About Prosperi-Key
Prosperity Digital Marketplace (PDM) is a small tech startup and a subsidiary of United Way Western Connecticut. PDM's digital platform, Prosperi-Key, connects households living paycheck-to-paycheck with businesses and nonprofits in their community who want to help. It's a marketplace that aims to make life easier for hard working households.
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UX Challenge
PDM came to us because they wanted to better understand user drop-off during the onboarding process. Specifically, they wanted to know why users were abandoning their application during the income verification process.
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Role
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Team
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Timeline
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Who is this platform trying to help? ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed, refers to a demographic of people, who in 2018 made up 29% of the U.S. population. Those who fall within the ALICE threshold are just above the poverty line and therefore don’t qualify for government assistance, but are just barely making ends meet. Prosperi-Key knows that this is a hardworking group of people, and offers them a helping hand. |
What's the application process like? We conducted a UX audit on the platform to jumpstart our research process. In our audit we found several pain points with the income verification process, including:
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What does this mean?Users are coming into the application process with associations of confusing and frustrating past experiences |
What does this mean?Users are unaware that this financial demographic had been studied, could qualify for assistance, or is cared about by others |
What does this mean?Transparency helps users see value in what they’re applying for and helps build enough trust for them to enter their information and finish the application |
50%of users were unclear on the purpose of the site 100%of users did not feel confident in linking their employer to their account |
75%of users failed at entering their household income and creating an account 75%of users found value in the platform after enrolling |
Celia needs a way to quickly and confidently know if she qualifies for Prosperi-Key in order to utilize the benefits of the program and be in a healthier financial position. |
How might we help Celia know she is eligible before enrolling? Possible Solution
↓Add a separate "Check Eligibility" feature |
How might we help Celia see the value of Prosperi-Key before enrolling? Possible Solution
↓Make offers visible before logging in or creating an account |
How might we earn Celia's trust during onboarding? Possible Solution
↓Allow user to decide how they report their income |
100%of users liked the simple, straightforward layout of the prototype 100%of users successfully completed their eligibility check |
100%of users wanted to self-report their income instead of linking up through Argyle 100%of users found value in the website after completing the application |
Conduct a card sortUsers were confused by how some of the benefits were organized. We recommended a card sort to help categorize the platform's offerings. Create alternative ways for people to verify their incomeUsers wanted other ways to verify their income, like uploading pay stubs. |
Continue streamlining application processUsers were still frustrated by the amount of personal information the site asked for. We recommended removing any information ask that isn't completely necessary. Filter benefits by locationSome users were finding benefits for users in a different state that did not apply to them. We recommended keeping offers relevant to their users. |