supports our nation’s most critical missions by solving complex technology, intelligence, and mission support challenges.
United States Customs and Immigration Service
My client, the USCIS Office of Information Technology, serves multiple departments across the Customs and Immigration Service. Each of these departments serves millions of civilians around the globe.
The ultimate goal of the RDSO program was to modernize 8 complex, enterprise, legacy, large-scale data management and delivery systems.
Role:
Product Designer &
Accessibility Tester
Toolkit:
Adobe XD, Confluence, Jira, ANDI & Color Contrast Analyzer (CCA)
Responsibilities:
I provided crucial support to 8 enterprise apps that were instrumental to the mission of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), specifically in the areas of immigration and national security.
Working within an agile framework, I seamlessly integrated UX activities into the development and testing phases of the project. I ensured that all UX activities were carefully planned, sized, and tracked to ensure smooth synchronization with the overall project objectives.
Through close collaboration with the development team, I fostered a strong working relationship that enabled me to effectively share my findings from user research, and work collaboratively on a design and development approach.
I undertook user research, design, testing, and implementation activities to develop solutions that effectively addressed the needs of USCIS users. This involved creating and testing prototypes with users, and iterating on designs to ensure that the final solution met user needs and exceeded their expectations.
I created an accessible design system and style guides that effectively tied together multiple applications, ensuring consistency across USCIS.
I obtained my Certified 508 Trusted Tester certification, which involved rigorous training and a challenging testing process. Through this certification, I was equipped with comprehensive knowledge of 508 compliance standards, which I expertly applied to undertake full-site 508 compliance evaluations, documentation, and mitigation of failures. As the sole 508 Trusted Tester for the FOIA public-facing website and internal app, I played a critical role in ensuring the accessibility of these platforms.
As the main UX resource on multiple applications, I effectively acted as an advocate for UX within agile teams and customer interactions, championing the importance of UX within cross-functional teams.
I regularly communicated research findings, overall UX strategy, design approach, and other relevant insights to audiences of varying levels of technical knowledge, ensuring that all stakeholders had a thorough understanding of the importance of UX in delivering a successful product.
Much of the work I did at Intellibridge is protected under a Non- Disclosure Agreement. This means – I can’t show you all of the work I’ve done, but I can tell you about my process and experience.
Person Centric Identity Service
(PCIS) App
Enables USCIS to share immigration files more efficiently within the DHS and with external agencies.
Evaluation
I conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the existing designs to establish a baseline for our UX improvement efforts.
This involved a thorough examination of the documentation materials previously gathered by the design team, as well as an assessment of the functionality that must be included, what would be considered as nice to have, and what could be safely excluded.
To ensure that the resulting design would be optimally aligned with user needs, I carefully considered user feedback regarding desired functionalities and features, as well as identifying areas of disuse.
Finally, I determined that the original designs were not accessible.The designs did not consider accessibility for images, color contrast, legibility, data tables, dynamic content/Interactivity, forms and navigation elements. The designs also lacked the necessary incorporation of USCIS branding or the U.S. Web Design System, which necessitated a complete redesign in accordance with these critical considerations.
A design system for the federal government, that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites.
Implementation
I employed USWDS components and design patterns to facilitate the overhaul of the PCIS application. Working with the PO and Developers I established a repository within Confluence and an XD template which designers and developers could leverage to promote the widespread adoption of this system across all 8 applications within USCIS.
FOIA Immigration Records System (FIRST) App
The only system in the U.S. government that allows users to submit and track Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and receive documents digitally. Services like Ancestry.com leverage the FIRST App to obtaining genealogical records.
Accessibility
Accessibility ensures that products are usable and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities. It’s not just the right thing to do, it's also good business. By making products more inclusive and accessible, we reach a wider customer base.
Additionally, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, is a Federal law that requires equal access for individuals with disabilities to technology funded by the Federal government. Failure to comply can result in legal penalties, as well as lost business from potential customers who are unable to use the product or service.
508 Trusted Tester
I successfully achieved the Certified 508 Trusted Tester certification after undergoing an arduous training and testing process that spanned over 85 hours.
Through this rigorous program, I acquired the necessary expertise to identify the Section 508 standards for web and skillfully employ specialized tools and testing processes to evaluate websites and web applications for conformance with these standards. As a result, I am equipped to ensure that digital platforms are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Testing & Audit
As an expert in 508 Compliance, I provided critical leadership for the FIRST application and Public facing site foia.gov, ensuring accessibility for the entire user base. My 508 Certification enabled me to identify and resolve 100’s of errors, and I worked in close collaboration with Developers to implement effective solutions and thoroughly retest for 508 compliance.
Furthermore, I led efforts to prepare for an external 508 Compliance audit for FIRST, ultimately achieving a successful outcome.