Outcome

Develop user-centered design, research, content, and development capabilities for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB).

Challenge

Based on previous user research conducted for FRTIB, there is a gap between how information is currently organized on TSP.gov and what users need from the site to make informed retirement decisions. FRTIB wants users to be able to easily find and understand the retirement services they offer, ensuring that users are taking full advantage of the retirement benefits being provided to them. Additionally, FRTIB believes that the site would reach more users if it was mobile-friendly.

Getting started

We started this project by dropping in with the technology team at the Thrift Savings Program (TSP) a few times a week to help them with agile design, development, content, and project management practices.

We went through sprint planning together and then co-worked and coached alongside our TSP counterparts as we began to prototype the new public-facing TSP.gov website.

Content and UI updates

The TSP site was in desperate need of a complete overhaul in design, content, and information architecture. Users were not finding the information they needed and the information was not presented in a way that was easily understood by users. The site was built in Jekyll and custom page teamplates and layouts were devloped to showcase the TSP content making it easier for users to digest.

This was the TSP site before updating the content, design and information architecture.

We utilized the U.S. Web Design System as a starting point for the updated design. We focused on plain language as well as simplifying the information architecture to help users understand the options the TSP provides and what is available to them.

Example of updated content UI which focuses on simplicity and readability and understanding.

Another part of our work was to revamp the way data was exposed to users on the site to help users evaluate options the TSP provides. Custom in page tools were created to help with understanding this data.

UI comparison tool to help TSP members compare plan types.

Takeaways

We turned the site over to the TSP technology team and new TSP.gov site launched in July of 2020! The team at TSP has done a great job keeping the site updated and continuing to promote web standards and best practices.