Harvard Students Design with Veterans for Veterans

Their research culminated in the development of a multi-functional application that would allow Veterans to manage their benefits as well as access healthcare features that enable users to schedule appointments, renew prescriptions, and communicate with their medical team. After dozens of user feedback sessions and multiple iterations, their final recommendation was a streamlined native mobile application that put healthcare and benefits management at Veterans’ fingertips.

The student’s recommendation for a multi-functional app was met with enthusiasm by VA executives and garnered support from OIT’s Digital Experience Product Office, who quickly saw the potential of the prototype. The timing for the application could not have been more opportune, as a global pandemic forced the closure of many in-person services for Veterans, thus necessitating quick turnaround on innovation for digital services.

“The Harvard student team did amazing work, especially during the pandemic, of spending time with a broad group of Veterans to learn about their digital experiences, and exploring what could be improved, especially as more Veterans access services via their smartphones,” said VA Chief Technology Officer Charles Worthington. “Their recommendations and early prototypes for a multifunctional mobile app, grounded in research about what Veterans need, is something I’m excited about making a reality for our Veterans.”

In 2016, the inaugural class kicked off with the design question “How can the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs modernize its appeals process for disability benefits?” The students came up with a Khan Academy-inspired educational platform that uses bite-sized videos to walk veterans through the appeals process.

Past projects have explored how Veterans prefer to receive notifications, how the NCA might provide a modern digital experience for visitors of cemeteries, how the VA can improve the transition process for new Veterans, and how the VA can better support the millions of Veteran caregivers.

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