CX Refinement for Digital Aging Service Intake
COA Service Design Case Study
Date
2022-2023
Partner
Live Well Collaborative
Keywords
Service Design / Customer Experience / Design Research / User eXperience / Accessibility
Introduction
This Customer Experience (CX) refinement project aimed to improve the online service intake process for the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio (COA), an organization that supports older adults across a wide range of programs with varying eligibility requirements.
The core challenge centered on improving how future (baby boomer generation) clients view, access, and understand program information online—with the goal of reducing friction in the service intake process.
My Role
As the Design Research Fellow, my responsibility concentrated on:
Collaborated with the design lead to shape the project brief and consulting plan.
Maintained weekly client communication to align research direction with evolving needs.
Led the team in executing design research and prototyping.
Facilitated 4 collaborative workshops for strategic mapping and co-creation with stakeholders.
Outcome
During the consulting, we conducted 20+ stakeholder interviews and 4 collaborative workshops, created a comprehensive service journey map for the leadership team to pinpoint pain points and prioritize improvements. By the end of the project, we delivered:
A strategic roadmap for COA’s digital intake transformation
A redesigned website information architecture to help older adults quickly find and understand relevant program information. (Launched in July 2025)
An updated design system with senior-friendly navigation patterns, accessible typography, and improved color contrast.
Our client, Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio (COA), is the state-designated Area Agency on Aging, providing essential health and life services for older adults (aged 65+) across six counties.
With all Baby Boomers expected to be 65 or older by 2030, COA anticipates a sharp increase in service demand and has decided to leverage its online channel for service intake.
COA’s current intake service relies heavily on front-door agents. Due to the complexity of program eligibility requirements and the multiple steps involved in collecting information, the process can be time-consuming and may result in an unsatisfactory experience—especially when clients are ultimately found ineligible..
To build a clear picture of COA’s service intake challenges, we conducted:
3 rounds of field research across different intake touchpoints.
23 stakeholder interviews with older adults, caregivers, staff, and service partners.
Intake journey mapping and system analysis to visualize workflows and identify friction points.
Our research explored:
The end-to-end intake process, from initial inquiry to service enrollment.
The digital literacy and behavior of the Baby Boomer generation.
Strategy Level: Baby Boomers show higher digital literacy than expected and are increasingly open to digital intake processes.
UX Design: While much program information exists online, navigation and information filtering need significant improvement to help older adults quickly find relevant services.
How might we help older adults easily navigate COA’s online program information so they feel prepared and confident for their service intake?
We co-created a client segmentation model with COA leadership to optimize the resources allocation for different types of clients. Each segment was linked to a corresponding strategy:
Independent (50–60): build awareness
For the Independent group, the priority is increasing awareness of aging-related challenges and familiarizing users with COA’s offerings.
Interdependent (70–80): support transitions
For the Independent group, the priority is increasing awareness of aging-related challenges and familiarizing users with COA’s offerings.
Dependent & Crisis (80+): streamline access with minimal friction
For Dependent and Crisis clients, COA aims to allocate more direct resources, with minimal administrative friction, since prior data has usually been collected.
We helped COA customized an accessibility-improving design system featuring:
- Consistent CTA buttons
- Large, readable text and padding
- Clear visual grouping
Information portal is designed to sort and present content based on the unique needs of its diverse audience groups.
Reorganized hierarchy from program-first to service-first navigation.
