VA Disability Compensation Sprints

Problem

Filing a disability compensation claim is cumbersome and complex, for all involved in the process. It requires a lot of time, gathering of information, and wealth of institutional knowledge. The result of an approved disability compensation claim means a greater quality of life for those who serve. Getting veterans through the process of applying for or increasing disability benefits was not easy for them, organizations serving to help them, or the VA itself.

Solution

Create an easy-to-complete veteran-facing application experience, while improving backend processing by leveraging available data and empower veteran service organizations (VSO) to complete claims with and for veterans more easily.

Process

USDS at VA conducted two back-to-back discovery sprints. These short engagements allowed us to focus on learning as much as we could about disability claims from veterans, VSOs, and the VA.

The first 2-week sprint (July - August 2017) focused on exploring what veterans experience the claim process, their needs, and what its like to apply for disability compensation. We also spoke with stakeholders and other people involved in claims processing at the VA to better understand business operations and needs. During this sprint, our team conducted 42 stakeholder interviews, speaking with key stakeholders and subject-matter experts at the VA. We also conducted 39 research sessions with veterans.

The second 2-week sprint (September - October 2017) focused on Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs). VSOs are important partners in the disability claims process, for veterans and the VA alike. As advocates and experts in VA benefits, VSOs were critical to learn more from about their roles, processes, and digital needs, specifically related to the disability claims process and how they support veterans. for this sprint, a team of four digital services experts (product, stratops, and UX design) engaged with 10 VSOs, resulting in 15 user research interviews to inform the development of an MVP for a new disability claims application on VA.gov (formerly Vets.gov).

Outcome

Both sprints yielded journey maps to illustrate the process of applying for and receiving disability benefits, at that time. These complimentary journey maps showed the perspective of the veteran and VSOs, respectively, and how they interact with other people throughout the process, as well as pain points we heard throughout our interviews. The sprint teams also provided recommendations to the Veterans Benefits Administration division at the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to improve the veteran experience as well as engage VSOs in future products offered to veterans seeking the benefits they earned.

Since these sprints in 2017, the disability compensation application process has been fully migrated to VA.gov as well as completely redesigned to make it easier for veterans to navigate the application experience. These sprints were fundamental in changing the disability compensation application process and ensuring veteran needs were met in doing so.

This project was completed while I was working at the US Digital Service’s team at the Department of Veterans Affairs.