Bridging Borders: A Digital Gateway for Migrants
As the Sr. Experience Strategist and UX Lead for a flagship digital project for a large and high visibility government agency, I spearheaded the design and development of a migrant tooling and resource portal—a critical website designed to support migrants taking action on their immigration cases, while also providing enabling information and sources for additional assistance.
This population, which includes individuals facing crises and various disadvantages, presented unique challenges for user experience design. With a broad range of literacy levels and diverse linguistic needs, ensuring accessibility, clarity, and user-friendliness was essential.
To ensure the portal’s effectiveness, I implemented a comprehensive measurement strategy that included key performance indicators (KPIs) to track user engagement, accessibility, and the platform’s success in delivering its intended outcomes.
In my role, I led an interdisciplinary team to tackle these complexities, driving a content strategy that translated complex legal language into plain, actionable guidance while making sure the platform was inclusive, welcoming, and trustworthy. This case study highlights the approach and strategies that transformed a challenging project into a valuable digital lifeline for millions of potential users.
ClientLarge Government AgencyServicesUX / CX Lead, Strategy, Project Management, Information Architecture, Content Strategy, Metrics & KPI, Usability TestingYear2023-2024
Background & Objectives
Goal
Develop a secure, accessible, and user-centered resource portal for migrants, including those facing personal crises and systemic challenges, with an MVP rollout followed by ongoing updates.
Context
The agency recognized a growing need for accessible online tools and resources to support migrants, many of whom face challenges navigating complex legal systems or finding essential information during times of crisis. They identified that existing resources were insufficient in addressing the needs of this population, particularly those with lower literacy levels or limited access to traditional support services.
Approach
To ensure the platform met user needs effectively, the agency prioritized a user-centric process and brought me in as the UX Lead and Strategist. My role was to ensure the portal was designed, tested, and refined with its audience in mind, leveraging research and usability testing to create an inclusive, supportive digital experience.
Measurement
To validate the platform’s success, we established KPIs to track user engagement, accessibility, and overall impact, enabling iterative improvements and alignment with the project’s objectives.
Challenges
Compliance, Accessibility, and Crisis Sensitivity
Ensure the portal met 508 accessibility standards and was secure, clear, and responsive to the needs of a user base that often includes vulnerable individuals. Special care was taken to address the diverse literacy levels and situational difficulties many users face.
Stakeholder Coordination & Developer Communication
Facilitate alignment across multiple agency representatives, including legal, compliance, UX, and development teams. A core challenge was ensuring that developers received consistent and clear requirements for both design elements and functionality to achieve a smooth, cohesive user experience. Incorporate stakeholder input into measurement strategy and define KPIs that resonated with diverse perspectives.
Content Strategy for Low-Literacy & Crisis Situations
Collaborate with legal teams and subject matter experts (SMEs) to transform complex, technical content into plain language, digestible even for those with limited literacy skills. The strategy also focused on creating a web format that provided calm, actionable support to users who might be navigating stressful or urgent situations.
Multilingual & Cross-Cultural Accessibility
Provide a multilingual experience, with content translated into five languages, to ensure inclusivity for non-native English speakers and cultural relevance across the diverse user base.
Strategy & Execution
Team Leadership & Multi-Program Coordination
Led an interdisciplinary UX team of researchers, designers, and content strategists. Hosted daily standups and weekly stakeholder syncs with up to 30 participants across four agencies, fostering alignment and keeping stakeholders informed throughout the project.
Developer Collaboration & Staging Environment Setup
Built strong collaboration with the development team, setting up a dedicated staging environment to allow usability testing in a near-final environment. Consistent communication ensured that developers understood design priorities and functional requirements, contributing to a streamlined, accessible user experience. Collaborated on tracking error rates, testing responsiveness, and measuring technical performance to refine the user experience.
Usability Testing & Iterative Improvements
Led end-to-end usability testing to validate that the portal met the needs of users with varied literacy levels, incorporating real user feedback into iterative design updates. My team’s usability plan covered research design, participant recruitment, testing, and analysis, which allowed for agile improvements and delivered a more intuitive portal.
Metrics Tracking & KPI Development
To ensure the portal’s success, I provided strategic guidance on identifying meaningful metrics, such as user engagement, form completion rates, and page usage, to align with the platform’s goals and audience needs. Collaborating with stakeholders from legal, compliance, UX, and development teams, I helped define clear action thresholds for these KPIs, such as identifying high user dropoff rates during form completion or low usage of key informational pages to signal the need for design adjustments. These thresholds allowed for data-driven decision-making and iterative improvements while fostering alignment and transparency. This approach ensured the portal was continuously optimized to meet user needs and effectively demonstrated its impact to agency leadership.
Content Strategy for Legal Correctness, Readability, and Trustworthiness
Worked with legal and SME teams to adapt technical, legal content for web readability. Developed a content strategy that prioritized simple, straightforward language and an approachable tone, supporting users in navigating complex processes even in times of crisis.
508 Compliance & Language Integration
Collaborated with designers and developers to ensure full 508 compliance. Oversaw translation into five languages, balancing linguistic accuracy with cultural relevance to improve accessibility for diverse audiences.
Results
High User Engagement
Over 100,000 unique users in the first year and one million in the second, with engagement KPIs showing steady increases in task completion rates and time spent on key resources.
Enhanced Accessibility & Usability
Clear communication with developers and a robust staging environment supported a design that consistently met KPIs for accessibility, user satisfaction, and reduced error rates.
Empathetic User-Centric Content
The refined content strategy improved clarity and tone, with KPIs showing increased comprehension and user trust among low-literacy users and those in crisis.
Effective Measurement Strategy
KPI tracking provided actionable insights throughout the project, allowing the team to make data-driven decisions and deliver a high-performing, responsive portal.
Strengthened Stakeholder Relationships and New Cultural Norms
Collaborated across agencies to align on measurement goals, demonstrating the portal’s success in meeting user needs and achieving compliance benchmarks. Established new norms of user centric design processes like usability testing in Agency development workflows.