Homeowners dismiss the possibility of future flooding, relying on their own historical experience; if their property has never flooded, it is unlikely to do so. FEMA says otherwise.
Supporting the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
FEMA's (Federal Emergency Management Agency) emphasis on flood insurance is rooted in the need to protect homeowners financially, reduce the burden on federal disaster relief funds, encourage risk awareness and mitigation, support the sustainability of the NFIP, maintain property values, enhance community resilience, and comply with legal and regulatory requirements. By ensuring that more homeowners are covered by flood insurance, FEMA can help create a more resilient and financially secure nation in the face of increasing flood risks.
The Google 5-Day Sprint enables quick problem-solving, encourages collaboration, and promotes user-focused design. Additionally, it helps manage risks, fosters innovation and creativity, enhances public services, and promotes efficient resource use.
Sprint Team
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Jessica Lowry
UX Designer & Workshop Faciitator
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Laurel Hechanova
UX Designer & Workshop Facilitator
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Client SME's
FEMA, NFIP, FIMA Experts
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McKinsey & Co
Client Relationship Partners
My role as a UX designer & workshop facilitator
In my role, I worked with McKinsey & Co. and my partner Laurel (also a UX Designer and Facilitator) to define the objectives clearly. Articulate the goals and objectives of the workshop to ensure all participants understand the purpose and desired outcomes. McKinsey's client partners handled recruiting to ensure we had a diverse group of stakeholders, including end-users, designers, developers, subject matter experts, and other relevant parties, for comprehensive input and perspective. Additionally, Laurel and I worked with McKinsey to gather background information on the problem being addressed. This included personas, research findings, existing challenges, and constraints or requirements.
I focused on encouraging divergent thinking without judgment, using techniques like mind mapping and "How Might We" questions. As a facilitator, I needed to allow for silent brainstorming initially to ensure everyone's voice was heard. Facilitate group brainstorming sessions and use visual aids for idea presentation. Laural and I worked to organize ideas into clusters, prioritize with dot voting, and select the top ideas for further development. Laurel and I were able to split the larger group of participants into small groups to refine and develop selected ideas, incorporate feedback loops, and create low-fidelity prototypes. Laurel and I collaborated on designing prototypes that could be tested with end-users, iterate based on feedback, and capture all ideas generated. Finally, I was tasked with identifying the next steps, assigning responsibilities, and reflecting on the workshop process and outcomes for continuous improvement.
How might we empower homeowners to understand their level of risk?
The 5-Day Sprint Process
Day 1: Understand and Map
Understand: Gather a diverse team of stakeholders to understand the problem. This includes experts from different fields to share their knowledge.
Map: Create a map of the problem space. Identify the target area to focus on for the rest of the sprint.
Day 2: Sketch Solutions
Inspiration: Review existing solutions and gather inspiration.
Sketch: Each team member sketches their solution version, providing a range of ideas.
Day 3: Decide and Storyboard
Decide: Critique the sketches and decide on the best solution to pursue. This decision is typically made through a structured voting process.
Storyboard: Create a step-by-step storyboard of the solution, detailing how it will work in practice.
Day 4: Prototype
Prototype: Build a realistic but basic prototype. The goal is to create something tangible enough to test with real users.
Day 5: Validate
Validate: Conduct feedback sessions with real users. Gather feedback on the prototype to understand what works, what doesn’t, and why.
Day 1
User frustrations with the existing website were identified and discussed, with a focus on the challenges of predicting floods.
Objectives
Outcome
The primary objective of the design sprint is to create an informational user experience for homeowners affected by flood map changes. This solution will be used in a pilot program involving a control group of users selected based on location. The goal is to ensure these homeowners receive clear, actionable information about their flood risk.
Pilot
In the pilot program, users will be informed whether their home is in a high-risk or medium-low-risk flood zone. They will receive a notification prompting them to visit a designated website for more information. However, it is anticipated that some users may ignore or miss the notification. These users may then conduct keyword searches online to find the necessary information.
Partnerships
For the initiative to be sustainable and have the most significant impact, it must partner with existing internal efforts. FEMA has a public duty to communicate risk and an obligation to inform people about their flood risk. It is essential to recognize that flood risk assessments involve many layers of information, and flood risk is rarely specific and hard to predict.
FEMA floodplain maps can be difficult to understand due to their technical nature, visual complexity, and lack of contextual information.
Day 2
Participatory design established a collaborative environment that helped to break down silos and ensured that diverse perspectives were considered, leading to more holistic solutions.
Idea generation
The process resulted in priorities for providing comprehensive, user-friendly, well-defined information for a website that empowers consumers to take informed and proactive steps to manage their flood risk effectively.
User Priorities
Why Me? Why Now?
Understanding Personal Risk: Users need clear information on why they are personally at risk of flooding. This includes details on recent flood map changes, historical data, and how their specific location is affected.
Urgency: It's crucial to convey why it is important to address flood risk now. This could involve highlighting recent increases in flood events, the potential financial and safety impacts of flooding, and any immediate steps users should take.
