SUN Bucks (Summer Nutrition Program for Kids)

Project Overview

SUN Bucks

An online application for school-aged children to receive grocery-buying benefits during the summer months.
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Live Website: SUN Bucks Hawaii

Role

Lead UX Designer

Client

Hawaii Department of Human Services

Duration

May 2024 - July 2024

Introduction

In response to the nutritional needs of school-aged children while they are out of school in the summer, the SUN Bucks program was introduced in Hawaii as part of a nationwide initiative starting in summer 2024. SUN Bucks grants eligible families $120 to purchase groceries.

This UX case study explores the design process and user experience considerations behind the SUN Bucks application, aimed at ensuring seamless accessibility and usability for families participating in the program.

The Problem

With the national SUN Bucks initiative set to go live in Hawaii in the summer of 2024, students and parents need an easy and accessible way to check their status and apply to receive the SUN Bucks benefits.

The Goal

A website that allows students or parents to check their SUN Bucks status and easily apply online through a computer or phone.

User Research

The UX/UI Team worked together with the Business Analysts to identify our target audience and research what their main pain points and frustrations would be. Because this was a new program being introduced to the United States and there were no existing users or data, a lot of assumptions had to be made based on industry knowledge.

Assumptions

01.

Main users will be kids under 18 and parents/guardians, often from low-income households, that may not have an advanced vocabulary and may not be very digitally literate.

02.

Users will be accessing this website via smart phone, home computers, or public computers (i.e, school or library).

03.

Many users won’t know if they need to apply or if they already qualify.

04.

Many users (especially kids) that are applying won’t know all of their household members’ financial details.

User Personas

9th grader | Leiyah Velasco

Age: 14
Location: Kaneohe, HI

Background

Lives with her grandpa, mom, and two younger brothers
Goes to King Intermediate School

Goals & Frustrations

"As the oldest sibling in the household, I need to help my mom buy groceries for the family."
"I'm not entirely sure where or how to check if I qualify for a summer EBT card."
"Since my mom is always working and my grandpa doesn’t know how to use a computer, I'll most likely have to apply for myself and my brothers."

Office Worker | Reid Jackman

Age: 33
Location: Honolulu, HI

Background

Father of a 1 year old girl and 4 year old boy
Works a lot of overtime to pay the bills
Wife is pregnant and currently unemployed

Goals & Frustrations

"With the high cost of living in Honolulu, my wife and I live paycheck to paycheck in order to provide our kids with quality food in the summer."
"I need to make sure that I am getting EBT cards as soon as possible for all my kids this summer."

Ideate

Information Architecture Diagram

The website has 3 main functions of the minimal viable product—to apply online, view SUN Bucks benefits and application status, and to learn more about the program.

Initial Wireframes

The initial black-and-white wireframes outlined the main aspects of the website to visually present the overall structure and flow before applying colors and styling.

Final Design

High-Fidelity Prototype

Click through the prototype or see links here:
SUN Bucks Prototype - Desktop
SUN Bucks Prototype - Mobile
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Solutions

The following points were the main considerations we focused on based on our user research.

Minimum Required Fields

Form only collects the absolute minimum required fields so that users are not blocked from submitting.
If users aren't sure about some fields (for example, a kid might not know their parent's income information), they can skip the question.
If any important information is missing, users will be contacted.

Inclusive and accessible design

Responsive design allows for users to access the website on their computer, tablet, or smart phone.
Language and verbiage is kept simple for kids, elderly, disabled people, or non-native English speakers.
Designed with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) in mind.

Easily check your status

To prevent users from submitting an application unnecessarily, the system will check if the user already exists using their name and date of birth.
If the user already exists, they will see their SUN Bucks information and will not need to apply.

Going Forward

Despite the many challenges we faced, the SUN Bucks project was a success and will make a meaningful impact on families in Hawaii by providing essential grocery-buying benefits. This project has not only been rewarding but also provided significant learning opportunities. As SUN Bucks continues, there are valuable insights and improvements to be applied, which will guide ongoing development and enhance its effectiveness for the future.

What I Learned

As the lead UX designer for the SUN Bucks project, I gained significant experience in both design and leadership.

Managing the project within a tight deadline required me to prioritize tasks and make strategic decisions under pressure. I also had to design within the technical limitations of our tools, which required creative problem-solving and flexibility. Collaborating with team members across different time zones sharpened my leadership and communication skills, ensuring that we remained aligned despite our geographical distances.

Overall, this project not only enhanced my UX design skills but also significantly improved my ability to lead and collaborate effectively in a fast-paced and constrained environment.

Next Steps

01.

Gather feedback from real users to determine areas to improve existing functions of the website for next summer.

02.

Implement enhancements and new features to upgrade the user experience for next summer.

03.

Propose the website framework to other states that are rolling out the SUN Bucks program and customize the design according to their requirements.