Scholarship for Service: CyberCorps
Establishing human-centered design practice for legacy government student program
Work in Progress
Scope
- Product design
- UX research
- Stakeholder relations
- Product visioning and alignment
Tools
Miro, Figma, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams
Collaborators
- Client (program) team
- Product owner
- Business analysts
- Content strategist
- Front-end developers
- Back-end architects
Role
Lead product designer and UX researcher
- Established human-centered design practice, product design Ops, and collaborative partnership between product and program teams
- Lead UX research activities, analysis, synthesis, and presentation of findings at key milestones
- Created UX strategies and guiding principles for product development
- Aligned cross-functional teams on creative direction, user experience objectives, and business goals
THE PROBLEM
Antiquated data management system with lack of user-focused strategy
Scholarship for Service (SFS) is a federal financial aid program supporting students pursuing careers in cybersecurity. Established over 20 years ago, the program connects the National Science Foundation to higher ed institutions across the country to provide financial aid to students in exchange for federal service after graduation.
Until recently, much of the program’s administration was manual using a series of PDFs and Excel spreadsheets. After an operational audit, the program was quickly moved to an antiquated data management system lacking any creative direction or strategy.
Our product team was brought in as in-house consultants to establish human-centered design practices, create strategic product goals, update the system’s technology capacity, and align the website with the program’s business requirements. There was also the question as to how the product fit into the larger brand landscape of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), its parent agency or peer program (USAJOBS).
Miro canvas was used to gather and synthesize interview findings using thematic analysis
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
Understanding the history to discover the future
Although the program had continued success and growth for over 20 years, little was known about the users and audiences of the web platform. I reviewed a wealth of historical data about the program’s impact on students and success provided by the program. I also conducted a series of stakeholder interviews with program administrators, evaluators, and the product team.
It was clear from the beginning that in order to meet business goals, the product needed to scale. However, the legacy current system had very little room to adapt and evolve. Key to scalability was establishing a practice of human-centered design to put users in the focus of technical and design decisions and solutions.
Synthesis of interview findings and desk research helped focus and triage solutions and refine UX research activities for the short and long terms.
Outcome: Product team’s role transformed from producer / vendor to partner due to the collaboration and empathy use in this preliminary research.
Key insight #1
Difficult transition from legacy to current data management solutions left gaps in workflows, user experience, and service design
Key insight #2
Program team is passionate about the people they serve, the opportunities the program gives to students and institutions, and care deeply about their work.
Key insight #3
Website lacks UX strategy, product vision, and a critical understanding of user needs, competitive marketplace, or scalable approach to the future.
Key insight #4
Product is misaligned with brand ecosystem within OPM, U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) standards, and key strategies for federal digital spaces.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
Who are we, and where are we going?
Guiding product development principles and UX strategies were created collaboratively with the client team to shape the product moving forward.
Related outcomes
- Presentation deck used to shareout interview findings was added to the design team’s template library
- Concept of ‘guiding principles’ shared with program and agency leadership and adopted for future products
Product guiding principles
- Service-driven connection
- Growth and scalability
- Intuitive and user-friendly
- Professional and sophisticated
- Balanced flexibility and consistency
UX strategies
- Cohesive visual identity and voice
- Build for the future
- Smart efficiencies
- User-centered iteration
USER RESEARCH
Archetypes & personas
- User archetypes, subtypes, and personas created and shared with program office
- User type canvases developed to visual user profiles
- Full report and presentation shared with client with collaborative iteration
- IN PROGRESS: Identification of priorities and goal by user type through interactive workshops with product and program teams
Key insight #1
Students and faculty struggle to understand the program holistically and feel left in the dark about next steps.
Key insight #2
Program administrators face the challenge of balancing program operations while understanding users and their goals. With their many responsibilities, finding the time to actively empathize can be difficult.
Key insight #3
Little is known about faculty and federal agency user groups, presenting considerable opportunities for research and strategy.
BEST PRACTICES
Usability and Accessibility Audits
In Progress: comprehensive review of public-facing website and data management system, measuring current site across three industry-standard frameworks and product goals:
- NN/g 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
- 21st Century IDEA Act
- Section 508 / WCAG 2.2 A & AA
- Product guiding principles
Findings were gathered into a 75+ page report and will shared with program and product teams in early 2025.
Key insight #1
Considerable opportunities to improve usability of website: align with best practices, meet policy guidelines, and section 508 compliance.
Key insight #2
Though requiring significant effort, recommended rebuild of website would have an exponential and positive impact on users, strategic goals, and the product’s scalability for continued success.
OUTCOME & FUTURE
Alignment on vision, momentum to scale
It’s just the beginning. The impact of this work is three-fold: creation of partnerships of trust and respect built to last; key alignment on shared product vision, goals, and guiding principles; and the establishment of user experience strategy and practice.
