Gave the risk its own page
Our designer-researcher suggested a separate warning page. I designed it and added a clear way to go back and pick another option.
Case study 02
A way to pause debt collection, without hiding the risk
Veterans in a short-term hardship needed a way to pause debt collection, but a pause could cost them their chance at a waiver. I designed the flow and content, and built the review and resolve pages.
- Situation
- Small release, strict policy
- My role
- Designer + front end
- Team
- Designer-researcher, PM, 2 engineers
- Outcome
- Launched July 2026
The problem
A hardship suspension pauses collections but still counts against the waiver deadline. If it’s denied, a Veteran could run out of time. The option had to be easy to find without becoming a trap.
What I did
Swapped an essay for a simple choice
I replaced a free-text answer with a short list of time ranges. The Debt Management Center agreed, and their staff can act on it.
Kept it small and the words consistent
We cut anything the first release didn’t need. I owned the wording and kept terms consistent across the form, with VA content sign-off.
The result
Used from week one
In its first weeks, Veterans chose it alongside waivers and repayment plans.
Risk in plain sight
The waiver trade-off has its own page, so no one picks it blind.
Partners in the loop
I demoed it to Veteran service organizations so they know when to recommend it.
What I learned
When people make big decisions inside rules they didn’t write, the design has to be honest about the trade-offs.