Michelle Lieu and the Service Design Team at the Social Security Administration (SSA) are being honored in Category 3: Using Innovation, Data, and Breaking Down Organizational Barriers for creating the Service Index, a groundbreaking tool that is helping SSA align services, channels, and customer needs to transform the citizen experience.

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Frustrated by service gaps and customer “dead ends,” Michelle launched the Service Index to map the 140 customer tasks SSA supports and identify how each one is accessed - online, by phone, or in person. The result? A new framework that exposes service gaps, channel disparities, and opportunities for self-service, while driving smarter product development, improved business processes, and data-driven service design.

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Already influencing SSA-wide transformation and inspiring other federal agencies, the Service Index is becoming a model for how complex bureaucracies can simplify and center their services around the people they serve - paving the way for seamless, efficient, and human-centered government delivery.