Policy & Practice | Fall 2023

implemented a phased approach to the human-centered design assessment, which led to a data-driven roadmap of recommended technological enhance ments. Each recommendation was grounded in the user research con ducted in the first phase of the project and validated to render significant return on investment (ROI) to the business mission of DCS by the end of phase four. This meant that each enhancement recommendation was not only infused with the voice of the stakeholders and end users, but also included strategic business case devel opments in which DCS can measure and report upon the impacts of each to their business. Realized Impact In the absence of a human-centered, data-driven project, many agencies find themselves modernizing with a technology platform that doesn’t meet the needs of their workforce and stakeholders. It often requires costly iterations in customizations that still do not produce the intended value. DCS’ strong leadership, vision, and prioritization for creating a human centered, value-based, and modernized child welfare technology platform is producing favorable outcomes. Rather than modernizing their technology for the sole purpose of being federally com pliant, DCS is infusing their workforce with optimism, excitement, and a sense of value in participating in the design of the platform. They are co-creating with their stakeholders in building an internal culture that feels supported by the modernized technology. They are dedicated to a product roadmap that is prioritized based on value to the workforce, value to the business, and ultimately, value to those who are recipients of DCS services. Through a human-centered Service Design engagement, DCS is now equipped with a data-driven, value-metric orches trated road map on which to base their technology enhancement decisions. Redefining Health with Data and Interoperability Case Study: Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) The Colorado HCPF, which adminis ters Health First Colorado (Colorado’s

What makes or breaks the success of modernization in the human services space is our willingness and focus to develop a detailed, data-driven under standing of the needs unique to those that we aim to benefit, and letting this understanding lead the process of configuring the technology. Those in charge of government IT transfor mations need to seek answers to the following four questions, prior to tech nical implementation: n What to improve —understand exactly what’s “broken,” or inef ficient, and what enhancements or new capabilities are needed to fix it n How to prioritize —use data to understand what enhancements and capabilities would bring the greatest benefit n What good experience looks like — validate that the experience you propose is right and will be adopted by the users before implementation

n How to measure the impact — quantify and articulate the expected long-term benefit of a capability to justify the investment and monitor how well it realized the benefit Putting in place the effort and practices that provide answers to the above questions using data, user research, and human-centered design effectively become the strategy with a clear view on what, why, and how processes and systems need to be modernized. Doing this objectively drives agency priorities, backlogs, and roadmaps—not based on a “gut feel” or anecdotal knowledge of a few individuals, but on a well-documented expansive set of findings, business analysis, and calculated projec tions. This approach also provides a framework that is fully transparent and connected back to the source of every finding and decision. It builds confidence that department leaders are on the right track and enables articulation of the benefit to various stakeholders and the community in detailed and quantifiable terms to which they can relate. Case Study: Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) The Arizona DCS requested help from IBM to build human-centricity into a major IT transformation that needed to advance the way their child welfare workforce and their service provider community administers services to children and their families. Equipped with an out-of-the-box solution with a “technology first” mindset, the platform presented user adoption challenges that reduced the business benefit expected from the platform and perpetuated negative sentiment around the digital experi ence provided by the agency. To help DCS, IBM leveraged our Service Design for Governments meth odology that was created to solve these exact types of challenges. Focused on business and human outcomes first to inform technology decisions, the IBM UX designers and child welfare subject matter experts conducted user research by engaging a diverse group of stakeholders and end users of the platform. The team

Hanna Thomas is the Technical Delivery Lead at IBM Consulting Data and Talent Transformation.

Leah Pewitt is a Senior Consultant at IBM Consulting Health and Human Services.

Artour Parmakian is the Design Principal and Garage Leader at IBM Consulting Public Sector.

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