Deliverables
Interaction Design:
• High-fidelity interactive prototypes
UX/UI Design:
• User surveys
• 1-on-1 interviews
• Process Maps
• User journeys and task flows
• Low-fidelity wireframes
• High-fidelity mockups
• Interactive prototypes
• Design system
• Usability tests and reviews
•••
Challenge:
Small business owners seeking SBA certifications faced a fragmented, confusing system with high error rates and poor document management. The goal was to reimagine this complex, enterprise-grade workflow into an intuitive, guided experience suitable for SMBs—reducing friction, improving compliance, and increasing certification rates.
To ensure the redesign addressed genuine user needs, I led a comprehensive, multi-faceted research initiative.
• Stakeholder Interviews: Collaborated with SBA Business Opportunity Specialists to surface internal workflow bottlenecks and compliance pain points.
• User Interviews: Engaged small business owners to map their end-to-end certification journey, identifying emotional and procedural hurdles.
• System Analysis: Audited the technical landscape to understand integration challenges and sources of user frustration.
Key Insights
• Many business owners qualified for multiple certifications but abandoned the process due to complexity.
• Document management was inconsistent, leading to lost paperwork and repeated submissions.
• The Business Plan submission step had the highest error and dropout rates.
1. Information Architecture Restructuring
• Systems Thinking: Unified disparate certification flows into a single, logical navigation system using clear iconography and progressive disclosure.
🎯 Outcome
* Users were guided step-by-step, reducing cognitive load and ensuring compliance at each stage
2. Business Plan Submission Redesign (Exhibit A)
• Workflow Simplification: Transformed a convoluted upload process into a step-by-step guided workflow with contextual help, live validation, and document templates.
🗝️ Key Features
* Progress tracking and save/resume functionality
* Inline examples and error prevention
* Automated document checks for completeness
3. Unified Dashboard Experience (Exhibit B)
• Centralization: Designed a modular dashboard providing a holistic view of program participation, deadlines, and document status.
✨ Enhancements
* Intelligent document organization
* Direct messaging with SBA specialists
* Real-time compliance alerts
4. Usability Testing & Iteration (Exhibit C)
• Collaborative Testing: Conducted multiple rounds of usability sessions with both business owners and SBA staff.
📈 Iterative Improvement
* Refined form fields and validation logic
* Streamlined navigation pathways
* Enhanced accessibility and error prevention mechanisms
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•••
Building on our successful initial release, we've developed a comprehensive document management solution centered around the Capability Statement feature. This enhancement enables company representatives to efficiently upload and manage critical business documentation through an intuitive interface. The streamlined workflow, detailed in the wireframes below, empowers Business Opportunity Specialists (BOS) to effectively guide businesses throughout their nine-year SBA development lifecycle. By centralizing document management and implementing clear upload protocols, we've created a system that not only reduces administrative overhead but also ensures consistent documentation standards across the platform. This thoughtful approach to document handling directly supports our broader goal of optimizing the BOS workflow while maintaining program compliance and reducing processing time.
•••
• Onboarding Time: Reduced average certification journey from 3+ hours to under 1 hour.
• Error Rate: Business Plan submission errors dropped by 60% post-launch.
• User Satisfaction: Net Promoter Score (NPS) among SMB users improved by 28 points within two months.
• Adoption: 70% increase in completed applications, with fewer support tickets.
1. Increased program participation: More businesses successfully navigated the certification process.
2. Improved resource allocation: SBA specialists shifted focus from administrative tasks to providing substantive business development guidance.
3. Enhanced data quality: Standardized inputs created more reliable reporting and analysis capabilities.
This project reinforced critical principles that I bring to every design challenge:
1. System thinking is essential: Understanding the complete ecosystem (both user-facing and internal) leads to holistic solutions.
2. Compliance and usability can coexist: Government processes can be regulatory-compliant while still delivering excellent user experiences.
3. Measurable outcomes matter: Defining clear success metrics from the beginning focuses design decisions on business impact.
• Cross-Functional Workshops: Facilitated collaborative design workshops and working sessions with Product Managers, Developers, and SBA stakeholders to align on business goals, technical feasibility, and compliance requirements.
• Design-Engineering Partnership: Worked closely with engineering teams during sprint cycles, providing detailed Figma prototypes, interaction specs, and responsive design documentation to ensure seamless implementation across devices.
• Stakeholder Communication: Regularly presented design rationale and user research findings to executive stakeholders, advocating for user-centered design decisions while balancing business and regulatory needs.
• Mentorship: Guided junior designers and contributed to the evolution of our internal design system, ensuring consistency and scalability for future product enhancements.
• Iterative Feedback Loops: Established ongoing feedback channels with end users and internal teams, fostering a culture of rapid iteration and continuous improvement.
This approach ensured that the redesigned certification platform not only met the needs of small business owners but also supported organizational objectives and technical scalability.
