VBA Design Iteration #6

[kmariepat-cityfriends]

• [x] update mobile design
• [x] update content to reflect what's in this spreadsheet that Dave P. has been working from
• [x] possibly update the accordion design (suggestion is to link out to another page...)

Design office hours update: They brought up that it might be better to link out to a different page if our accordion content is getting too complicated. For example, we put all of the local content in the accordion, but also have a link that says something like "Need to follow up on your home loan? Go to this page for more info" that points out to national content. They also said it might be good to bring in IA on this to figure out where this info could live and they might have other thoughts on the page.

[davidmpickett]

@thejordanwood and I will meet today to chat about how to split up the work here

[thejordanwood]

Design notes for accordion from our 6/8 UX tasks meeting:

• Try linking out national content
  • Show task and phone number
  • Link out to page containing more info
• Change headings to be task oriented
  • State if they need to call a regional center or visit the office in the text below the header
• Express office hours as one sentence. (Need to confirm this can happen on the backend)
• "Manage benefits online" should go below "Get help filling out VA loan paperwork" section
• Accordions we want to test:
  • Home loan
  • Burials and memorials
  • Disability compensation

[jilladams]

Chatter re: how to handle office hours -> https://app.slack.com/client/T03FECE8V/C0FQSS30V/thread/C0FQSS30V-1686669372.226219

[jilladams]

Scrum notes: options for treatment are laid out in https://www.sketch.com/s/891d33ae-152d-471c-ab5d-9aedf89cf6ff re: whether hours in accordions should be structured as hours, or as a text sentence. More discussion tomorrow in UX meeting.

Points to consider when decision making:

• Shortening the accordions
• Cognitive load for parsing the sentence version: how to make it shorter / scannable
• Research: if we go with sentence, we should clarify if the sentence version is understandable (imo)

[kmariepat-cityfriends]

Decisions and actions items from 6/15 refinement:

• move helpful documents/items into the prepare for your visit accordion
• decided on expanded office hours for inside accordions
• move manage your benefits online to the bottom
• Check the status of your COE (add hours for phone, remove link, and spell out COE)
• Check in with Ryan Thurwell on the blue line in the service accordion

[davidmpickett]

This is a first draft of content for the "What to bring / helpful documents for your visit" accordion. It's hard to know exactly how much information to put here since a lot of it won't apply in most cases. Also not sure exactly how to break it up. Thoughts and edits appreciated @mmiddaugh

What to bring

Depending on why you are visiting, you may need to provide certain personal information or official documents during your visit. If you do not have all of these documents, we may be able to assist you in gathering them.

Please call the office if you have any questions about what to bring for your visit.

Personal information

• A non-expired photo ID
• Your date of birth
• Your Social Security number
• A copy of your discharge or separation papers (DD214)

Information about your dependents

• Their date of birth
• Their Social Security number

Financial information

• Bank account direct deposit information

Medical information (for disability claims)

• Your service treatment records
• VA medical records
• Private medical records

Education information

• Your education history
• Basic information about the school or training facility you want to attend

[davidmpickett]

Here's an example of the information & documents needed about a deceased veteran for burial benefits (Adapted from https://www.va.gov/burials-and-memorials/application/530/introduction)

Needed information about the deceased Veteran To apply for burial benefits you’ll need information about the deceased Veteran, including their:

• Social Security number or VA file number (required)
• Date and place of birth (required)
• Date and place of death (required)
• Military status and history

You may need to bring these documents

• A copy of the deceased Veteran’s DD214 or other separation documents
• A copy of the Veteran’s death certificate
• Documentation for transportation costs (if you’re claiming costs for the transportation of the Veteran’s remains)

[davidmpickett]

Way too much information to put anywhere on our page, but also not information that's nicely encapsulated in a stand alone way we could easily link to.

[davidmpickett]

While working on drafting the content for the expanded Burials and memorial service accordion, I am trying to determine which tasks can be done/supported at a Regional Office, vs which need to go directly to the NCA. This is my current understanding:

Can get support at a Regional Office

• Burial allowance - https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance/
• Burial flag - https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/burial-flags/
• Presidential Memorial Certificate - https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/presidential-memorial-certificates/

Might need to go directly to NCA

• Pre-need eligibility - https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/pre-need-eligibility/
• Schedule a burial - https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/schedule-a-burial/
• Veterans headstones, markers, and medallions - https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/headstones-markers-medallions/

@mmiddaugh something for you to investigate while I'm on PTO

[davidmpickett]

Content for the interior of the burials and memorial accordion is in the excel doc in Sharepoint

Note that this is just for the service in the Family member & caregiver section. I am not sure that "Burial in a VA cemetery" service in Veteran Services actually applies to regional offices (see my previous comment). I think we could keep it in there as a closed accordion for the usability test.

[mmiddaugh]

Would it make sense to separate the helpful documents by listing the universally needed/generally applicable documents in the "What to bring / helpful documents for your visit" accordion (i.e., Personal information, Information about your dependents, and Financial information) and then mentioning the service-specific items in those accordions (i.e., Medical information and Education information)?

[mmiddaugh]

Way too much information to put anywhere on our page, but also not information that's nicely encapsulated in a stand alone way we could easily link to.

I will talk with Danielle about linking to appropriate content - just to make sure we aren't missing an option (i.e. Resources and support)

[mmiddaugh]

Re: Burials and memorials tasks supported at RO vs NCA, I referenced

• VBA's page about the programs under VBA purview
• NCA's "Assisting Families with Burial" page

Burial and memorial tasks for Veterans are related to planning for a burial in advance, such as choosing a cemetery and filing for pre-need eligibility determination. These tasks are coordinated through NCA, as @davidmpickett pointed out. However, I'm assuming Regional offices should be able to support Veterans in understanding their memorial benefits, assisting with forms, and connecting them with resources (i.e., NCA) to plan their burial.

Burial and memorial tasks for family members and caregivers include applying for burial benefits and requesting memorial items. It seems these tasks can be supported by Regional offices, although there does seem to be a difference in the process of applying for a headstone, marker, or medallion.