Role
Service Experience Designer
Scope
Web UI
Customer communications
Internal tools
Challenge
While supporting administrative operations within the Virginia Department of Health, I noticed recurring breakdowns across the full service workflow. Their problems were being treated as isolated operational issues, but they were deeply connected and long overlooked.
Solution
I diognosed their problem and delivered an improvement roadmap across 3 core layers of the service experience. The goal was to reduce processing time and make the work easier for service members to complete.
Experience Layers
The workflow broke down across three connected layers. Each needed its own fix, but the real value came from treating them as one service system.
0 1
Intake
Web Paths
Inconsistent information and instructions needed to be clarified to prevent incorrect customer submissions.
0 2
Processing
Internal Processing
Steep learning curves and reliance on manual data entry needed streamlining to lower errors and rework.
0 3
Outreach
Communication Materials
Confusing outreach forms and wordy emails needed simplification and a better call to action for customer next steps.
Collaborated with:
Department leadership
Head web developer
Service team
Experience Ecosystem
Website request paths
problem
Multiple pages on the VDH site presented customers with conflicting information while submitting requests for personal identification or vital record changes. Because the site’s search experience relied on Google rather than an internal search, most people were not finding the right details.
Strategy
The proposed fix was to consolidate the request experience into one reliable page, then improve the wording and payment instructions so customers knew exactly which request path to follow and what payment was required.
Process
I reviewed the existing request pathways, documented where customers could land on the wrong page with incomplete or incorrect instructions, and worked with IT to discuss how search behavior was affecting the experience.
Internal processing tools
problem
Record processing depended too much on employee memory and informal training. Workers had to learn the steps from another person, which made the process harder to repeat consistently and easier to misinterpret.
Strategy
The fix was to turn the internal process into a more self-guided workflow. Step-by-step frameworks gave workers a repeatable structure, while prefilled form data reduced manual entry and helped prevent avoidable errors.
Process
I worked with service members to understand how requests were actually processed day to day, then created process frameworks that broke the work into followable steps. I also updated the vital record Word templates so workers could use prefilled data and digitized signatures instead of manually stamping and retyping the same information.
Customer Communications
problem
Customer communication materials were overloaded, scattered, or minimizing the most important details. Physical and digital forms did not always help customers understand what they needed to do next, which led to extra calls, follow-ups, and corrections.
Strategy
The fix was to simplify the communication materials around the most important customer actions. Each form or message needed to present the right information in a more focused way so customers could understand what to do without needing help from a service agent.
Process
I worked with service members and department leads to understand which customer questions came up most often and what could not be changed and why. I then modified physical and digital communication materials to make the information easier to follow and better organized. For the forms, I clipped, grouped, and rearranged sections from multiple documents to see what could be combined, removed, and turned into one cleaner structure.
Complete User Journey
Outcome
Working within state agency constraints, I prioritized the updates that could move forward fastest while creating a roadmap for larger service improvements. Website wording and payment clarification were implemented first, while tested communication updates and internal processing frameworks showed where the workflow could improve next. In under six months, these efforts contributed to an 85–90% reduction in processing time by making the service workflow easier to understand, teach, and complete.