GetACP

GetACP is a web app that helps users apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) - a federal broadband benefit program.

Visuals are balanced with accessibility.

Project Background

In 2024, people are talking everywhere about how AI is changing the world. However, there are still 17 million unconnected households in the United States without home internet due to affordability.

Despite the availability of federal internet benefits, many users encounter challenges when applying for them through the government agency's website (https://www.usac.org/).

Goal

The goal is to design and develop a web app to help underserved communities apply for the Internet benefit (called ACP) easily and increase the benefit enrollment rate.

Company

EducationSuperHighway - a nonprofit organization funded by Mark Zuckerberg and the Gates Foundation

Team

1 Product Manager, 1 Researcher, 7 Engineers, 1 Data Analyst, 1 Designer

My Role

  • Led the design from conceptualization to launch in 6 months (93 pages)

  • Co-run 17 rounds of usability tests

  • Established design review process and design system

Impacts

Other Benefits’ Receiver

Target Users

Tribal

Low Income

Lunch Benefit Dependent

Pain Points

  1. Lengthy application process (21 mins)

  2. Users’ trust concerns with a non-government site

Solution to Lengthy Application

We removed the account creation to simplify the user flow and speed up the process. At the same time, an alternative way is provided for return users to check their application status without account creation.

Solution to Trust Concerns - To Get a High Conversion Rate

Trust concerns regarding applying for benefits via a non-government site were discovered during user testing. Part of the solution is to build trust from the landing page.

Solution to Trust Concerns -To Reduce High Dropoff Rate

On the Social Security page, users are asked to enter their SSN. A 12% drop-off rate on this page was identified in a previous version of GetACP because users didn’t trust our website. So, I optimized the language based on user feedback and improved the layouts and design elements to make it look more trustworthy.

Challenges

Balance Visual with Accessibility

We're targeting 17 million unconnected households, 10%-20% of whom need assistive technology. We’ve achieved WCAG 2.2 AA compliance and AAA in some areas. I balance visuals and accessibility to ensure the product is both appealing and inclusive.

Gather Real User Feedback

We target users with limited or no internet access, making online recruitment challenging. We partner with housing authorities to reach these users for testing. I co-ran 17 rounds of user testing to gain first-hand insights.

Adapting Branding for a Customer-Facing Web App

The web app is customer-facing and may need different branding from the existing B2B design system. I created a new design system with a slightly altered color palette and fonts to align with the company’s branding while being B2C-friendly.

Reflections

We're grateful to have launched the MVP in October 2023 and reached over 12,000 users in our pilot cities—Birmingham, Charlotte, and Philadelphia—in just three months. Our enrollment rate increased significantly, growing four times compared to traditional government portals, but there's still much to learn from this journey.

Learnings

  • Users behave differently between testing with the prototype and in the production environment.

  • Users don't have to fully understand to trust a product or service.

  • Users with lower digital literacy have more negative internet experiences.

What would I have done differently?

  • Set up scrolling metrics on the landing page to gather insights for A/B testing.

  • Collect NPS scores using HubSpot as soon as the product launch.

  • Conduct accessibility tests with real users using assistive tools