[CAIA Intake] Content and link misalignment for form 21-0781

[mmiddaugh]

Content, accessibility, information architecture (CAIA) new initiative collaboration request

Use this ticket to request collaboration on a new initiative with the sitewide content, accessibility, and information architecture (CAIA) team.

About your team

• Team name: Sitewide Public Websites
• OCTO product owner: Michelle Middaugh
• Product name: Find a form
• Product manager: Fran Cross
• Slack channel: #sitewide-public-websites

About your initiative

Which of these descriptions best fits the work we’ll partner on?

Select all that apply.

• [ ] Digitizing a new form
• [ ] Creating a new digital tool
• [ ] Updating an existing form or tool
• [ ] Translating a form or tool into Spanish
• [ ] Adding new unauthenticated content to VA.gov
• [ ] Updating existing unauthenticated content on VA.gov
• [x] Something else: Form detail page accuracy review

What's the nature of your initiative and desired outcomes?

• Veterans reported confusion and frustration related to Form 21-0781 [Statement in Support of Claimed Mental Health Disorder(s) Due to an In-Service Traumatic Event(s)] in Medallia feedback (Jan-June 2024).
• The Online link points to How to file a VA disability claim which is not a tool.
• The 526 does not include this form.
• Form 21-0781 is an optional form which can be submitted in support of a claimed mental health disorder.

Goals

• The About page for Form 21-0781 should be reviewed for accuracy.
• if there is an online version of the form, the link should be updated.
• if there is not an online form, the link should be removed.

Collaboration timeframe

Note: We work on nearly every OCTO product and manage all unauthenticated content on VA.gov, so we will need to prioritize intake requests based on overall workload and VA and OCTO priorities.

Is this work tied to a Congressional mandate, change in law or policy, or upcoming event with a specific deadline?

• [ ] Yes
• [ x] No
• [ ] I’m not sure

Where are you at in your timeline?

Tell us briefly about what you're working on now (such as initial discovery, wireframing, or usability research planning) and add any known dates for upcoming milestones or deadlines.

Enter your description here

Will you release this new product incrementally (for example, release to 25% of users to start)?

• [ ] Yes

• [ ] No

  Note: For an incremental launch, we use React widgets to display dynamic content. We'll need at least 2 weeks of extra time to coordinate the content for this and work with your engineer. Learn more about our process for dynamic content. If your launch plans change, notify CAIA of the change as soon as possible so we can talk about how that will impact the timeline.

If you are releasing incrementally:

• What dates do you anticipate starting and ending your incremental launch? Enter dates
• What is the name of your engineer who will build the React widget? Name

Collaboration cycle

Which phases of the collaboration cycle have you completed?

Select all that apply.

• [ ] Design intent
• [ ] Midpoint review
• [ ] Staging
• [ ] None. This initiative isn’t going through the collaboration cycle.

Collaboration cycle ticket

If you’re going through the collaboration cycle, provide a link to your Collaboration Cycle Request:

• Hyperlinked Ticket Number:

Next steps

• [ ] Review the remaining next steps in the VFS team tasks section here.
• [ ] If you also need engineering support from the public websites team, fill out their intake request form as well: Open a public websites intake request
• [ ] If you're requesting a page/URL redirect, a URL change, or a vanity URL, submit an additional request for this work: Open a redirect, URL change, or vanity URL request
• [ ] If you're creating an experimental design, also contact the design system team: Read more about experimental designs
  Suggest an addition or update to the design system team
• [ ] If you're requesting a11y support for usability research, submit a research support request next: Open an a11y research support request
• [ ] If you are requesting content support, please share your content source of truth (preferably as a SharePoint document).

[mmiddaugh]

FYDA @mnorthuis

[strelichl]

Note for CAIA: we want to look into the reasoning for linking to the page rather than tool (online vs PDF?). A will investigate.

[aprocik1]

@mmiddaugh, thanks for submitting this intake ticket.

Shannon recently asked us to update the About VA Form 21-0781 page in this related intake ticket. Shannon and SMEs reviewed the page before it was published, so it should be accurate.

That said, I agree with the Medallia feedback--this experience is very confusing.

It's my understanding that the online VA Form 21-526EZ includes the outdated VA Form 21-0781. The only way for a Veteran to submit an up-to-date VA Form 21-0781 is to complete a PDF. Correct me if I'm misunderstanding!

