Revolutionizing Access to City Services
Enhancing My File NYC web app for seamless resident access to vital city services, integrating tools to support agency workers with documentation verification
Client
NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity
Scope
User Interface Redesign
Tools
Figma, Google Suite, Miro, UserTesting, Maze
Role
UX/UI Designer and Researcher
Project Overview
This project involves redesigning the My File NYC a mobile-web application that supports New York residents in applying for essential city services. It enables users to upload and manage documents via a personal dashboard and track their case progress. The redesign focuses on simplifying onboarding for new users, introducing supportive features like a document checklist, integrating with existing systems across NYC agencies, and providing case workers with efficient tools for fast document verification.
Problem Prompt
The City Intake Center faced a growing challenge managing a high-volume of applicants seeking essential city services. Many New York residents are awaiting updates hoping to secure temporary shelters or move into permanent homes with their families. Caseworkers are responsible for reviewing and verifying numerous documents submitted by applicants. The processes can be time-consuming and prone to delays, impacting timely service delivery.
The problem prompt: How might we streamline document verification for caseworkers in a fast paced environment, while ensuring seamless communication with New York residents to accelerate the placement process?
Achievement and Recognition
Through multiple iteration and ongoing stakeholder collaboration, the redesign of My File NYC is equipped with impactful features that made the process more reliable and efficient for both residents and caseworkers. The previous version enrolled 200 families and achieved a document sharing rate of 8%. In contrast, the new interface led to a substantial increase with over 500 families enrolled and the document sharing rate improving dramatically to 65%. As a result of this achievement, the project was awarded with the “Best IT Collaboration” award at “The Best of New York City 2023 Awards” for its partnership between DHS PATH Intake Center and the NYC Opportunity Team.
Path to the Solution
Field Studies
As I meet with the stakeholders at the City Intake Center, I conducted on-site field studies to observed firsthand the technical challenges users faced with My File NYC and to gather immediate feedback through research questions. During these sessions I supported families in signing up for the platform, walking them through the core features to help them apply for shelter placement service. By the end of each session, I identified key pain points in the dashboard interface and account creation process.
Insights:
Excessive number of steps to create an account to access the dashboard
UX writing confusion between labels of one-page and multiple-page documents
Unaware to share their documents to complete the next step of the process
User Personas
With input from stakeholders during earlier meetings, my team and I developed user personas to guide the redesign of the My File NYC interface. Each persona highlights their needs: Residents expressed the need for regular updates about document status, standardized checklist outlining the necessary documents, and notifications of any additional information requested. Caseworkers, on the other hand, want to reduce email communication, minimize rework caused by other departments, and having an efficient system for requesting documents.
System Landscape
Stakeholders from the NYC Housing Preservation and Development expressed interest in integrating My File NYC into their housing placement process. To support full implementation, we needed to identify the other tools involved and understand how they interact within existing workflows. I applied a research technique called the ecosystem analysis to uncover technical constraints based on system capabilities and operational dependencies. This approach also helped us better understand our previous partner’s process for securing temporary shelter at the City Intake Center, enabling My File NYC to support and enhance their complex operations.
Ideation and Design Development
With insights gathered from stakeholders meetings and user feedback through research activities, I led the ideation session with the team to brainstorm impactful features that would address user needs while aligning with stakeholders goals. During the workshop, we generated:
Document Statuses: A centralized dashboard that provides both clients and caseworkers with a clear, real-time overview of document statuses, improving visibility on both sides
Activity Log: A feature allowing all users to track document interactions, such as views, downloads, and verifications, enhancing transparency and accountability across the housing placement and temporary shelter process
Document Checklist: A user-friendly checklist that helps users identify and track required documents based on the selected service, streamlining the submission process
During this phase, I redesigned the previous version of My File NYC interface using the Material UI design system. Since this is a responsive design, I ensure the design followed responsive best practices, incorporated key features, and content that supported plain language along with multilingual translations for a diverse range of users.
Next Steps
Continue expanding the implementation of My File NYC to other agencies in New York
Include additional personas to be part of the process like trusted users and admins
Apply new features giving caseworkers the ability to export activity log, admin dashboard, and manage user permissions
Learning Outcomes
My experience as a UX/UI Designer and Researcher at NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity emphasized the importance of exploring diverse research techniques. Before launching the updated version of My File NYC, I initially planned to conduct usability tests with families at the PATH Intake Center. However, I faced significant barriers that led me to change my approach. Engaging directly with families during in-person sign-ups proved to be more effective and allowed me to communicate with them in a more meaningful way.
Thank you for reading!