A mobile platform to easily track & manage support payments.

A platform to easily track & manage Child Support payments.

Regarding child support services, it's no secret that the lack of transparency in financial transactions between parties can be a real issue. That's why it's essential to improve this transparency and ensure everyone involved can access all the information they need. One way to solve this is by increasing the custodian's control over how and when payments are delivered. By setting up a transparent system for sending and receiving money, both parties can rest easy knowing exactly where their funds are going and when they will arrive.

The Goal

The goal of this app was to reduce friction and help build trust and confidence between parties within the transaction process, leading to more robust and productive relationships overall. Additionally, improving communication between custodial and non-custodial parents can go a long way toward building better relationships between them.

Background

How might we provide clarity and communication between the child support system and the parents needing to operate within the system?

Business Goal

Improve the lack of transparency in transactions between parties
Increase control over how and when payments are delivered
Improve relationship and communication between custodial and non-custodial parents.

UpKeep - A mobile platform to easily track & manage support payments.

My Work

Developed the overall design strategy
Identified user needs and product requirements
Conducted local user research to validate design decisions and identify opportunities for improvements

My Role

Role: Creator
UI/UX Designer (Class Project)
Timeline: April 2022 - Current
Platform: Mobile App

Technology Stack & Tools

Discover, Define + Refine the Process

To begin my discovery process, I interviewed friends interacting with the Child Support system in Texas and Ohio. Over the years, listening to their struggles and seeing a need for a better way, I conducted interviews to gain better insights into how those systems worked and didn't work. I also learned how information was stored and relayed to the custodial parties and got their opinions on what can improve the interaction with the system.

The project was tackled in 3 phases, with the overall design strategy being developed first. The journey for the custodial parent, non-custodial parent, and vendor services was built out in the following phases. Mapping the user journey with individual user flows to walk the customer interaction was a helpful way to identify missed areas of opportunity that would make the mobile more functional and usable.

Solutions & Direction

Wireframing + Prototyping

I defined my solution with wireframes to work through my ideas and give solidity to the concepts I was building. With this, the different use cases and features to include were defined. I showcased it to my user group to refine and gain feedback on my design direction.

Incorporating feedback into
MVP Wireframes

Taking all the feedback into account and incorporating it into the MVP of the app. Our main objective was to create a seamless communication process between custodial, non-custodial, and the child support system and vendors. Among my user groups, the ability to send immediate funds without the long institutional transfer timeline was the highest-ranked essential item we included.

Results Gained, Experiences &
Main Takeaways

There were many insights gained through this case study project, despite it being non-contracted work. Looking at this as a real issue for many people who live within this system and learning about their struggles was eye-opening. The key takeaway is that transparency and clear communication are the most important things for these customers. By ensuring that all vital information is always available and all interactions are tracked, utilizing these systems can become much more accessible. The story has three sides: the custodial parent, the non-custodial parent, and the legal vendor. Gathering as much information as possible and mapping each journey was crucial in understanding how to create a platform and mobile application that would serve everyone.