and clarity in the process. Once eligibility is confirmed, the system seamlessly processes benefit assignments and disbursements, ensuring compliance and accuracy while keeping applicants informed through realtime updates. By simplifying workflows, reducing manual effort, and eliminating processing delays, Salesforce Benefit Management enhances efficiency for caseworkers while ensuring applicants receive the support they need without unnecessary friction.
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03
Ongoing Eligibility Management & Benefit Adjustments
Once a benefit is assigned, Benefit Management doesn’t stop at disbursement ongoing eligibility must be maintained to ensure applicants continue receiving the correct assistance. Over time, changes in household size, income, or expenses can impact eligibility and benefit amounts. To manage this effectively, Salesforce Benefit Management enables agencies to handle both Recertifications and Change of Circumstances through structured, automated workflows.
Recertification is a periodic process where applicants must confirm or update their information to ensure continued eligibility for their assigned benefits. This process happens at a frequency determined by program rules such as every 6 or 12 months and ensures benefits are being distributed accurately. The system pre fills existing information, allowing applicants to quickly review and update any changes before submitting their recertification.
Change of Circumstance (CoC) is an applicant initiated process used to report major life changes that may impact eligibility, such as adding or removing a household member, changes in income, or modifications in housing costs. Unlike recertification, which happens on a set schedule, CoC updates can be submitted at any time and may trigger adjustments to benefit amounts or eligibility status.
The Problem Statement
Managing ongoing eligibility requires clear, structured workflows for both applicants and caseworkers. Constituents often struggle with confusing, time consuming processes when reporting updates, leading to delays in benefit adjustments. Caseworkers must manually verify each change, reassess eligibility, and ensure compliance with program policies, creating workload bottlenecks. Without automation, recertifications and changes in circumstances can be slow and error prone, risking incorrect benefit disbursements or eligibility miscalculations.
Donisha
Individual Applicant
“As an applicant, I want an easy way to update my information or recertify my benefits, so I don’t risk losing assistance. The system should guide me through what needs to be updated and ensure I provide the right documents without confusion.”
Recertification & Change of Circumstance Flow
Recertification & Eligibility Update
The Recertification Process ensures applicants verify or update key details like household structure, income, and expenses. Donisha receives a recertification notification, logs into the portal, and reviews pre-filled application details. She updates necessary information, uploads supporting documents, and submits the request. The system validates updates and flags missing documents before submission.
David processes the recertification like a new application, verifying documents and running an automated eligibility reassessment using the Business Rules Engine (BRE). If no major changes are detected, the system finalizes the recertification. If adjustments are needed, David updates the benefit assignment and ensures realtime notifications keep Donisha informed at every step.
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Change of Circumstance
Unlike Recertification, Change of Circumstance (CoC) allows applicants to report immediate life changes that may affect their benefits. Unlike benefit specific applications, CoC updates applicant information in the agency entity, ensuring changes apply across all relevant benefits. Once submitted, the system checks for impacted benefits and triggers eligibility reassessment.
When Donisha’s sister moves out and she welcomes a newborn, she submits a CoC request, updating household details and uploading supporting documents. David, the caseworker, reviews the request, updates records, and recalculates eligibility using Business Rules Engine (BRE). If needed, the system triggers a Benefit Assignment Adjustment (BAA) to update disbursements.
By automating eligibility reassessments and benefit adjustments, Salesforce Benefit Management ensures accurate, timely benefits without delays.
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04
CRM Analytics–Powered Workload Management Dashboard
As the Benefit Management product matured, we saw the opportunity to enhance operational efficiency by giving caseworkers and supervisors better visibility into their daily tasks and team performance. To support this, we introduced a Workload Management Dashboard powered by CRM Analytics, built specifically to surface realtime insights and help teams work smarter.
This feature not only allows caseworkers to better manage their assigned caseloads, but also empowers team supervisors to monitor performance, identify bottlenecks, and allocate resources effectively all through a clean, intuitive analytics layer integrated into the existing system.
The Problem Statement
While caseworkers could process applications, there was no clear visibility into task distribution, team performance, or where delays were occurring. Supervisors lacked the tools to make data informed decisions, balance workloads, or monitor service delivery metrics effectively. Tracking performance and program impact relied on disconnected tools and manual oversight.
4 Key Challenges
Fragmented Case Insights
Supervisors lacked a centralised view of total, open, closed, and ageing cases, making it hard to assess volume and workload at a glance.
Unclear Benefit Impact
No easy way to monitor which programs were delivering the most benefits or track distribution across households and individuals.
Bottlenecks in Case Processing
Limited visibility into time spent in each stage delayed intervention and made SLA tracking difficult.
No Visibility into Caseworker Performance
Supervisors couldn’t compare performance or identify support needs, limiting team efficiency and accountability.
Workload Management Dashboard
Powered by CRM Analytics, this solution provides realtime visibility into caseloads, team performance, and benefit trends. Caseworkers track tasks, applications, and personal metrics, while supervisors monitor workloads, bottlenecks, and team efficiency all through intuitive, prebuilt dashboards.
From Standard Template to a Tailored Experience
After validating the flow using a standard template, I transformed the community portal’s visual design by customising the colour theme, fonts, UI elements, and adding illustrations to create a more tailored and engaging experience. This redesign incorporated updates with a CSS framework, focusing on improved visual design while keeping accessibility in mind.
Before
After
Looking Ahead
Building on the success of the LIHEAP application as the out-of-the-box flow, we leveraged the same robust framework and template to develop the Social Insurance flow. This approach enabled us to efficiently replicate the proven structure while adapting it to meet the unique requirements of Social Insurance. By building a flexible and scalable foundation, we ensured that the solution could easily extend to additional benefit programs, streamlining implementation and maximising value for public sector agencies.
Thank you
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