Arizona Supreme Court

A government entity was facing challenges with an outdated and complex petition system for orders of protection. The process was difficult to navigate, especially for applicants in distress, and lacked sufficient accessibility features. We redesigned the system with a human-centered approach, making the process more intuitive and ensuring accessibility for users of all abilities and devices.

IndustryGovernment
CompanyEnterprise
ServicesConsulting
Software Development

Their team struggled with:

Overwhelming and Confusing Forms: The original forms were complicated and often caused frustration, with users losing progress midway through the process.
Need for an Intuitive Process: Applicants under emotional distress required a simple, step-by-step approach to fill out petitions without confusion or technical barriers.
Barriers to Accessibility: The existing system did not account for users with varying abilities or those accessing the forms through different devices, hindering the user experience.

Their vision? Create a streamlined, user-friendly petition system for orders of protection that is accessible to everyone, regardless of device or ability, while ensuring sensitive information is handled securely and efficiently.

Our Approach

We started by asking the right questions:

Where are the inefficiencies and risks?
How can we streamline back-end processes to enhance the form submitter’s experience?
How can we make form submission as easy as possible while ensuring accessibility for all situations?

Here’s how we tackled it step-by-step:

Project 1: Public-Facing Petition for Order of Protection

Deep Dive Discovery & Strategy

Our strategy for the first project was to simplify the petition submission process, focusing on making the forms easy to understand and complete for users in distress. We emphasized the importance of accessibility, considering applicants might be under emotional strain. The process needed to be intuitive and easy to follow, with the ability to save progress without losing any data. We also conducted a deep dive discovery to understand user needs, leveraging paid discovery to align closely with our partner’s vision.

Data-Driven User Experience

We transformed the extensive form into a step-by-step guided wizard, breaking it down into smaller, manageable sections to avoid overwhelming the user. To further reduce frustration, we incorporated intelligent forms with auto-save functionality, ensuring applicants wouldn’t lose progress if interrupted. The interface was designed to be clean and minimal, providing clarity and easy navigation, especially for users who might not be fluent in English or who were experiencing emotional distress. Additionally, the design was fully adaptive, ensuring accessibility across all devices and accommodating users with varying abilities.

Iterative Development

Our development team collaborated closely with the client’s backend team to seamlessly integrate the forms with existing APIs, ensuring that data was captured and transmitted accurately. To minimize errors and speed up processing, we implemented robust data validation and real-time feedback within the forms. Continuous testing and iteration were crucial to refining both the form flow and system performance, allowing us to quickly address bugs and improve the user interface and backend functionality.

Project 2: Optimizing System Workflow & User Experience

Deep Dive Discovery & Strategy

Project 2 focused on enhancing the backend to facilitate smooth data flow between the courts and service agencies. The primary goal was to reduce performance bottlenecks and ensure the system could handle large data volumes efficiently, while incorporating multiple workflows due to the varying processes of different service agencies. We collaborated with the data team to optimize the APIs, enhancing both performance and scalability.

Data-Driven User Experience

For service agencies, we designed a simple, user-friendly interface that allowed users to efficiently manage petitions and track the progress of orders of protection. We prioritized the most critical data points, ensuring that service agents could quickly identify required actions and urgent cases. Understanding that some agencies operated on the go, we optimized the system for mobile use, enabling agents to access data and take immediate action from their devices. Through collaborative workshops and user feedback sessions with service agents, we iterated on the design to ensure it aligned with real-world workflows and addressed their pain points.

Iterative Development

A key challenge in Project 2 was optimizing the performance of the APIs that powered the system. We worked closely with our partner to redesign specific API calls, improving data handling for faster, more efficient performance. To support this, we enhanced the reporting system, ensuring service agents always had access to the most up-to-date information to track the progress of orders of protection. We also streamlined database queries to reduce latency and ensure faster data retrieval, particularly as the volume of cases increased. Through extensive user testing and feedback, we fine-tuned the system to ensure it met the needs of service agents in high-stress, time-sensitive environments.

Project 3: Servicing Agencies & User Management

Deep Dive Discovery & Strategy

We focused on building a flexible user management system for the courts and service agencies. The goal was to ensure that different agencies could track orders of protection, manage their cases efficiently, and provide feedback in real-time. We also worked on refining the user management system, making it easier to control permissions and data access based on user roles.

Data-Driven User Experience

We designed customizable dashboards that allowed each agency to personalize their view, providing a clear overview of their to-do lists, orders to be served, and any issues requiring immediate attention. The user management system was thoughtfully designed to assign different levels of access, ensuring sensitive data was restricted to authorized personnel only. To enhance response times, we prioritized urgent tasks, clearly indicating which orders needed to be served and by when. Additionally, we created a streamlined communication flow within the dashboard to help courts and agencies track orders, especially when they needed to be transferred between states or agencies.

Iterative Development

We developed a flexible and secure user management system that enabled administrators to adjust permissions and monitor user activity, ensuring data security and minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. We integrated the system with multiple external agencies, developing API endpoints and integration points that facilitated seamless communication between the system and various government bodies. To support case transfers, we built a system that allowed easy data reassignment between agencies or jurisdictions, such as when cases moved to a new state or had a change of address. Throughout this project, we continued to refine the system based on user feedback, enhancing real-time data transfer and adding new features for tracking case statuses and managing errors.

Results That Speak for Themselves

Improved User Experience The petition process was simplified, reducing user frustration and improving submission accuracy.
Faster Processing Times Automation of certain elements, like autosave, allowed for faster submissions, aiding victims of domestic abuse and speeding up the delivery of aid.
Enhanced Accessibility The new system ensured that applicants of all abilities could easily navigate the process, making it accessible across various devices.
Successful Collaboration By working closely with the client’s internal teams, we built a system that is now considered a model for other states to replicate.

What Sets Us Apart

Our approach, deep understanding of user needs, and ability to collaborate with multiple stakeholders in a complex environment allowed us to deliver a solution that was both effective and user-friendly. Our focus on education and knowledge transfer helped elevate our partner’s team and ensured the system would continue to evolve long after we completed our work.

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