UX Designer

BIA Probate App

Designing a compassionate digital experience for families navigating loss.

Overview

I led the UX strategy and experience design for a rapid, 5-week accelerated modernization effort focused on transforming the probate experience for citizens, BIA staff, and OHA reviewers.

The challenge wasn’t just digitizing paperwork. It was designing for people during one of the most emotional and stressful moments of their lives: the loss of a family member.

This project required balancing:

Human empathy
Complex legal workflows
Tribal, federal, and state compliance requirements
Multi-role operational workflows
Tight delivery timelines

I partnered closely with developers, stakeholders, and system architects from concept through delivery to rapidly define workflows, visualize experiences, and align technical capabilities to real human needs.

The Problem

The existing probate process was fragmented, manual, and emotionally overwhelming for families. Citizens often:

Didn’t know where to begin
Worried about fraud and lost documents
Had little visibility into case status
Repeated information across offices
Faced long timelines and confusing processes

Internally, staff struggled with:

Disconnected systems
Manual validation work
Missing documentation
Delayed handoffs between offices
Difficulty tracking compliance and audit history

This created stress for both families and government staff.

My Role

As the UX lead, I was responsible for:

Human-centered UX strategy
Persona development
Journey mapping
Experience storytelling
Workflow visualization
User empathy framing
Rapid prototyping concepts
Cross-functional collaboration with developers
Translating technical requirements into human experiences

Because of the compressed timeline, I worked in a highly iterative environment alongside developers and stakeholders to quickly evolve concepts into actionable experiences.

Human-Centered Approach

I started with people.

I created detailed personas representing the entire ecosystem:

Maria - grieving granddaughter navigating probate for the first time
James - BIA Customer Relationship Agent supporting families
Andrew - compliance-focused back-office specialist
Dakota - OHA reviewer responsible for final legal decisions

The goal was to understand:

What each person needed
What they feared
Where friction occurred
How technology could reduce stress instead of adding to it

This became the foundation for the experience strategy.

UX + Operational Thinking

This project extended beyond traditional UI design. I focused heavily on:

End-to-end service design
Workflow optimization
Cross-role communication
Compliance-aware experiences
Human-in-the-loop AI validation
Operational handoffs between agencies

The experience design mapped not only what users saw, but also:

What staff reviewed
How decisions were documented
How cases moved between departments
How audit trails and compliance requirements were maintained

This helped align technical architecture with real operational workflows.

Key UX Contributions

Persona Development

Created role-based personas grounded in emotional and operational realities.

End-to-End Journey Mapping

Mapped the complete probate lifecycle from death notification through title transfer and fund distribution.

Human-Centered Storyboarding

Developed storyboard-style experiences showing how technical capabilities translated into real human moments.

Rapid UX Visualization

Produced fast-moving concepts and workflow visualizations in close collaboration with developers.

AI + Human Workflow Design

Balanced automation with human support to maintain trust and transparency.

Accessibility & Mobile Considerations

Designed around mobile-first behaviors and low-friction interactions for emotionally stressed users.

Outcomes

The proposed experience demonstrated how modernization could:

Reduce confusion and document loss
Improve transparency for families
Streamline staff workflows
Accelerate case processing timelines
Improve compliance visibility
Create stronger trust between citizens and government services

Most importantly, the work showed how thoughtful UX can transform complex government systems into experiences that feel supportive, clear, and human.

Reflection

This project reinforced that UX is not just about interfaces, it’s about understanding people, systems, emotions, operations, and outcomes simultaneously.

Working under a 5-week accelerated timeline required rapid decision-making, deep collaboration with developers, and the ability to quickly turn ambiguity into structured, human-centered solutions.

The final result was not simply a probate application concept, it was a vision for how government technology can better support families during deeply personal moments.