While working as a product designer for the 'Get Support' team at Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), I was responsible for updating the customer service features of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield authenticated member portal (BAM). Our main objective was to smoothly transition members to a new secure platform capable of accommodating feature enhancements. These enhancements included improving the Member ID card page, addressing member frustrations within the Message Center, and enhancing agent customer support using the Customer Service Relations (CSR) internal program.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
Health Care Service Corporation
HCSC is a Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association licensee, serving over 23 million members in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
It’s the largest customer-owned health insurer in the nation.
Contact Us, Forms & Documents, Message Center, Member ID Card
The Get Support team manages over 20 customer service features in the member portal. These features enable members to use self-service options and get help from a customer service agent for plan-related issues.
The Get Support product team comprises a business analyst, an IT project manager, an assistant IT project manager, eight developers, 3 QA testers, and a product designer.
Problem Statement
HCSC needs to improve the user experience for members who access customer support features through the Blue Access for Members portal. The existing system, BAM1, required an upgrade to BAM2 and introducing a new design system to ensure front-end consistency across different product lines.
My Role
I collaborated closely with cross-functional teams, including the Business Analyst who provided business goals, the Human-Centered user research team, who offered important insights into user needs, and the Development Team, who set system requirements and implemented technical solutions. Together, we established design processes and created assets to streamline product development and improve essential tasks.
Approach
Our approach was agile, breaking down deliverables into two-week sprints. I continuously met with the Business Analyst and Development Team to understand the user flow for each feature, align the requirements based on capacity, and define success criteria before beginning each new design task.
Objective
The objective was to build a new secure environment (BAM2) based on the existing experience from BAM1 and introduce a new design system to keep the front end consistent across different product lines. The goal was to complete the system migration by the end of Q3 2022.
Solution
I collaborated successfully with the Get Support product team to ensure my design process aligned with the team's expectations. I achieved this by providing high-fidelity prototypes and detailed documentation with each new design iteration, effectively communicating design changes, and obtaining approval before the developers started building a new secure member portal. By proactively aligning with the team's goals and securing buy-in from all team members, we reduced technical debt and successfully implemented new designs for each feature on time. It also allowed us to add new enhancement capabilities and establish a solid foundation supporting additional functionalities.
Results
As a result of our collaborative efforts, the customer support features were enhanced and successfully provided members with a more intuitive and efficient support experience. Introducing BAM2 and the new design system resulted in a more cohesive and user-friendly portal, ultimately improving member satisfaction and engagement.
Lessons Learned
This project emphasized the significance of proactive collaboration, high-fidelity prototypes, and detailed documentation to implement new designs on time successfully. It also underscored the importance of securing buy-in from all team members, making each one an integral part of the process, to reduce technical debt and successfully adopt new enhancements
