Case Study

Thomson Reuters Fraud Detect

Thomson Reuters is a global AI and technology company empowering professionals with trusted content and workflow automation. It acquired Pondera Solutions in 2020, and Pondera's SaaS platform, Fraud Detect, utilizes expert machine-learning technology for government programs in Healthcare, SNAP, and Unemployment.

Outcome: $130M in duplicate payments and $50M in overpayments identified, leading to $18.7M in recoveries by the Medicaid Inspector General. Pondera was acquired by Thomson Reuters for $124M.

My Role

I ran product design end to end as the lead designer: scoping, interviews with users and stakeholders, usability testing, and close work with product, engineering and other teams. I also ran usability audits and led remediation for VPAT compliance.

The Challenge

The application initially functioned more like a website than an interactive product application. Its UI suffered from inconsistencies, including mismatched font families and sizes, non-brand colors, and inadequate contrast, resulting in non-compliance with WCAG/ADA accessibility standards. Additionally, the UX varied across the product suite, lacking cohesion, confusing users. Fraud Detect also needed to cater to diverse client verticals, each with unique requirements.

The Solution

I led the UX transformation of a highly fragmented legacy enterprise platform to scale across diverse client verticals and secure state/federal market share. I developed System Actors and documented pain points and opportunities for improvement to guide our team’s development efforts.

Addressing these challenges involved remapping and simplifying user flows, conducting user interviews, collaborating with SMEs, and months of in-depth user research to understand how the product was used and underutilized. I traveled across the country to meet with clients, observing firsthand how they used and didn’t use the application.

Throughout the design process, I collaborated closely with SMEs, BAs, developers, executives, and clients. I created new user flows, wireframes, and building interactive prototypes to test interactions and gather valuable user feedback. This approach led to a smooth rollout, with clients feeling engaged in the redesign process and excited for the much-needed application update.

The Result

The new UI and UX streamlined workflows and reduced administrative overhead for state agencies nationwide. The new user experience featured a dashboard with actionable intelligence designed for both analysts and investigators. Following the acquisition, users and customer renewals grew, the result of design working alongside sales, product and engineering.

Fraud Detect identified $130 million in duplicate payments and $50 million in overpayments, leading to $18.7 million in recoveries by the Medicaid Inspector General. The Pondera product suite serves 2K+ end users nationwide, and Pondera Solutions was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2020 for $124 million.

Related case study: California DHCS, a Pondera client that used Fraud Detect alongside Pondera’s case management SaaS, which I helped design and build.