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Workflow Design • Eligibility Logic • UX Writing • Mobile-First UI • End-to-End HCD
Design Story Overview
Requesting or replacing a Social Security card sounds simple — but in practice, it’s one of SSA’s most complex eligibility workflows.
Users fall into dozens of categories:
- Newly married / name change
- U.S. citizens or non-citizens
- Newborns applying for their first SSN
- People living abroad
- People experiencing homelessness
- Users without access to original documents
Before this work, SSA’s guidance was difficult to navigate:
- Scattered across many pages
- Written in technical program language
- Lacked a clear starting point
- Hard to use on mobile
- Confusing for users with limited documentation knowledge
The SSN Card Request Tool was designed to simplify the eligibility journey, reduce confusion, and guide users step-by-step to the correct instructions for their situation.
I served as a UX strategist, content designer, and flow architect, shaping the logic, UI structure, and plain-language experience behind the tool.
1. Problem & Context
The original experience had several challenges:
1. Highly complex policy
Eligibility rules vary depending on:
- citizenship
- age
- name-change status
- immigration category
- presence of original or certified documents
- location (inside the U.S. vs abroad)
Instructions were spread across:
- multiple help pages
- outdated FAQs
- policy manuals (POMS)
- office-specific exceptions
3. High operational burden
Users frequently arrived at field offices:
- without the right documents
- unsure which form they needed
- confused about eligibility
- misdirected for tasks they could do online
4. High-stress, high-stakes task
Users urgently needed clarity for:
- employment
- school enrollment
- housing applications
- benefit enrollment
We needed an experience that was:
- clear
- mobile-first
- personalized
- low-literacy-friendly
- policy-accurate
- accessible
2. My Role & Team
Role: UX Strategist / Content Designer
I led or co-led:
- Mapping the full decision logic
- Translating policy → user-friendly questions
- Designing wireframes and multi-step flows
- Creating mobile-first UI patterns
- Writing eligibility and result content
- Ensuring design system + accessibility alignment
- Collaborating closely with policy SMEs and operations teams
Core collaborators:
- Policy experts (SSN/Enumeration)
- UX researchers
- Front-end developers
- Spanish-language reviewers
- Field office SMEs
- Accessibility and design system contributors
3. End-to-End Design Process
3.1 Discovery & Research
We identified:
- the top reasons people request an SSN card
- the biggest user misunderstandings
- the most common failure points in eligibility flows
Research methods:
- Analytics review (search queries, task funnels)
- Interviews with field office staff
- Review of call-center logs
- Assessment of common user error cases
- Spanish-language comprehension feedback
- Comparative analysis of decision tools (DMV, USCIS, GOV.UK)
Key insights:
- Users misunderstood what “original documents” meant
- Name-change workflows were deeply confusing
- Non-citizen pathways were unclear
- Living-abroad rules were hidden or inconsistent
- Users felt overwhelmed by dense information
3.2 Defining Logic & Requirements
The tool required mapping every possible user scenario, including:
- reason for request
- citizenship status
- location
- documentation availability
- special exceptions
We converted complex program logic into user-centered logic:
- Who are you?
- Why do you need a card?
- Where are you located?
- Do you have these documents?
- What applies to your situation?
This produced a streamlined decision-tree architecture.
3.3 Design & Prototyping (Figma)
Deliverables I created:
- Wireframes for each decision step
- Mobile-first UI patterns
- Question and answer structures
- Document explainer components
- Results-page layout and content
- Reusable components integrated with the design system
UX principles used:
- One question per screen
- Plain language
- Contextual help for documents
- Progressive disclosure
- Error prevention through clarity
- WCAG AA+ accessibility
3.4 Testing & Iteration
We used:
- Moderated usability sessions
- Comprehension testing
- Spanish-language QA
- Accessibility reviews
- Policy accuracy checks
- Error-case walkthroughs
Improvements made:
- Simplified question wording
- Reordered steps based on user mental models
- Added clearer document descriptions
- Strengthened final next steps “Pause Point” instructions
- Improved readability and scannability
- Ensured parity across English and Spanish
Testing confirmed major increases in clarity and task confidence.
3.5 Delivery & Collaboration
I collaborated with:
- Developers (to convert logic → code)
- Spanish reviewers (for linguistic parity)
- Policy teams (for accuracy)
- Operations teams (to confirm office readiness)
We aligned on:
- Valid eligibility pathing
- Content logic
- Error-handling rules
- UI patterns
- Launch timing and review cycles
4. Outcomes & Impact
Clarity & comprehension
- Significant reduction in comprehension errors
- Spanish-language comprehension improved due to rewritten structures
- Name-change confusion dropped from ~60% → ~15% in testing
Operational impact
- Fewer misdirected field office visits
- Better-prepared users (correct documents on first attempt)
- Reduced documentation confusion
- Decreased “What do I need to bring?” call volume
User empowerment
Users reported:
- “finally knowing what I actually need”
- “feeling less stressed”
- “understanding what applies to me”
Figure: Examples of user-centric documentation requests that facilitate task completion on the first contact.
5. Relevance to Institutional Services
This project strengthened my ability to design:
- multi-step, rules-based workflows
- eligibility logic tools
- guided decision experiences
- back-office-optimized processes
- compliance-aligned UI patterns
Direct relevance to Institutional Services:
- Appian-style rule-driven workflows
- Internal operational process mapping
- High-clarity experiences for complex tasks
- Cross-functional design alignment
- System logic translated into user flows
This project is a perfect example of designing experiences that work for users and meet strict regulatory and operational requirements.
6. Final Summary
The SSN Card Request Tool demonstrates how user-centered design can:
- simplify a highly complex task
- reduce operational burden
- improve accuracy
- support multilingual access
- increase clarity and user confidence
Across research, design, logic mapping, testing, and delivery, I helped create an eligibility experience that is clearer, more accessible, and more efficient.
This is the type of workflow-heavy, mission-critical design work I’m passionate about.
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