Desk Research for Critical Information

[msbtterswrth]

User Story

As a UX researcher,
I want to review existing VA and other design systems' research related to alerts, time-sensitive information, and urgency-based notifications,
So that we can leverage prior insights to inform the design and implementation of the Critical Information component.

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Background

The Critical Information component is intended to surface urgent, high-priority tasks in a way that is clear, actionable, and accessible. Before conducting new research or usability testing, we need to review existing findings in the VA Research Repository to ensure we build upon prior work related to alerts, notifications, and urgency-based interactions.

By synthesizing past findings, we can:

• Identify best practices for presenting critical alerts without overwhelming users.
• Understand how Veterans currently respond to urgent information.
• Learn from past usability challenges related to notifications, warnings, and time-sensitive actions.

Discovery Goals

• Identify patterns in user behavior when engaging with time-sensitive or urgent information.
• Assess what types of alerts (modal, inline, banner, etc.) have been most effective.
• Review research findings on user expectations for VA notifications and alerts.
• Understand common frustrations Veterans have with alert-based components.

Questions to Answer

• How do Veterans prioritize and act on alerts within VA.gov?
• What design patterns have been most effective for time-sensitive information?
• Are there any accessibility concerns or challenges with past implementations?
• How can we ensure the Critical Information component does not contribute to alert fatigue?
• What past research findings indicate how Veterans engage with notifications?

Resources

• VA Research Repository (To be linked when accessed)
• EnjoyHQ (Search for "alerts", "notifications", "time-sensitive actions")
• Prior usability studies on:
  • VA.gov notifications and alerts
  • Critical time-based actions (e.g., appointment reminders, deadlines)
  • Dashboard and homepage interactions
• VA Design System (VADS) guidelines on notifications and alerts.
• Accessibility guidelines: Section 508 & WCAG 2.1 AA.

Deliverables

• Mural of findings documenting the search for relevant findings from the VA Research Repository.
• UI comparisons showing other design systems or components that are similar use cases.
• Presentation of findings to AEDP and design system teams for discussion.

Acceptance Criteria

• A set of Murals has been created that includes both previous research findings and UI comparisons.
• A review session has been scheduled to present findings to stakeholders.

Constraints & Considerations

• Prioritize recent and relevant research (last 2 years) to ensure findings are applicable.
• Ensure research covers diverse Veteran personas, including users of assistive technologies.
• Look for patterns in alert fatigue, task prioritization, and urgency-based interactions.

Review needed by:

• VA Design System Team
• UX Research Team
• Product Manager
• Engineering Team

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Definition of Done

• Documentation has been updated, if applicable.
• Acceptance Criteria in related issue are met.

[beckyphung]

Added some screenshots from the Blue Sky deck into the Mural Christine created. Aspects of the component outlined in the deck:

Critical information

1. Information a user needs to know in a timely fashion
2. Must be either time-bound OR actionable (or both)
3. It exists until it is resolved by the user or VA (i.e. non-dismissible)
4. The information can be dynamic (3 days left, 2 days left, etc)

[ChristineRoseSteiffer]

I've been tracking relevant research findings in this mural from my searches in the GitHub Research Repository. There are a lot of good insights for this component! I suggest we split this ticket up into two tickets to account for the fact that we have more relevant studies to sift through than our previous desk research.

[ChristineRoseSteiffer]

I've created a ticket for next sprint to cover the synthesis and creation of a report documenting these findings for next sprint here.