Reducing drop off rates by 20% by enhancing Access to Critical Resources.
U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Office of Mental Health Website
Team and Roles
Web Content Strategist (me)
1 Senior Web Content Strategist
1 Senior UX Designer
1 Project manager
1 Data Analyst
Timeline
May - Aug 2024
(12 weeks)
Tools
Responsibilities
UX Content Strategy
UX Research
Data Analysis
Client communication
01. INTRODUCTION
Redesigning UX for Veterans: Enhancing Access to Vital VA Services
The VA plays a critical role in providing care and support to America’s veterans.
Its Mental Health Office ensures that veterans and their families have access to resources that promote well-being, recovery, and resilience.
The VA Mental Health website serves as a vital hub for accessing information on treatments, coping strategies, and support networks.
02. PROBLEM
The Experience: Navigating a Complex Website
Here’s what a typical veteran might encounter while searching for information: they land on a page with over 10 accordions, all collapsed, and no clear indication of which contains the information they need. For someone in distress, this process is not only frustrating but also emotionally taxing.
Overcoming Clutter and Accessibility: Barriers for a Vulnerable Audience
The VA Mental Health website presented a multifaceted challenge. It aimed to serve a highly sensitive audience—veterans and their caregivers—often navigating difficult emotional states and urgent needs.
Cognitive Overload
With over 106 accordions spread across 45 pages, the site was cluttered and overwhelming.
Hidden Critical Information
Vital resources and information were buried within accordions, requiring multiple clicks to access. This led to low open rates and prevented users from easily finding the information they needed.
Vulnerable Audience
Veterans often needed quick and intuitive access to support. Any extra friction in navigation could deter them from finding life-saving resources, making seamless user experience not just a priority but a necessity.
The challenge wasn’t simply about reducing clutter; it was about creating an accessible and empathetic design that could serve as a lifeline for those seeking support. Balancing simplicity, usability, and the depth of resources was key to addressing the unique needs of this audience.
04. MY APPROACH
A Strategic UX Audit
Developing the Framework
I outlined criteria for evaluating content, focusing on accessibility, engagement, and importance to the audience. This included prioritizing critical information, such as mental health resources and emergency support content.
Conducting a Content Audit
I compiled a detailed inventory of 105 accordions across the website. For each accordion, I analyzed: ✧ Total page views ✦ Accordion open rates ✦ Bounce rates ✦ User behavior patterns
Analyzing Metrics
Using this data, I identified patterns in user interaction. Accordions with low open rates were flagged for further evaluation. For example, an accordion about opioid overdose had a very low engagement rate despite its critical importance.
Actionable Recommendations
Based on the analysis, I categorized content into three actions ✦ Keep as Is: Retain content in accordions if it improved usability by minimizing visual clutter. ✦ Move Out: Relocate high-priority information to the main page for greater visibility. ✦ Remove: Eliminate redundant or irrelevant content to streamline navigation.
Content Audit
Insights
I captured key engagement metrics for over 100 accordions, highlighting open rates and guiding strategic decisions to improve accessibility and usability for veterans.
05. ITERATIONS
Pitfalls and Progress:
Overcoming Roadblocks in my Process
Once I developed an initial set of 28 recommendations for improving the VA Mental Health website, I presented them to a cross-functional team comprising a web content strategist, project manager, UX designer, and data analyst. Each team member brought a unique perspective, highlighting feasibility concerns, alignment with user needs, and business priorities. This collaborative process not only strengthened my recommendations but also ensured they were practical, actionable, and aligned with organizational goals.
Feedback-Driven
Refinement
I hosted collaborative sessions to review each recommendation, where I justified my decisions using data such as accordion open rates, page visits, and bounce rates.
Iterative
Prioritization
Using UX principles like simplicity and accessibility,I narrowed the focus to 18 high-impact recommendations. These recommendations were mapped directly to the VA’s mission of supporting veterans, ensuring stakeholder buy-in through a clear impact narrative.
No coding needed. Instant visual feedback.
Select, edit, rotate, resize any layer even if it's projected in 3D space.
#1 Identifying which content was important
With 106 accordions and a massive amount of content, determining what was truly critical for veterans was hard.
Solution
Solution
Instead of dismissing such content, I identified visibility issues. Critical resources were often buried deep in accordions, making them hard to access. My recommendation was to move these pieces out of accordions and into prominent locations on the page. This ensured essential information wasn’t overlooked.
#2 Low Metrics for Critical Content
Some critical information had very low accordion open rates.This posed the question: should it be deprioritized, or was it an issue with discoverability?
Solution
Solution
I backed my recommendations with data-driven storytelling while keeping the user-centered approach at the forefront. Using visuals of user journeys and examples of similar cases where content visibility improved engagement, resonated with the stakeholders, helping them see the impact of the changes.
#3 Stakeholder Alignment
Convincing stakeholders to adopt some recommendations, especially when they involved restructuring content or challenging assumptions, required strategic communication.
Solution
06. IMPLEMENTATION
Turning Insights into Impact:
Implementation and Results
The Implementation: Data-Driven Decisions in Action
Using the framework I developed, I conducted a comprehensive audit of 106 accordions across the VA Mental Health website and optimized the content for better usability. Key changes included:
✦ Critical Content Highlighted: Important information, such as opioid overdose symptoms and coping strategies for MST survivors, was relocated from hidden accordions to prominent sections of the page. This improved accessibility and ensured critical resources were readily visible to users.
My Recommendation
Implemented on the current VA website
✦ Simplifying Navigation: Redundant and outdated content was removed, while layouts were streamlined to minimize unnecessary clicks and reduce cognitive load for veterans.
By strategically prioritizing discoverability and usability, these data-driven changes aligned the website with the needs of its vulnerable audience while staying true to the VA’s mission.
Outcomes and Impact
The implementation of my recommendations led to significant improvements in the website’s usability and accessibility like-
01
Increased discoverability of critical resources, reducing the likelihood of users abandoning the page without finding essential information.
02
Enhanced user engagement through clearer content organization and streamlined navigation.
03
Reduced cognitive load for veterans, especially those in distress, by making vital information immediately accessible.
04
Positive feedback from stakeholders, who appreciated the focus on veterans’ needs and the clarity of the solutions provided.
07. REFLECTION AND LEARNINGS
Meaning in Metrics:
Balancing Data with User Needs
✦ Balancing Data with Empathy: While metrics provided key insights, the project highlighted the importance of qualitative analysis and prioritizing user needs over engagement numbers.
✦ Collaboration is Key: Working with a cross-functional team taught me the value of incorporating diverse perspectives to refine and enhance solutions.
✦ Adaptability in Constraints: When faced with technical or design limitations, I learned to think creatively and focus on solutions that worked within existing frameworks.
✦ Storytelling for Stakeholder Alignment: Convincing stakeholders required data-driven storytelling, connecting recommendations to user goals and the VA’s mission in a compelling way.
This project was more than a content audit or redesign—it was an opportunity to serve a sensitive and often underserved audience. Contributing to a platform that directly impacts veterans’ well-being was both humbling and rewarding. It also deepened my understanding of the role of empathy in UX design, especially when working with vulnerable users.