Tree-test participants
For estimate submission, 10 chose Make a claim and 9 chose Benefits. For tracking, 16 chose Benefits and 6 chose Overview—evidence that one hidden path would not match everyone’s mental model.
← Selected work
Canada Life · Released product
Making pre-treatment estimates easier to find and track
A research-led redesign that made a buried, time-sensitive service easy to find, submit, and track.
At a glance
- ProblemMembers couldn’t find pre-treatment estimates because the option was buried inside claim categories.
- What I didAs lead UX designer, I combined a 25-person tree test, 24,177 recorded submissions, and 1,476 survey comments to design a dedicated estimates path with two entry points.
- ResultThe primary journey went from seven steps to four, and the redesign shipped in the Canada Life group-benefits portal.
What shipped
A dedicated estimates path on desktop and mobile
Understanding requirements, starting an estimate, and finding submitted estimates stay prominent on every screen size. I reviewed these decisions with engineering throughout delivery.
Project snapshot
A dedicated path for estimates
An estimate, also called a predetermination, lets members check expected coverage before treatment. I led the UX for a standalone path to submit and track estimates in the group-benefits portal, designed within Salesforce Industries and Lightning Web Component constraints.
- My role
- Lead UX Designer
- Users
- Group-benefits members planning healthcare expenses
- Scope
- Research synthesis, information architecture, flows, UI, handoff, and design QA
- Partners
- Product, research, content, business analysis, engineering, accessibility, and QA
- Status
- Released in the Canada Life group-benefits portal
The problem
Members could not find the service when they needed it
Before an important procedure, members needed to know what their plan might cover. But the estimate option sat inside other claim categories, the terminology was inconsistent, and there was no obvious place to track a submitted request.
Design challenge
How might we make estimates and predeterminations easy to find, submit, and track—without requiring members to understand the organization’s internal terminology?
Evidence
Three sources revealed a findability problem
I combined behavioural data, information-architecture research, and unstructured customer feedback.
Recorded submissions
Adobe Analytics recorded 20,032 English and 4,145 French estimate submissions over a 13-month period, demonstrating meaningful demand for the service.
Qualtrics comments reviewed
Recurring themes included difficulty finding estimates, unclear terminology, and uncertainty about where to track a submitted request.
Information architecture
From a concealed route to deliberate entry points
The flow redesign separated estimates from unrelated claim categories and added access from locations supported by the tree-test findings.
Interactive comparison
Walk through both experiences
Compare how the entry point, terminology, and route changed.
Before
Open in Figma ↗Previous estimate flow
A concealed route that depended on familiarity or assistance.
After
Open in Figma ↗Redesigned estimate flow
A visible destination with a direct path to the task.
Design exploration
Testing how the estimate entry point should communicate
I explored combinations of content, controls, and component patterns, then aligned with the team on the direction that best balanced clarity with Salesforce component constraints.
Design decisions
Four changes made the service easier to understand
Use both “estimate” and “predetermination”
Customer language and insurance terminology appear together, reducing the burden of knowing the official term.
Create more than one credible entry point
Members can enter from Make a claim and the left navigation, reflecting the different locations revealed through tree testing.
Give estimates a dedicated landing page
Required documents, starting the request, and tracking prior submissions are gathered into one recognizable destination.
Reduce the primary journey
The redesigned structure reduced the documented flow from seven steps to four while preserving necessary insurance information.
Experience in motion
Web and mobile walkthroughs
These recordings show the final flow across both responsive contexts.
Web view
Mobile view
Outcome
A dedicated, shorter estimate journey
steps in the primary journey, with required insurance information preserved
responsive experience live in the Canada Life group-benefits portal
Post-launch call-volume and satisfaction data aren’t included here. To measure impact, I would track monthly estimate submissions and support contacts asking where to find estimates.
Reflection
Findability is part of the product—not a layer around it
A well-designed form cannot help members who never find it, so navigation, language, and tracking have to be designed as part of the service.
Combining several evidence sources also kept me from treating one entry point as obvious. Members hold different mental models of the same task, so the final structure offers more than one way in.
Next project
Redesigning the medical claim experience
A guided, step-by-step claim journey built during the move to Salesforce.