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Before joining MyUSCIS in June 2023, I was working as a designer on internal USCIS software. This helped me understand some of the inner workings of what I was designing for, and proved to be valuable knowledge throughout my journey of working on a consumer-facing product that would touch millions of lives around the world.
One vast improvement I've made over the years as a designer is making sure I fully grasp the context and problem I'm given before diving into design. This means making sure I'm solving real pain points, for the right audience by talking to various stakeholders on my team and in the field.
Whether it be lo-fi or hi-fi prototyping, getting ideas onto paper and collecting feedback early and often has been key to my success. For a truly great user experience, validating and invalidating designs and assumptions are equally important.
Success doesn't end at design handoff. For the last 2 years at USCIS, I've prioritized the value of measuring success by understanding what the business needs are and identifying key metrics that align with those business goals.
One of my tasks at MyUSCIS was fully migrating our component library into Figma. Using the principles of an atomic design system, I built a responsive design library with a collection of reusable components and templates that are used on MyUSCIS.com today.
Personas are one research artifact I pushed to build after joining my team and noticing we didn't have a well-defined archetype to reference during design. Through several rounds of user interviews, I was able to generate several personas that served as a baseline for many of our product decisions throughout my time at USCIS. Below is an example of one of those personas.
It was no surprise during the user research I conducted that our users were not technically inclined or English proficient. With many of our applicants being first-generation immigrants, it was clear that we needed to do a better job of breaking down those barriers to apply for benefits online. This homepage redesign was aimed to create a sense of safety for our users - providing helpful resources just one click away as well as a large file a form CTA in the hero section that explains some of the updates we made.
During user research, it became clear that many users struggled to understand the form questions and how to provide accurate responses. This led to confusion and delays in completing the forms. To address this, I broke down the form experience into simpler, more digestible parts, using clearer language and adding real-time guidance. This ensured users could easily understand each step and submit accurate information without frustration.
One thing that I found interesting was all the help resources that USCIS offered online on their own site, but not in the form filing process itself. The bridge this gap, I proposed implementing an AI-powered chatbot, that provided real-time guidance and support and would offer relevant answers based on the hundreds of online resources on myUSCIS that were used to educate the chatbot.
