TRICARE

A health program that services military members and their families.

Focus

Goal

Year Completed

Information Architecture

Improve the website’s information architecture.

2022

TRICARE is one of the health programs that are offered to those in the military. It is a program with several plan options depending on the unique situations, circumstances, and military status of military members. Due to military members’ diverse health needs and circumstances, the website provides complex information that often becomes overwhelming and excessive.

  • Content clutter and improperly prioritized web content.

  • The TRICARE program caters to a very diverse audience.

  • Information architecture needs improvement.

Challenges

Product Goal

TRICARE houses a lot of content for a large list of segments. Often, this makes it difficult for TRICARE beneficiaries to find the information they need that is relevant to them.

  • Maintain TRICARE branding.

  • Declutter the pages and improve navigation.

  • Provide organization to content and prioritize certain content.

The organization has already conducted previous research and currently has ongoing surveys for the TRICARE website that are distributed via emails to subscribers and on the website as pop-ups. The survey’s reach is wide and includes a diverse group of people.

Based on data collected over the past three months, the navigation and organization of the website were already identified by the agency as issues to tackle. To dig deeper, I conducted a separate survey with questions related to navigation and organization.

Research

  • Research Goals

    • Understand how and why users utilize websites.

    • Identify areas for improvement regarding the navigation and organization of TRICARE’s plan pages.

  • Users Surveyed

    • TRICARE beneficiaries*

  • Distribution

    • Email

    • Feedback pop-ups on the website

Needs

To start, I needed to determine the agency and its users’ needs to provide more direction for the design. Customer needs were determined through surveys, and agency needs were determined by speaking with clients.

  • Business Needs

    • Improve TRICARE web survey scores.

    • Maintain branding throughout the site.

    • Simply provide and communicate the necessary messages to beneficiaries.

  • Customer Needs

    • A website that is intuitive and easier to navigate

    • Reduce excessive content on informational pages.

    • A way to reference terms and acronyms to allow beneficiaries to understand the provided content.

Task and User Flows

From the information gathered on the needs of the agency and the users, I determined the user’s goal when using the website to create tasks and user flows.

User Goal

To navigate the website easily and find information on TRICARE health plans.

Task Flow

The task flow for users trying to find information through TRICARE.

User Flow

The user flow of two possible scenarios for reaching the goal of purchasing insurance.

Branding and Style

As an established program under the Defense Health Agency, TRICARE branding and style guides have already been determined. For this design project, I closely followed the branding and styling requirements of the agency when creating the wireframes and UI patterns.

TRICARE Branding & Style Guide

TRICARE Branding & Style Guide

UI Patterns

UI Patterns

Testing and Iteration

To test the prototype, I shared tests with prompts and tasks online, and collected the results digitally. Ten surveys were submitted.

Selecting Participants

The 10 participants were unfamiliar with the TRICARE website. This was done so that I could determine if the navigation of the website was simple enough for people with little to no knowledge of the program. The criteria for participants were:

  • At least 20 years old

  • Someone with little to no knowledge of the TRICARE program

Testing Process

I distributed the test online. The test consisted of eight prompts on a mock-up that would naturally follow the process for enrolling in the TRICARE program.

  • Task 1

    You decided that you want to look for information about health plans that TRICARE offers so that you can decide on a plan to enroll in. Search for the TRICARE health plans that are offered.

  • Task 2

    Upon seeing the list of TRICARE plans that are available, you decide that you want to learn more about the “TRICARE Prime” plan. Find out what “TRICARE Prime” is.

  • Task 3

    You’ve read the overview of TRICARE Prime, but now you want to learn about the details before enrolling in this health plan. You need to know eligibility requirements, what this plan covers, and how much it will cost.

  • Task 4

    Where would you go to see if physical therapy was covered under this plan?

  • Task 5

    Where would you go to check how much you would be paying for this plan if you decided to sign up for TRICARE Prime?

  • Task 6

    You found that physical therapy was covered under TRICARE Prime, but you want to know how much your in-network copay would be. You searched through the table but couldn’t find that particular service. Where would you look to find the detailed summary of benefits in PDF?

  • Task 7

    You found where to download the summary of benefits PDF file, but you want to reach out to someone to clarify some information. Where on the page would you click to get in touch with someone?

  • Task 8

    After getting all the information you need; you decide to sign up for TRICARE Prime. Where would you click to sign up for this plan?

Findings

The following findings were discovered after the collection and analysis of each participant’s results:

  • Finding 1

    Finding the area for supplemental documents was difficult.

  • Finding 2

    Locating specific contact information was confusing.

  • Finding 3

    The "Enroll" call-to-action was not obvious on the pages.

Based on the test results, I revised the mock-ups to address the top three areas of concern for users when trying to reach a goal.

Final Product