This case study describes the process we used to design the requirements for a new application that better serves Veterans on the web. Human Centered Design // Ideation // Innovation // Government.

1. MA Veteran and Family Portal!
Requirements Design Process!
BYO consulting Case Study !
December 7th 2011!
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2. Table of Contents. !
3 BACKGROUND !
Project summary and info about BYO
consulting!
!
9 PROCESS!
Description of our bespoke audience
centered design process!
!
13 WHAT WE LEARNED!
Key learnings from the discovery and
refinement phases of the project!
!
26 FINAL DESIGN !
Description of the final design concept for
the portal !
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3. Portal Design
Project: Background!
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4. Project Goal: design the requirements for a portal that
improves the online lives of veterans and their families.
Project Sponsors: Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI),
MA Department of Veteranʼs Services, and the Homebase
Program
Design Timeline: January – August 2011!
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5. Why they chose BYO. !
!
We solve public problems through digital innovation. !
BYO was chosen to lead this project because of our strong background in government
technology and our focus on solving public problems through human-centered digital
strategy and design. !
!
We focus on the user. !
Working across the government and non-profit sectors, we help our clients leverage social
technology for the greater good by understanding their audiences and crafting impactful
digital strategies, products and services that meet their needs. !
!
We understand government and social change. !
We have deep expertise in government and social sectors, and our clients span a variety of
sectors; from arts administration to aerospace, the media to the military, and architectural
design to education reform – we speak our clients language. We understand their
motivations. We feel their challenges. And we take great delight in crafting innovative
solutions that solve their problems in meaningful and engaging ways. !
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6. What we do.!
We design strategies and products…!
• Digital Technology Product Requirements !
• Public Services !
• Social Media Engagement!
• Online Communications // Marketing // Engagement!
• Community Building!
• Organizational Development!
• Training and Curriculum!
!
…using human-centered research and design techniques: !
• Interviews !
• Field Observations!
• Focus Groups !
• Surveys !
• Design Charrettes !
• Ideation Sessions and Workshops !
• Desktop Studies !
• Literature Reviews!
• Quantitative // Qualitative Data Analysis!
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7. Iʼm Yasmin. I founded and run BYO.!
Areas of Expertise
!General Government and Public Policy; Veterans Services; Education; Libraries;
!Technology + Governance; Press and Politics; Community Building and Organizing;
!Civic Engagement!
!
Capabilities
!Research and Strategy Development; User Analysis; Conceptual Product Design;
!Social Innovation + Entrepreneurship; Business Development; Process Improvement;
!Services Design
!
Education!
M.A, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA, 2010, Public Policy!
B.A, Cornell University, 2005, Government !
!
Contact!
!!Yasmin@BYOconsulting.com // 818 419 1651 // http://wethegoverati.com !
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8. We have some awesome clients and partners:!
"
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9. Veteranʼs Portal
Design Process!
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10. We use an audience-centered model !
to design products and services!
!
We believe that the most effective products and services are those that tap into the needs, desires,
behaviors, and motivations of their intended audience.!
!
However, in the government / social sector, the funding, policy and political ecosystem,
organizational constraints, and project capacities are all important factors to include in the analysis. !
"
Who are the stakeholders
How can we leverage the Eco-System! that we should involve in this
expertise and resources from project? How can we help
the organization to support them, and what do we need
this project? ! Organizations! from them?!
What are our funding and
sustainability constraints?!
Products //
Services! How can we ensure that
the product meets our
What veterans and their intended policy goals while
families care about? What engaging our audience?!
Audience!
are their motivations? How
can we engage them while
meeting their needs?!
!9"
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11. Our design process started with participatory
ideation and ended with focused user input!
HOW IT WORKS - We start by collecting data and running ideation sessions with stakeholders to
develop a large solution set. Then we test those potential solutions with our core users through design
charrettes, site visits, and focus groups to refine and select the most meaningful solution. !
Project Kick-off!
Discovery! Discovery:
desktop studies,
user surveys,
and expert
interviews"
Refinement!
Refinement: design
charrettes, site visits,
focus groups "
Design Sign-off! Most meaningful solution" !!"
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12. VA Portal Design Tasks and Timeline: !
