eMPWR-VA (Booz Allen Hamilton)
Salesforce Application User Reaserch
Role
Lead User Experience Designer & Strategist
Project Breakdown
eMPWR-va is an internal platform used by the Department of Veteran Services to manage and process veteran benefits, handling over $469 billion in transactions annually. While the system was widely adopted, usability challenges made it difficult for staff to efficiently manage benefits, perform audits, and navigate the platform.
Tools Used
Figma
Jira
Microsoft
Salesforce
Full Project at a Glance
eMPWR-va is a financial processing platform managing $3.4 billion in veteran benefits transactions. As adoption grew, workflow inefficiencies, navigation challenges, and audit roadblocks became clear obstacles for VA employees.
Problem: VA employees needed a faster, more intuitive system to process benefits, conduct audits, and manage transactions efficiently. Excessive scrolling, inconsistent workflows across stations, and reliance on external spreadsheets slowed productivity and increased errors.s.
Process: We began with a 40-minute focus group during a Change Champions meeting, where users completed a live System Usability Scale (SUS) survey to establish a usability benchmark. From there, 11 participants were selected for one-on-one user interviews, where we observed real-world workflows, validated pain points, and uncovered hidden usability challenges. Next, we developed low-fidelity wireframes, refining them through user feedback before designing high-fidelity prototypes focused on navigation, audit improvements, and workflow standardization. Usability testing followed, with participants performing key tasks to measure efficiency gains. A follow-up SUS survey assessed the impact of design changes.
Results: By focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and workflow optimization, we transformed eMPWR-va into a faster, more intuitive, and reliable platform—ensuring VA employees could process benefits accurately and without delays. Resulting in a 13% increase in transaction processing after implementation.
Introduction
At its core, eMPWR-va serves as the financial processing hub for veteran benefits, facilitating over $3.4 billion in transactions annually. The platform is used daily by administrators and claims processors across multiple VA stations to review, approve, and audit benefits for veterans.
Despite its growing adoption, the platform faced increasing operational challenges. Claims processors were navigating inefficiencies, workflow inconsistencies, and usability barriers that were impacting accuracy and productivity.
Initially, UX was brought into the project late in the development cycle—after nearly three years of engineering-driven implementation. While most of the legacy system’s functionalities had already been integrated into the new platform, user experience gaps became increasingly evident as adoption scaled.
With the decommissioning of the legacy system, employees now fully relied on eMPWR-va, intensifying the need for a more intuitive, efficient, and streamlined user experience.
This led to the first major user research initiative for the platform—designed to uncover usability barriers and identify enhancements that could optimize the user experience without disrupting existing workflows.
Since UX was brought into the project later, our research strategy needed to be highly focused, actionable, and able to deliver insights efficiently. Given the complexity of the platform and the high stakes of veteran benefits processing, we designed a multi-method research approach that combined qualitative and quantitative data to identify key usability challenges.
Goal: Establish a baseline understanding of system-wide pain points from the perspective of both end users and decision-makers.
Focus Group
Goals of the Focus Group
📌 Establish a broad understanding of user challenges before conducting deeper research.
📌 Identify recurring usability and workflow pain points.
📌 Prioritize areas for further investigation in one-on-one interviews.
One of the greatest challenges in conducting user research within the VA is the limited direct access to end users due to bureaucratic and security constraints. Understanding how claims processors interacted with eMPWR-va was critical, but gaining research participants through traditional means could take months.
I strategically leveraged an existing network—the Change Champions—to gain early insights into user pain points. The Change Champions were a group of early adopters, established by the training and change management team to facilitate eMPWR-va’s adoption across VA stations. Each Change Champion was a representative from their respective station, responsible for: Communicating the value of eMPWR-va to their teams. Providing feedback on the platform’s functionality and adoption barriers. Helping onboard new users and advocating best practices.
The Change Champions presented a unique opportunity to gain meaningful insights into how users were interacting with the system at scale. As Lead Strategist, I recognized that this existing infrastructure provided a fast and effective way to initiate our research efforts without the delays of traditional recruitment processes. Since Change Champions already met monthly, I coordinated with the training team to host a dedicated 40-minute focus group session during their scheduled meeting.
System Usability Scale (SUS) Survey
We structured the session around open-ended discussions and guided prompts to encourage candid user feedback on how eMPWR-va was functioning in real-world scenarios. To establish a quantitative baseline for eMPWR-va’s user experience, I incorporated a System Usability Scale (SUS) survey into the focus group session.
Why Use SUS?
🔹 SUS is a standard metric for measuring perceived usability and satisfaction.
🔹 It allows for quick data collection, providing a high-level benchmark for usability improvements.
🔹 We could compare future iterations to see measurable progress over time.
Instead of sending the survey asynchronously—which risked low response rates—I facilitated the SUS survey live during the session. By having all participants complete the survey in real time, we ensured:
✔ 100% user participation, eliminating incomplete or missing responses.
✔ Consistent data collection conditions, reducing variability in results.
To transition from broad insights to in-depth user research, we added an extra question to the SUS survey:
“Would you be interested in participating in a one-on-one user interview, or do you know someone from your station who would be a good candidate?”
