CLIENT: BCBSMA
Role: Enterprise Director of UX, UI, and Accessibility | Subject matter Expert | Digital Brand Ambassador | Team Lead
Transformed BCBSMA become a leader in designing world class, innovative products with meaningful business results. Improved CSAT score while setting the design org roadmap and contributing to company-wide OKRs.
THE CHALLENGE
1.8 app rating
Mobile app ratings were consistently 1.8 and decreasing because members’ needs were not being met and technology limitations made improvements on the old platform increasingly difficult and inefficient.
Limited awareness
Members were not aware of the offerings due to complex terms and language, hidden navigation, and outdated systems that caused an inconsistent experience.
Unmet needs
It was difficult for members to navigate their prioritized tasks with BCBSMA in the app such as searching for claim status or coverage of doctors. It was near impossible to learn about new offerings or benefits they may not have been eligible for or interested in, especially to save money.
The Results
Improved 3.9 app rating
Mobile app rating has doubled since the launch of the new app in 2024.
Increased awareness
Increased engagement with key benefits such as fitness & weight-loss reimbursement to save money while getting healthy, simplified language for claims and other critical areas of the app, faster app platform performs better and more consistently.
Member needs come first
The new app’s homepage dashboard highlights the members’ top needs for the app - it illustrates pending and current claim status, key ID card information to get help quickly, and current plan usage to stay on top of their health.
Scroll for Project & Process Details…
Details include reimagining the brand from the consumers’ POV, planning and task execution with a third party vendor to bring the experience to life in a condensed timeframe, and how I drove process collaboration and change within the organization to ensure user needs were documented and followed through to production with solutions in the app.
Goals & OKRs
Increase member engagement and self-serviceability of the app, decrease workload on Member Services team to compensate for technology limitations.
Implement human-centered design framework to inform product and feature enhancements driven by consumer needs
Redesign the app experience in the new brand
Improve the overall satisfaction of the experience by implementing key features and breaking down knowledge barriers for users as defined by research
The process
Cross-team process in partnership with third-party vendor to re-skin BCBSMA app in new digital UI brand.
Hypothesis
How might we improve the overall navigation and self-serviceability of the BCBSMA member app experience to increase CSAT?
User research
Members were confused and easily distracted trying to navigate the slow and overly complex app infrastructure.
The app experience did not feel personalized or fulfilling to use since ‘basic’ needs were unmet such as finding claim status or a new doctor.
Members were not confident in their health decisions or costs of care when trying to access and understand critical information in the app
Competitor analysis
Lemon guided users through the complexities of Health insurance with a simplified app layout and omnipresent menu. Key to the clean interface and visuals’ success is that the language was often broken down and divided into bite-sized chunks - with extra help and context never out of reach using helpful tips.
USAA guided users through the complexities of multiple account types - including car and property insurance with a dashboard that was customizable, navigation devices per page, and one-click to support or chat capabilities for support 24/7. The unique approach to customer service and AI for sensitive information is key.
Design Process
Overview of the design process once consumer needs were documented. UX led all tasks related to feature mapping, consumer journeys, content design, and testing interactive prototypes.
Starting with the needs defined by users, leverage the MoSCoW method to organize and prioritize features for the app. By illustrating the end to end consumer journey, we could deep-dive individual tasks to ensure simplified, intuitive, and easily understood experiences that met the needs of users. Working with agile design and development, each Epic was wireframed and then prototyped for interaction testing and finally re-skinned with the new UI brand for the app.
Learnings
Reflecting on my work during the initial planning and design execution phases with the overall team operations to leverage insights into future projects:
I’m better at leading a third-party vendor through the nuances of health payor law, user needs, and the enterprise brand
I’m more equipped to make executive-level decisions for the benefit of the end user so that the goals of the business can be met
Design teams are critical to supporting Product and Strategy; projects can easily run astray if there isn’t a strong partnership across the teams
I’m able to tell a rebrand (and experience revamp) story start-to-finish