Last updated for Issue #804
Table of Contents:
As of Summer 2020, a number of groups and prospective stakeholder types had been identified as groups impacted by this project. Some of them interact with TDRS directly, and some are impacted indirectly. The original TDRS personas that were identified can be found in the personas mural linked below.
We expect that there will be a couple hundred users who interact with the TDRS system, made up of both STT and OFA staff.
For the purposes of the OFA MVP, the only users who will have access to the application will be OFA Admin and STT (test) users. Raft team or OFA will be acting as STT users for the OFA MVP.
Supporting Documentation
Data Preppers are staffers who collect TANF data and get it ready for submission to OFA. This process can range from manually following OFA data coding instructions to utilizing a software tool to automate some of that work.
A number of factors affect what that process looks like including:
- If TANF is administered by counties or the state/tribe/territory
- If they have an integrated eligibility system, or other software tools that aid in data management / TANF data prepping
- Other details of software tools that impact who can interact with them and what they can be used for. e.g. Some systems allow data preppers to generate flat files themselves directly from a case management system. Others require more assembly or more cross-functional collaboration with technical staff
In-house Data Preppers
In-house Data Preppers may be the only person who works on reporting and have competing responsibilities like program management or administrative duties. Or, they could work on a team where there are multiple data preppers to help with reporting.
There are a number of factors that affect the experience of a STT data prepper and the specific actions required of them including:
- If they're a tribal grantee
- If they submit sample or universe data
- Team size and availability of technical resources
- Whether a Managed File Transfer (MFT) solution such as TIBCO (Cyberfusion) is used to transmit data.
Third-party Data Preppers
We suspect that some STTs hire third party teams that manage their TANF data transmission for them. Some third party contractors playing a much more hands-on role in coding the data as well as transferring it. More research is needed in this area.
In Round 3 research we encountered a data prepper working at an STT with a team structure made up of contract workers as well as government employees. The participant told us that these contract workers sat on the team in the role of Business Analysts, but more research is needed to better understand the details of their role. Brief secondary research indicates that Business Analysts exist at several other STTs as well working on or alongside TANF programs.
Supporting Documentation
STT program directors manage data preppers and ensure that their STT is staffed and trained to meet federal reporting requirements. We've encountered several directors who are responsible for other programs like SNAP in addition to TANF. They are typically less involved with data collection details and formatting, but want to make sure their teams have the tools they need to get the job done. However, we have spoken to program directors of smaller teams who play a larger role in data prepping responsibilities as well.
It's important to note that "Program Director" might not be the actual title of people in this role. We've encountered a lot of variation in what those with these responsibilities are called including:
- Social Service Supervisor
- State Program administrator coordinator
- Public Assistance Program Specialist
Some STTs segment data preparation and data transmission into two distinct roles. We've encountered references to (SFTP) transmission being handled by IT workers or by technical offices at the STT level who work with other STT agencies and departments, not just those dealing with TANF. Technical staff can also play a role in generating coded reports
OFA analysts review, analyze, and report on STT’s TANF data that’s submitted through TDRS. They also help STTs through the transmission process by offering support and guidance around data quality (including fatal/warning edits). Analysts in the Tribal TANF Division also play a direct role communicating submission status, resubmission requests, and various reports to Tribes.
Supporting Documentation
OFA admins are members of the TANF Data Division. They oversee the collection and processing of TANF data and ensure OFA analysts have what they need to do their work.
Regional program specialists are STTs primary OFA point of contact. They track TANF trends in their region and provide troubleshooting and advice to STTs.
OPRE studies ACF programs and the populations they serve through rigorous research and evaluation projects. They use TANF data in their analyses. More research is needed in this area, especially on where duties and responsibilities overlap with OFA analysts.
OCIO staff oversees tech projects within ACF. They provide technical and security support to ACF's tech products.
Research has suggested that user tasks, or "Jobs to be done" in regard to the TANF Data Portal are consistent enough to suggest a clear need for two personas, one representing ACF users and one representing STT users. Note that a single persona could have many different combinations of permissions available to them in the data portal. e.g. While the ACF Persona represents all tasks that an ACF user might want to complete, some may only be assigned to some subset of those tasks.
[Persona table here pulling from content from this workshop + recent learnings https://app.mural.co/t/officeoffamilyassistance2744/m/officeoffamilyassistance2744/1608238114372/191c53b8ef538838bc8c179daa238dd5c5dcc9e8 ]
| Grace | |
|---|---|
| Role | OFA Data Portal User |
| Age | |
| Location | Washington DC |
| Work Environment | Office |
| Goals |
1. I've identified all states that have or have not transmitted data 2. I've identified any outstanding errors in submitted data 3. I'm able to contact grantees and facilitate corrections and resubmissions 4. I've enabled grantees to fix errors without communication from OFA 5. The final TANF data is completely submitted and error free |
| Pain Points |
1. Transmission reports can be confusing and aren't actionable enough 2. Current errors aren't easy to understand and act to fix, nor easy to explain to grantees 3. It can be difficult to identify where an error is coming from in a file 4. I see submitted data differently (in different systems) than the grantee submitting it does—The lack of a shared place to view data complicates communication. |
| Delights | 1. We send out WPR reports far faster than we used to |
| Tools | OCIO database, scripts to interact with or query the database, email, reporting/analytics software, excel, fTANF.exe |
| Awinita | |
|---|---|
| Role | STT Data Analyst |
| Age | 37 |
| Location | Window Rock, AZ |
| Work Environment | Office |
| Goals |
1. Cases kept up to date and accurate 2. My WPR calculations match those of ACF 3. I'm able to submit data in a timely manner 4. The data I submit is error free |
| Pain Points |
1. I have concerns about security when I submit files via email (Tribe pain point) 2. Errors can be difficult to understand, track down, and correct 3. I don't always hear back about the status of my submission in as timely a way as I'd like to. |
| Delights |
1. I appreciate receiving WPR reports from ACF faster than I used to in the past 2. Higher data quality let's me make better policy recommendations 3. My [software tool] is great at identifying errors before I submit data for a quarter |
| Tools | Integrated Eligibility System (IES) or other Case Management Software, email, reporting/analytics software, excel, fTANF.exe |
Supporting Documentation
Personas and their associated journeys will continue to be evaluated via further research. We plan to evaluate our hypothesis that ACF user tasks can be covered by a single persona via a follow-on workshop including OFA participants from "Central Office" and from regional offices.