Findings & Recommendations: Duplication of Entities
Service Design
October 2023
Background | 3 |
Research Objectives | 4 |
Overview of Themes | 5 |
Research Methods | 6 |
User Story #1: Prakash | 7 |
User Story #2: Meilani | 11 |
User Story #3: Tevin | 14 |
Recommendations | 18 |
Next Steps | 23 |
Resources | 24 |
Table of Contents
Background
This research aims to tackle the issue of duplicate UEIs on SAM.gov by understanding its root causes. Our goal is to simplify and improve the UEI creation process to meet user expectations for a smooth registration. Building on Kimberly's prior work, we'll closely examine user journeys and pain points to create targeted solutions.
Research Objectives
Understand user behavior and pathways
Have a clear understanding of how different user groups approach the UEI registration process and understand the pathway that leads to duplication
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02
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Identifying Pain Points
Pinpoint user struggles and confusion in the current process.
Gather Customer Feedback
This first-hand customer input will inform potential system improvements and future enhancements.
Objectives
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Development
Overview of Themes
Poor Agent Support
Inconsistent and unclear guidance from EVS agents
Overview
Inadequate Email Communications
Generic email notifications leave users confused about the status and next steps in their registration process.
Frustration Over Time Spent
Excessive time commitments for seemingly simple tasks erode user trust and satisfaction.
Poor User Flow �& Confusing Dashboard
The unintuitive user interface and unclear pathways contribute to a disorienting experience, especially for those with specific registration needs.
Administrative Burden
Overcomplicated paperwork and validation processes create unnecessary hurdles, making the system inaccessible for many.
Fear of Failure
The system's unforgiving nature and lack of clear guidance instill a fear of making irreversible mistakes, causing users to hesitate in their actions
Knowledge Gap Burden �& Poor User Recall
The system's lack of clear explanations and reliance on user recall widen the knowledge gap.
Cannot Access Account
Barriers in account recovery and administrative handover create bottlenecks, preventing users from timely renewals or updates.
Confusion Over Multiple Systems
Lack of seamless integration between SAM.gov, login.gov, and FSD results in a fragmented user experience.
Research Methods
Text
Meet Prakash
This has been by far the most frustrating experience and it definitely tested patience for sure."
Prakash is a professional with over 6 years of experience working with government contracts. He is tech-savvy, as he mentions doing his own taxes and navigating the DMV several times. Despite his technical aptitude, he finds the SAM.gov system cumbersome and frustrating, particularly when it comes to roles and permissions, account deletion, and customer service interactions.
Age: 30 years old
City: San Jose, California
Action
Prakash creates an account, and tries to renew his entity through the SAM site but cannot find the renew option.
Prakash
Initial Need:
Prakash was recently hired on the help manage government contracts. The company, Goldlight Light Solutions initially paid a third party to set up, manage, and renew their entity on Sam.gov for three year. Until one day, the third party went out of of business. Now, its up to Prakash to pick up the pieces and continue selling to government clients.
Barrier 1
Theme
Action
Barrier 2
Action
Lack of Visibility: The system does not present a clear path to renew expired registrations.
Confusing Dashboard/Poor User flow
Attempts creating new registrations thinking the old one is inaccessible.
Sees an error message. He realizes the new registrations is now tied to his old entity data, creating duplications.
He now needs to contact support to delete the duplicate.
Prakash
Barrier 3
Theme
Action
Barrier 4
Action
Access Obstacle: Prakash lacks administrator �access needed to delete registrations.
He is told he must go through a lengthy process to become an administrator. So he Submits validation letter to attempt to gain administrator access.
Lack of Affordances: Validation letter rejected due to missing executive's full title in one section, though it was present in the footer.
Resubmits corrected validation letter.
Fear of Failure
Administrative Burden
Prakash’s Story
That part was annoying. I understand that there's a certain process… but it seems like the person reviewing the letter does not apply much intelligence. My letter got rejected over a small formatting error, even though all the key details were there.
After months of back and forth, Prakash finally has admin access.��He has finally made it over the mountain. Only to discover…
Outcome
But he is not done yet,
Now he has to work on his duplication problem. More tickets are formed and closed. Prakash now has a total of 14 tickets.
Action
Outcome
Prakash’s Conclusion
Prakash
After months of effort, the agent finally deletes the new duplicate, however, Prakash's original entity’s registration is still just pending, causing him to miss� a VA contract bid.��Theme: Poor agent support
Frustration Over Time Spent
Meet Meilani
Our communities have unique health challenges that mainstream medicine often overlooks. It's time we bring our own wisdom into the solutions."
Meilani is responsible for identifying grant opportunities, overseeing research projects, and ensuring that the organization's initiatives align with its mission. She is currently spearheading a project aimed at understanding the genetic factors that contribute to diabetes in Native American populations, for which she is seeking NIH funding.