1. Project Kick-off (Jan)!
1.1. Project Management Structure!
1.2. Confirm Methodology!
1.3. Organizational/Stakeholder Analysis !
2. Discovery (Feb – March) !
2.1. Inventory of Veterans Websites!
2.2. Desktop Study!
2.3. Expert Interviews (veteranʼs community + gov/tech community)!
2.4 User Surveys!
3. Refinement (March – June) !
3.1. Design Charrette!
3.2. Needs Assessment (focus group) !
4. Design Sign-off (June – July)!
4.1. Development of Final Requirements!
Project Kick-off! Discovery! Refinement! Design Sign-off!
Jan! Feb! March! April! May! June! July!
2011! !8"
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13. What We Learned
about the Veteran //
Family Community!
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14. There are many resources and supports
available for veterans:!
!
Food, Womenʼs Issues, Legal Service, Healthcare + Mental
Healthcare, Recreation, Housing, Financial and Tax Services,
Educational Credits, Employment, Transportation, Faith, MA Dept of
Veterans Services, Veterans Administration, Department of Health
and Human Services, VA Hospitals, etc...!
!
However, the eligibility and application
process can be prohibitively complicated."
!
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15. “Tell us what we need to know; donʼt make !
us look through complicated information that
doesnʼt apply to us.”!
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17. Furthermore, veterans and their family
members use the web, and are used to
the clarity of commercial websites. !
!
They want to be able to get everything
done easily online. !
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18. “Zappos knows what I want…why donʼt you?!
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19. While we can give veterans more clarity,
we are unable to build a transactional
system as an external organization.!
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20. Our organizational analysis showed us that we
were limited to working at the 1st and 2nd stages of
development:!
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT! REQUIREMENTS!
1. Presence! Simple posting of information !
2. Interaction (i.e. “2.0”)! Turning words into data !
3. Transaction (aspirational goal)! Authority over dispensing benefits !
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21. Many users reported that their primary
method of obtaining information about
resources is through other veterans.!
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22. “We helped each other in combat, and we help !
each other at home.” !
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23. However, our younger (OEF/OIF) veterans
are part of a strong offline // online
support community and the majority of
veterans in Massachusetts are elderly."
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24. >9999" There are 400k+ veterans in Massachusetts, the majority of
whom are >50!
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26. Veterans Portal
Final Design!
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27. The portal will untangle the benefits and services process for
veterans, creating a “Turbotax” for veterans benefits and
services, giving them easy access to the critical information
they need and deserve. !
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28. How accessing information about benefits and
services online will change: !
FROM: ! TO: !
empty jargon! plain english!
a generic experience based in static text ! a personalized online experience that
from pamphlets and websites ! responds to the unique needs of individuals!
! !
point of entry = info about the benefit/service! point of entry = information about the veteran
or family member!
quantity ! quality!
even though a veteran might only be veterans will only be presented with specific
eligible for a small number of benefits and benefits and services that are relevant to
services, they still have to comb through the them and for which they are eligible !
1000s that exist !
uncertainty! confidence!
veterans are unsure if they are eligible for veterans will feel confident that the
the benefits they are interested in ! recommendations they receive are targeted
and robust !
reliance ! independence!
veterans often rely on others to recommend veterans will be able to quickly and simply
services because the benefits research navigate a site and help others do the same !
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29. The features.!
1! 2! 3!
Input Information:! Receive Recommendations:! Rate Quality:!
! ! !
!
Unlike traditional search !As the veteran // family member Although veterans expressed an
!
functions that utilize category or completes the diagnostic interest in working together, they
keyword searches, the Portal will questionnaire, the user will be already use a number of popular
guide users through a diagnostic presented with recommended social networking sites.
process. By asking questions in services along with concrete Accordingly, on our site veterans
simple language about their steps to take to access those will be able to:!
current condition, the Portal will benefits. Finally, the user will be 1) leave comments on services
map to all relevant benefits and able to save, print or email the and benefits!
services for which they are list and associated 2) “like” a benefit or service.
eligible, leaving out those which documentation. ! These ratings will be visible to all
are irrelevant for the user. ! users of the site, giving them the
opportunity to help their peers
without developing yet another
social networking site. !
The Portal be based on a new database of Federal and Massachusetts veteransʼ programs
and benefits, communicated through a simple and intuitive user interface, effortlessly guiding
veterans to the specific information they need and deserve. !
