8 Customer Experience Considerations

[ISO/IEC9241-11] focuses on the users, goals, and context of use as the necessary elements for achieving effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. A holistic approach that considers these key elements is necessary to achieve usability.

The overarching goal of usability for identity proofing and enrollment is to promote a smooth, positive enrollment process for users by minimizing user burden (e.g., time, frustration) and enrollment friction (e.g., the number of steps to complete, the amount of information to track). To achieve this goal, organizations must first familiarize themselves with their users.

The identity proofing and enrollment process establishes a user’s interactions with a given CSP and the online services that the user will access. As negative first impressions can influence user perception of subsequent interactions, organizations need to promote a positive user experience throughout the process.

An effective usability evaluation on the identity proofing and enrollment process involves representative users, realistic goals and tasks, and appropriate contexts of use. The identity proofing and enrollment process should be designed and implemented so that it is easy for users to do the right thing, hard for them to do the wrong thing, and easy for them to recover if the wrong thing happens. [ISO/IEC9241-11], [ISO16982], and [ISO25060] provide guidance on how to evaluate the overall usability of an identity service and additional considerations for improving usability.

From the user’s perspective, the three main steps of identity proofing and enrollment are 1) preparation, 2) identity proofing and enrollment, and 3) post-enrollment actions. These steps may occur in a single session, or there could be a significant amount of time between each one (e.g., days, weeks).

General and step-specific usability considerations are described in the subsections below and are described from the users’ perspective.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [Section508] was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology and require federal agencies to make electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. While these guidelines do not directly assert requirements from Section 508, identity service providers are expected to comply with Section 508 provisions. Beyond compliance with Section 508, federal agencies and their service providers are generally expected to design services and systems with the experiences of people with disabilities in mind to ensure that accessibility is prioritized throughout identity system life cycles.

A primary aspect of customer experience is anticipating the needs of the user population and offering solutions that are suitable for that population. This becomes considerably more difficult within the context of identity proofing as the processes of identity resolution, validation, and verification each introduce their own user challenges. By analyzing the entire proofing process and assessing for common challenges, CSPs can deploy solutions that “meet the user where they are” and provide a more accessible and responsive set of solutions for their users. Consistent with the normative recommendations within this document, the following subsections discuss the value of deploying optionality and choice for users throughout the identity proofing process and the risks they can mitigate.