Age: 62 years old
City: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Melani logs into the SAM.gov system successfully as she was the original person who created the entity in 2018.
Meilani
Initial Need:
Meilani needs to reactivate her inactive SAM registration for her organization Indigenous Health and Wellness Initiative (IHWI), in order to apply for an NIH grant opportunity.
Quote
“I thought the system would know me”.
Theme
Barrier
After submitting info for a new registration, Meilani receives a vague error that a duplicate entity exists.
“Why take me to the getting started section when I have a pre existing entity that I have to reactivate? So, going to the home screen, I thought, well I am not a new entity, but I guess I should go down this path”
Quote
Action
Barrier
There is confusion with the system's user interface, specifically the "Get Started" and "New to Sam.gov" options, which don't apply to her situation of having an inactive pre-existing entity.
VISION
Meilani’s original entity is updated but still pending, while �two unwanted duplicate registrations remain in her workspace.
Meilani’s�Outcome
Meilani
Cryptic Communications
Receives unclear error messages and dense emails that fail to explain specific steps needed to fix the problems.
Barrier
Theme
Inadequate Email Communications
Excessive Legwork
Must start the process over from scratch each time despite having submitted required proofs already.
Barrier
Theme
Administrative Burden
Meet Tevin
We've been part of the community for decades, and all I want is to renew our SAM.gov registration without jumping through endless hoops. Is that too much to ask?"
Tevin is a dedicated library program coordinator who has been seamlessly renewing his organization's SAM.gov registration for the past five years. Typically, this is a straightforward task that he efficiently completes in about 30 minutes. However, this year presents an unexpected challenge: his library has undergone a name change.
Age: 37 years old
City: Chicago, Illinois
Attempts to update the name within the existing registration during renewal.
Tevin
Initial Need:
Tevin needs to renew his organization's SAM registration after legally changing the entity name.
Theme
Barrier
Action
Rejection: Receives notifications that the name change request is not acceptable and requests new forms/information.
Resubmits requested info but continues facing rejections and vague instructions.
Action
Barrier 2
Contradictory Guidance: SAM agents provide conflicting guidance on how to resolve the issues.
Action
Spends months trying to follow fragmented instructions from different agents. He gets on the phone because emails are not enough.
Theme
Tevin
Outcome
Registration status remains unresolved after significant time and effort spent trying to renew with updated name.
Frustration Over Time Spent
Theme
Barrier
Tevin was caught in a bureaucratic loop. He was told he couldn't proceed with the new entity because it would automatically link to the old entity, which he couldn't access. The system's rules and support agents' guidance were contradictory, leaving him stuck. He attempted to follow the conflicting instructions from multiple agents, but each action led him back to the original barrier, creating a cycle of futility.
They tell me to do one thing, then another, and I'm back to square one. I'm so stressed out, I can feel my blood pressure rising. This shouldn't be this hard.
I've spent hours on this, and it's like talking to a brick wall.
Recap of Themes
Overview
Recommendations�& Solutions
Communication & Support
Recommendations
Solutions
Better canned FSD responses. Rewrite templated responses to have more plain language and empathetic answers.
Brand Voice that Cares:
Train FSD agents to provide more personalized, empathetic support.
A Personal Touch
Redefining ticket categories in the FSD will allow agents to provide more relevant and timely responses.
Realignment of Ticket Categories
Streamlined Email User Journey
Create a holistic communications journey where email content is relevant and appears to come from one system.
User Experience� & Design
Recommendations
Solutions
Within the dashboard, allow users to see where they are in the process with estimated wait times and next steps.
Progress Feedback
Created distinct pathways for four main actions:
Redesign of Homepage Pathways Targeting Users with Different Needs
Entity Management Workspace: Prioritizing Clear Entity Actions
Revolutionize how users interact with their entities by prioritizing clear, actionable steps in the workspace. �By centralizing entity actions in the dashboard it aims to reduce errors, improve efficiency, and elevate the overall UX.
Validation �& Account Management
Recommendations
When fuzzy search is implemented, the system will “catch” a wider net of entities to prevent users from trying to create a duplicate entity, further redirecting them to the Recover or Renew pathway.
Fuzzy Search
Solutions
Allow users to enter a UEI, EIN, or CAGE code before validation to find potential matches.. This feature could be a game-changer in preventing duplicates.
Recovery Based Identifier Match
Talk to the security team to see if there are other ways to keep accounts secure while limiting the number of barriers for people unable to access their account.
Cannot Access Account:
Productize and Streamline Entity Letter
Implementation of online form for entity letter
Next Steps
Decide on Design Priorities
E
Explore Getting Started Pages to add targeted journeys
Work with SRE on FSD requirements
Solutions
Thank You
VISION