Vets.gov Dashboard

Reimagining the VA's digital homebase.

My role

Workshop facilitation
Ideation, UI design, & prototyping
UX writing & content strategy

About Vets.gov

Vets.gov was a beta site developed by the VA to bring all Veteran-facing tools and brands under one roof. In 2018 Vets.gov merged with VA.gov to become the new home for Veterans at the VA.

The vision

As part of the VA's 21st century vision, I collaborated with United States Digital Service and VA technology leadership to conceptualize a modern online experience at the VA, reimagining how Veterans access benefits and services.

I set out to answer the question:

How can the VA better meet Veterans' needs to manage their benefits?

Workshop

I facilitated a workshop with the Vets.gov team to establish hypotheses we could build a concept around. I assembed product strategists, designers, researchers, and engineers from several product teams on Vets.gov to compare notes on their sector of the experience in order to develop a unified vision.

Needs
  • Access to information that's relevant information for me
  • Understand if and when new policy or laws impact my benefits
  • Help assimilating into civilian culture and work life
  • Understanding which benefits are available to me and my family
  • Less paperwork and process to get access to the benefits I need
  • Get relevant information delivered to me instead of searching it out
Opportunity themes
  • Personalize the online experience to the individual Veteran
  • Support the transition to civilian life
  • Help Veterans understand which benefits they're eligible for
  • Simplify the benefit enrollment experience
  • Reduce the paperwork burden
  • Provide easy access to records and documents
  • Reach out with important updates
  • Provide multiple avenues for help
Hypotheses
  • Deliver personalized suggestions for VA benefits and services
  • Showcase career development and job search resources
  • Connect Veterans to mental health professionals and peer support networks
  • Prefill benefit applications with data the VA already has to reduce or eliminate burden
  • Leverage email, SMS, and push notifications for important updates
Ideation

I compiled these hypotheses into a rapid proof of concept to present to the Secretary of the VA. They represent a one-stop-shop online dashboard for Veterans.

Recently separated Veterans get acclimated to the VA with a tailored onboarding experience.

The dashboard focuses on three key areas: recent updates, in-progress applications, and personalized recommendations.

Final concepts

After several quick revision rounds, I arrived at a refined and cohesive visual language for the final concepts with expanded functionality and demonstrated connections to other areas of the online experience.

View desktop prototype

Refined visual design and eliminated sidebar content for a streamlined, focused onboarding experience.

The initial dashboard experience for newly transitioned Veterans focuses on getting connected and enrolling in important benefits.

Veterans who are active with VA benefits and services see key updates such as messages from their doctor, prescription shipment status, updates to recent claims, and a host of recommended benefits, services, and ways to get involved in their local community.

The integrated sidebar navigation facilitates movement between different areas with the homebase just a click away.

Mobile experience

I also developed concepts for a mobile app, leveraging native technologies like push notifications, secure sign-in via fingerprint scan, and storing a Veteran ID card in Apple wallet.

View mobile prototype