What Can or Should I Do? (Options)
Actionable Steps: Users need a clear set of actions to mitigate their flood risk. This might include purchasing flood insurance, making structural improvements to their property, or creating a flood preparedness plan.
Resources and Assistance: Provide information on available resources, such as government grants, community programs, and professional services that can assist with flood risk mitigation.
Comparative Information: Provide users with information on the pros and cons of different options, including cost-benefit analyses and case studies of successful mitigation efforts.
Supporting Information
Educational Content: Offer detailed explanations about flood risk assessment, the science behind flood maps, and how various factors contribute to flood risk.
FAQs and Help Sections: Include a comprehensive FAQ section and easy-to-access help resources to address common questions and concerns.
Interactive Tools: Develop interactive tools, such as flood risk calculators or property-specific risk assessments, that allow users to input their data and receive personalized information.
Visual Aids: Use maps, charts, infographics, and videos to convey complex information visually, helping users understand their flood risk and the steps they can take.
Case Studies and Testimonials: Share real-life stories and testimonials from individuals who have successfully mitigated their flood risk. This can provide motivation and practical insights for other users.
Day 3
Develop low-fidelity prototypes or mockups of the top ideas. Feedback sessions present refined ideas and receive input for further enhancement, ensuring robust concepts.
Critical feedback for further design iteration
"We need to ensure that we are providing enough information. We require feedback on the necessary content and the language to use."
"We might need to consult an actuary for data on average insurance costs. How can we set the right expectations?"
"How can we make the risk feel real?"
"The map wasn't intuitive to me. Can we come up with something more interactive? Can we display the movement of flood lines and incorporate changes by FEMA and the community in partnership?"
Options to reduce risk include:
Insurance
Mitigation
How to protect yourself:
Insure
Protect
Prevent (community)
Day 4
Building a clickable prototype for testing with end-users.
Designed in Sketch, tested in Invision
I built the prototype using InVision to create a clickable simulation that allowed us to test and validate the designs effectively with end users. This iterative process helps ensure that the final product meets user needs and expectations, reducing the risk of costly changes later in development.
Working in a tool like InVision is very simple. I uploaded the design files I worked on with Laurel into InVision. Next, I created hotspots and interactive touchpoints that link to other screens. We designed the wireframes for testing on a mobile device or iPad. Our designs could eventually work for all types of devices, but limiting the number of user flows and types of interactions is better for an initial test. For example, we did not include touchscreen commands if a participant wanted to pinch or swipe. Additionally, we kept transitions between screens (e.g., fade, slide, push) simple to enhance the user experience and make the prototype feel more interactive. Before we conducted the test with real participants, I brought the prototype to the client relationship managers from McKinsey & Co. to use the preview mode in InVision to test the prototype and check for any broken links or interactions that didn’t work as expected.
Day 5
Ensuring the proposed solution meets user needs and expectations effectively.
Validation sessions
Pre-Validation Setup
As the facilitator, I joined the Zoom meeting a few minutes early to set up and ensure everything worked correctly. At the scheduled time, the participant joined the meeting. I briefly explained the process and answered any questions the participant might have.
Observers from FEMA and McKinsey joined the Zoom meeting with their microphones and cameras off to minimize distractions. We used Zoom’s “Hide Non-Video Participants” feature to focus only on the facilitator and participant.
Screen Sharing
I shared my screen, allowing participants and observers to guide the participants through specific tasks.
Facilitator’s Role
My role was to guide the participants through the tasks, asking open-ended questions and encouraging them to think aloud. I remained neutral, avoiding leading questions or influencing the participant’s behavior.
Real-Time Observation
Observers watched the sessions from McKinsey & Co.’s Washington DC office in real-time, taking notes on participant behavior, comments, and any issues encountered. We used the InVisions chat feature so that observers could communicate privately without interrupting the session. This was useful for sharing insights and notes directly on the screens used for the prototype.
Key insights
“When you send people information - they want somebody to talk to - I don’t know if a website or letter or postcard is going to get it - when you send something out, and now they’re going to have a postcard - and if they don’t have someone to talk to they’ll come to city hall.”
“We have people who can help with maps, but we have no one to help with insurance.”
“include that the high-risk zone is AE or whatever to make sure it matches other flood map language and terminology.”
“Many people come to me for construction questions - maybe add info about making changes to their home - how to read an elevation map to know if I raise my home.”
“Would it be worthwhile if we were to put a Q&A database - user can add their question and find an answer - pages could be populated based on text search?”
“all the websites in the world are great, but some towns need face-to-face for this information to be delivered in the best way.”
Final deliverable
Once I completed the final designs, I conducted user testing sessions and made additional design iterations before delivering the final documentation to FEMA.
The single-scrolling responsible web page is designed to be user-friendly and easily understandable. It provides an interactive floodplain map that allows users to visualize flood-prone areas easily. Additionally, the page offers a feature that instantly generates flood insurance estimates using data from local insurance providers. This can help users make informed decisions about flood insurance based on their location and risk factors.
