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A human-centered approach to helping Veterans adopt Login.gov

Overview

Through VA.gov, Veterans can schedule doctor’s appointments, refill prescriptions, file for disability compensation, and communicate with their VA health care team. But first, they need to sign in. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs needed to migrate more than four million Veterans from legacy credential providers to Login.gov, a safer and more secure sign-in option that would allow Veterans to access all VA services using a single credential.

The challenge

Veterans currently choose between four different credentials when signing in to VA.gov and other VA applications, many of which don’t meet required security standards. This fragmented approach creates confusion for Veterans and can make it harder or impossible to access their benefits. An inadequately secure login process can also compromise Veterans’ privacy and data. The challenge was to migrate millions of Veterans to Login.gov while ensuring they understand and feel confident using the new credential.

Veterans currently choose between four credentials when they sign in to VA.gov, My HealtheVet, or other VA applications.

Our contribution

As part of a larger team led by MO Studio, Blue Tiger provided senior-level user research and product management support to this effort.

We conducted a 12-week discovery to understand how to migrate millions of Veterans from legacy credential providers to Login.gov. Through research with 37 Veterans at a VA medical center in Tampa, Florida, we used scenario validation, service prototype testing, and contextual intercepts to understand Veteran needs and preferences. More specifically, we:

  • Constructed a comprehensive program-level roadmap based on workshop outputs and research findings.
  • Developed research and recruitment plans, conversation guides, and scenario prototypes aligned with research objectives to test different migration approaches.
  • Facilitated workshops with key stakeholders from VA and Login.gov to share findings and create a future state service blueprint that identified critical opportunity areas.
  • Conducted additional research on deferred identity proofing to explore ways to reduce drop-off rates during Login.gov account setup.
  • Synthesized findings into actionable insights, including the importance of humanized support and the convenience of in-person identity verification at VA medical centers.

The results

As a result of this effort, we:

  • Developed a comprehensive program roadmap that focused on prioritizing face-to-face assistance options for Veterans setting up Login.gov accounts based on insights about the need for in-person support.
  • Created a targeted communications and content strategy informed by research insights.

Team members

  • Tyler Gindraux
  • Elizabeth Koch

Practices used

  • User-centered design
  • UX research strategy
  • Concept testing and scenario validation
  • In-person research with Veterans
  • Service blueprinting
  • Product management
  • Shaping a product roadmap