• Through stakeholder interviews with federal employees, we mapped the landscape of related efforts and identified key collaborators who later joined our working group.

• A follow-up literature review ensured our team was well-informed and aligned with existing knowledge. This strengthened our credibility and accelerated development by leveraging existing personas, journey maps, and benefit materials.

• I analyzed these existing resources to identify key user groups and developed user personas to guide design. I identified overlooked user segments, such as Guard/Reserve members and family/caregivers of Veterans, increasing the app’s projected reach by over 30%.

• I also synthesized a journey map tracing a service member’s path from active duty to civilian life, which clarified when different benefits are most relevant and helped define where our app could deliver the greatest impact.

Together, these activities saved time and resources, honored the work of partner teams, and laid the groundwork for a collaborative, high-impact product strategy from the outset.

I led a series of activities to ensure our app was grounded in real user needs and strategically positioned within the broader ecosystem of benefits tools and resources:

1. Interviews with Veterans

   I began by designing and conducting virtual interviews with Veterans to understand their lived experiences navigating benefits information.

   By creating space for open-ended, unbiased conversations, I uncovered recurring pain points and unmet needs that directly informed our design direction

2. Competitive Testing

   I then designed and facilitated a competitive testing study that combined qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate existing tools.

   This analysis revealed critical gaps in current solutions and clarified how our product could differentiate itself in meaningful ways.

3. Prototype Development

   I partnered with a UX Designer to translate research findings into a functional prototype, providing iterative hands-on feedback and ensuring alignment with VA design standards.

   The prototype brought user needs to life through tangible interactions and served as a powerful artifact for stakeholder engagement.

4. Usability Testing

   To evaluate and refine the prototype, I designed and conducted a usability study that included task-based scenarios, think-aloud protocols, surveys, and the System Usability Scale (SUS).

   With limited time per session, I carefully selected methods to balance depth with efficiency.

   I synthesized the quantitative and qualitative data into actionable insights via user stories, usability metrics, and strategic recommendations that drove key product decisions in the next phase of development.