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30. The features.!
1! 2! 3!
Input Information:! Receive Recommendations:! Rate Quality:!
! ! !
!
Unlike traditional search !As the veteran // family member Although veterans expressed an
!
functions that utilize category or completes the diagnostic interest in working together, they
keyword searches, the Portal will questionnaire, the user will be already use a number of popular
guide users through a diagnostic presented with recommended social networking sites.
process. By asking questions in services along with concrete Accordingly, on our site veterans
simple language about their steps to take to access those will be able to:!
current condition, the Portal will benefits. Finally, the user will be 1) leave comments on services
map to all relevant benefits and able to save, print or email the and benefits!
services for which they are list and associated 2) “like” a benefit or service.
eligible, leaving out those which documentation. ! These ratings will be visible to all
are irrelevant for the user. ! users of the site, giving them the
opportunity to help their peers
without developing yet another
social networking site. !
The Portal be based on a new database of Federal and Massachusetts veteransʼ programs
and benefits, communicated through a simple and intuitive user interface, effortlessly guiding
veterans to the specific information they need and deserve. !
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31. The features.!
1! 2! 3!
Input Information:! Receive Recommendations:! Rate Quality:!
! ! !
!
Unlike traditional search !As the veteran // family member Although veterans expressed an
!
functions that utilize category or completes the diagnostic interest in working together, they
keyword searches, the Portal will questionnaire, the user will be already use a number of popular
guide users through a diagnostic presented with recommended social networking sites.
process. By asking questions in services along with concrete Accordingly, on our site veterans
simple language about their steps to take to access those will be able to:!
current condition, the Portal will benefits. Finally, the user will be 1) leave comments on services
map to all relevant benefits and able to save, print or email the and benefits!
services for which they are list and associated 2) “like” a benefit or service.
eligible, leaving out those which documentation. ! These ratings will be visible to all
are irrelevant for the user. ! users of the site, giving them the
opportunity to help their peers
without developing yet another
social networking site. !
The Portal be based on a new database of Federal and Massachusetts veteransʼ programs
and benefits, communicated through a simple and intuitive user interface, effortlessly guiding
veterans to the specific information they need and deserve. !
#$%&'$%(")*"+,-"./0123405"667"89!!"" :!"

32. The features.!
1! 2! 3!
Input Information:! Receive Recommendations:! Rate Quality:!
! ! !
!
Unlike traditional search !As the veteran // family member Although veterans expressed an
!
functions that utilize category or completes the diagnostic interest in working together, they
keyword searches, the Portal will questionnaire, the user will be already use a number of popular
guide users through a diagnostic presented with recommended social networking sites.
process. By asking questions in services along with concrete Accordingly, on our site veterans
simple language about their steps to take to access those will be able to:!
current condition, the Portal will benefits. Finally, the user will be 1) leave comments on services
map to all relevant benefits and able to save, print or email the and benefits!
services for which they are list and associated 2) “like” a benefit or service.
eligible, leaving out those which documentation. ! These ratings will be visible to all
are irrelevant for the user. ! users of the site, giving them the
opportunity to help their peers
without developing yet another
social networking site. !
The Portal be based on a new database of Federal and Massachusetts veteransʼ programs
and benefits, communicated through a simple and intuitive user interface, effortlessly guiding
veterans to the specific information they need and deserve. !
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33. What we got rid of.!
• Users can manage and store information online. !
• Include social elements, including but not limited to photo and
video sharing, social networking, commenting, rating, tagging,
forums, etc. !
• Calendar functions. !
• Community announcements. !
• Connect with external social networking sites (facebook, twitter,
etc). !
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34. Implementation notes.!
• 7 vendors responded to the RFP !
!
• Gopi Bala // MNET building the portal (to be launched Spring 2012) !
!
• MBI hiring a community manager !
!
• BYO developing an outreach plan for the MA veterans community !
!
• BYO developing a basic digital literacy curriculum for VSOs and
Veterans Services Organizations to use with veterans (train-the-trainer
program) !
!
• BYO developing an advanced digital literacy curriculum for VSOs (re:
the portal + other low-cost online tools that can be used to manage
cases such as dropbox, google docs, evernote, basecamp, etc) !
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35. Questions?
email: yasmin@byoconsulting.com!
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