If that's true, I think this may be a product team decision. Should we update the online VA Form 21-526EZ to match the up-to-date VA Form 21-0781? Or, should we remove the link to the online VA Form 21-526EZ on the About VA Form 21-0781 page?

cc @jinaryu @katherine-fung @shannonkford

[mnorthuis]

Having an H3 for the online tool and an action link to it under an H2 heading stating that the pdf is recommended is conflicting. If the online form does not fully support the 0781, we shouldn't be referencing it as an online tool for this form.

My recommendation would be to remove the online tool heading and action link and replace it with general content about the what they can/can't do within the online 526. A text link to the 526 could still be provided in this, but it wouldn't be the primary CTA on the page - the focus would be on the recommended downloadable pdf.

A couple other suggestions:

• This form is not impacting a person's health care benefits, so that should be removed from the "Related to" line at the top
• Under "When to use", there is a significant amount of information that seems like it should be part of the benefit eligibility page, not here...unless it is already somewhere in the disability benefit info and I'm not seeing it. Either way, I would suggest the info live within eligibility, and this page points to it. The purpose of this page is to describe the form, not provide eligibility info.

[katherine-fung]

Thanks @mmiddaugh @mnorthuis @aprocik1!

I'm in the process of drafting updates to the page:

• replacing the online tool link for the "How to file a VA disability claim" with a link to the disability claim application. The online disability claim application does include the 0781 online questions.
• replacing the H2 and body copy recommending the PDF with an information alert. I'll need some support with this because the alert header is still an H2 that should be an H4.
• editing the copy about the PDF
• removing eligibility information under the "When to use" header

@shannonkford - given Veterans' negative feedback via Medallia, Mikki's guidance and Michelle's request, can we communicate to the SMEs that we need to make these updates?

[bethpottsVADEPO]

Noting here that Katherine and I talked through a path forward for this that adds content into the flow and to the Disability compensation for PTSD page. This approach slims way back what's currently on the 0781 About page. We'll be posting more here shortly.

[katherine-fung]

@mmiddaugh @shannonkford

I'm working with @bethpottsVADEPO and @mnorthuis to address the link misalignment on About form page, and address Veterans' negative feedback about this page more generally.

I'm outlining several changes we'll make to this page:

• I've slimmed down the "When to use this form" section. We plan to move the examples of mental health conditions and what VA considers a traumatic event to another static page. We generally don't list eligibility information on About form pages.
• I've replaced the "online tool" section with "If you're filing a disability claim online." The goal is to ease Veterans' confusion about the link - now instead of setting up the expectation that Veterans will fill out the 0781 online, we say that if you're filling out a 526 online, we recommend you upload the 0781 PDF in one of 2 ways.
• I've removed the information alert from the "Downloadable PDF" section. The change above makes this alert redundant.

Currently, we tell Veterans that they can use the 0781 PDF to provide more information about mental health conditions other than PTSD. But if they don't have PTSD, we don't prompt them to upload this PDF or tell them how to upload it in the online 526. This is also likely contributing to the confusion around how to use the updated 0781 PDF.

We think that 2 changes in the online 526 could help ease this confusion:

• adding a screen in the online 526 that prompts Veterans about the 0781. Doesn't use conditional logic that affects other screens. The pension form uses alerts like this to make people aware of additional forms they need to fill out:

[h3] Mental health conditions

Are you filing this claim for a mental health condition other than PTSD?

[ ] Yes [ ] No

<if yes, show information alert:

[h4] You can submit an additional form to support your claim

If you're filing a claim for a mental health condition other than PTSD, you can provide more information about your condition to support your claim. Complete and upload the PDF version of a Statement in Support of Claimed Mental Health Disorders Due to an In-Service Traumatic Events (VA Form 21-0781).

Get VA Form 21-0781 to download (opens in new tab)

We'll ask you to upload this form later. You can continue your disability application.

2. add copy about the 0781 to one existing screen in the "Supporting evidence" section

For the question, "Is there any evidence you'd like to review as part of your claim?"

add hint text:

"If you have a mental health condition other than PTSD and need to submit VA Form 21-0781, select Yes"

For the following question, (not exact wording) "What type of evidence do you want us to review?"

add hint text:

"If you want us to review VA Form 21-0781, select Supporting (lay) statements or other evidence"

[katherine-fung]

@shannonkford - I think @bethpottsVADEPO let you know that we've drafted changes to this page, and that it's ready for SME review. Have we received any SME feedback on it?

Here's the screenshot again:

Once they approve it, our team can publish it. I would love to get this published by the end of this week 10/4, before your PTO and my leave potentially starting. Thanks!

cc @aprocik1 @saratorres2 @strelichl @hermonica