Streamlined UI for Online Passport Renewal

Each year, more than 20 million U.S. citizens rely on the passport system to obtain or renew travel documents, but existing processes (paper-based system and the legacy online system) create unnecessary friction. Applicants using the online system faced long completion times, confusing workflows, and a cumbersome photo upload process that frequently resulted in failed submissions and user frustration. Additionally, the system lacked accessibility features and was not optimized for mobile, cutting off a large segment of the public from digital access. These pain points not only reduced user satisfaction but also undermined adoption, leading to higher support costs and continued reliance on the more expensive paper-based system. To fully realize the value of digital government, the Department of State needed a faster, easier, and more inclusive path to passport renewal that would increase self-service completion rates, reduce operational burden, and deliver a secure, accessible experience for applicants.

To expedite this aid, key internal controls at the SBA were reduced or eliminated in favor of self-certification for eligibility. The SBA Office of the Inspector General (OIG), tasked with independent, objective oversight to improve the integrity, accountability, and performance of the SBA, needed a way to handle a surge in potential fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA), tracking down bad actors who were taking advantage of the relaxed security controls intended for American businesses in immediate need.

eSimplicity partnered with the OIG to create a solution powered by AI to define the evolving fraud landscape and identify actionable leads for investigators.

To improve user experience and drive digital conversion, the team streamlined the full passport renewal journey—from simplifying complex instructions to reducing failure points in photo upload and identity verification. We restructured user flows to minimize time on task and applied plain language principles to ensure clarity across every screen. These enhancements were informed by continuous usability testing and designed to reduce abandonment while increasing successful self-service completions. To support these improvements at scale, eSimplicity re-platformed the application onto a custom, cloud-native architecture. We moved away from the limitations of Salesforce and built a flexible, containerized system with modular front-end components (via Storybook) and automated CI/CD pipelines. We also were the first Department of State team to integrate with the government payments API, allowing users to check-out within the renewal flow instead of being redirected to a second site. This modern stack allowed us to deploy frequently and safely, making it easier to incorporate user feedback, improve performance, and respond quickly to policy or operational changes.

Human-centered design anchored our approach, with user testing and feedback embedded throughout the Agile delivery cycle—not just during discovery. We used high-fidelity prototypes, moderated usability tests, and real-time reviews with stakeholders to continuously refine the experience and improve conversion. We also implemented a robust analytics and observability plan using GA4, Crazy Egg, and AWS CloudWatch to monitor user behavior, measure performance, and inform future improvements in real time. To ensure the application worked for all users, we designed to WCAG 2.0 standards and partnered with the American Council of the Blind for accessibility testing. A mobile-first strategy and plain language design further reduced complexity, making the renewal process faster, more intuitive, and more inclusive.

The OPR 3.0 system significantly outperformed its predecessor by reducing user friction, increasing deployment velocity, and enabling seamless cross-functional collaboration. It achieved notable improvements in accessibility, performance, scalability. Our transparent, cross-functional approach to product delivery, combined with real-time observability and data-informed iteration, positioned OPR as a successful system and a benchmark for how CA/CST approaches digital modernization.