This strategic addition served two key purposes: Allowed us to quickly identify willing participants, overcoming one of the biggest research challenges in VA environments—user accessibility constraints. By allowing Change Champions to nominate other users, we captured broader perspectives and workflow differences across multiple VA stations.
Results of the SUS Assessment:
📍 SUS Score: 73.84 (above the industry benchmark of 68, but still indicating clear usability concerns).
📍 Scores ranged from 50 to 97.5, highlighting varying levels of satisfaction among users.
📍 Lower scores correlated with navigation and workflow inefficiencies, supporting the need for targeted improvements.
📍 Streamlined recruitment, overcoming VA’s research accessibility challenges.
📍 Ensured diverse representation, capturing station-specific workflows.
User Interviews
With participants identified, we conducted task-based user interviews to observe real-world interactions with the system. The goal was to validate pain points from the focus group and uncover hidden usability challenges that only became apparent when users performed tasks in a live setting.
Methodology Used:
✔ Think-Aloud Protocol: Users narrated their thought process while completing common tasks in the system.
✔ Task-Based Walkthroughs: Participants demonstrated how they processed claims, performed audits, and navigated the platform.
✔ Pain Point Identification: We prompted users to explain workarounds they had developed due to system inefficiencies.
✔ Cognitive Load Assessment: Measured areas of confusion, unnecessary effort, and frustration during interactions.
Key Insights from One-on-One User Interviews:
Excessive Horizontal Scrolling Slowed Down Workflows
“It feels like I’m playing tug-of-war with my screen just to see the right information.”
Users had to scroll side-to-side excessively just to complete a single transaction, reducing efficiency.
Users Wanted More Customization & Data Filtering
“I process the same types of transactions every day, but I have to sift through irrelevant information every time.”
Users wanted the ability to customize their work queue and filter transaction views based on their specific job responsibilities.
Workflows Varied Significantly Across Stations
“My station does things one way, but I know other offices handle claims completely differently—it makes training really difficult.”
Without a standardized workflow, users at different stations were following inconsistent processes, leading to miscommunication and inefficiencies.
Accessibility Issues Impacted Productivity
“I rely on my keyboard to work quickly, but in some places, I have to use my mouse, and it slows me down.”
Certain keyboard navigation inconsistencies made the platform inaccessible for users who relied on assistive technologies.
Audit Process Was Cumbersome & Time-Consuming
“I need to pull reports, filter transactions, and double-check everything manually—it’s like solving a puzzle every time.”
Users had no quick way to filter or search transactions, forcing them to export everything to Excel.
User Personas
To ensure our research-driven enhancements directly addressed real user challenges, we developed user personas based on observations, interviews, and workflow analysis. The two primary users of eMPWR-va are benefit accountants and customer service representatives at the VBA Finance Center. Their daily tasks revolve around ensuring timely veteran payments, resolving transaction issues, and providing accurate financial assistance.
How Personas Informed Our Design Strategy
Understanding Heather’s and Sarah’s day-to-day challenges allowed us to prioritize usability enhancements that improved efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility.
For Heather, we focused on improving audit functionality, enhancing report reliability, and reducing redundant navigation. For Sarah, we addressed data accessibility, loading speeds, and workflow consolidation to ensure she could answer veteran inquiries with confidence.
By integrating these user insights into our recommendations and JIRA workstreams, we ensured that every UX enhancement was directly tied to real user needs, resulting in a more intuitive and efficient eMPWR-va experience.
Design Strategy: Turning Research Into Actionable Enhancements
With a deep understanding of user pain points, we moved into the design enhancement phase, focusing on workflow efficiency, navigation improvements, and accessibility upgrades. Instead of traditional UI redesigns, the goal was to refine existing system components to better support VA employees’ daily workflows while ensuring seamless integration into the platform.
Aligning Design Priorities with Business & User Needs
Based on research findings, we prioritized three core areas for design enhancements:
📌 Navigation & Data Access – Reduce scrolling fatigue and improve data visibility, making information easier to find and act on.
📌 Audit & Transaction Processing – Streamline search, filtering, and report generation, minimizing reliance on external tools.
📌 Accessibility & System Usability – Improve keyboard navigation and compliance with WCAG standards, ensuring an inclusive experience for all employees.
These improvements focused on refining usability within existing workflows rather than making disruptive UI changes.
A Research-Driven Approach to Enhancements
Each design decision was rooted in user feedback and measurable usability challenges identified in the research phase.
✅ Live usability tests confirmed that users struggled with excessive navigation, leading to task delays and inefficiencies.
✅ Audit processes required manual workarounds, prompting the need for smarter filtering and transaction tracking.
✅ Users requested greater customization, influencing enhancements to data organization and task management.
These insights informed targeted refinements, ensuring that enhancements addressed specific operational inefficiencies without disrupting established workflows.
Driving Implementation Through JIRA Workstreams
As a research-driven initiative, my role extended beyond discovery—I worked with the client to ensure these enhancements were prioritized for implementation.
📍 Immediate Wins: Navigation refinements, search functionality improvements, and accessibility updates.
🚀 Final Outcome: A more intuitive, efficient, and accessible platform—enabling VA employees to process veteran benefits faster and more accurately after implementation it led to the 13% increase in transaction process.