VA: Health and Benefits MVP mobile app
Team: 1 UX, 2 PM, 10 Eng | Skills: UX strategy, user research, mobile design | Timeline: April 2020 to September 2021
Business problem
The Veterans Health Administration is the largest health care system in the United States, serving 9 million people. The Veterans Benefit Administration processes 2.5 million claims and appeals per year. Veterans were struggling to interact with the VA, reporting it felt like a “black hole”. I worked with the Office of the CTO of the VA to bring VA benefits management together under a single easy-to-use native mobile app.
UX discovery
As UX lead, I worked with Product and Engineering to define, build, and ship our MVP. I began by conducting 30+ in-depth interviews and co-design sessions with Veterans. This taught us that streamlining transactional, frequently done tasks across health and benefits would be the most useful application of a native app. I ran co-design sessions with Veterans, employing insights to iteratively design, refine, and build the app’s core features.
Mobile design system
I built a scrappy mobile design system using VA.gov’s design system as inspiration. I simplified aggressively for mobile, using high-contrast colors so Veterans with vision impairments could easily use the app.
Outcomes
In the first quarter after launch, we met all initial KPIs, like reducing time on task compared to mobile VA.gov (66% reduction) and positive sentiment from Veterans in App Store ratings. The launch was so successful that the Office of the CTO increased their planned investment in the product by 220%. I started as the sole UX researcher and designer, and after the MVP launch, the team grew to 3 members. 4 years after launch, the app has 3M+ downloads, an App Store rating of 4.9, and sees continued growth and investment from VA. Leading the UX effort for this product launch alongside a talented team was incredibly rewarding.This project has continued to grow and evolve since launch in 2021, even receiving recognition from the Biden-Harris White House.