ECOVET GLOBAL
Rebuilding a critical disaster-readiness training platform from zero to one
TIMELINE
Sep 2025 - May 2026
(9 MO.)
TEAM
1 Designer (me)
2 Project Managers
6 Developers
MY ROLE
Product Designer
User Research
Design Systems
SKILLS
FigJam
Figma
Make
THE GOAL
Rebuild a platform to train government officials for disaster-readiness
StartX was a public training platform that was shut down, leaving public health officials without a way to practice. I rebuilt it from zero as the sole designer.
I designed it as a web app for three distinct user groups, and it’s now being tested by the client and rolled out in countries like Tanzania and Pakistan.
THE PROBLEM
Multi-stage scenarios across many roles do not translate well on paper.
An exercise in the form of a PDF. Tedious for facilitators to create, tedious for participants to fill out.
DECISION #1
Template builder with linear steps to guide facilitators
An exercise is # of phases times # of roles. This gets chaotic fast. I designed a structured editor that guides users by disabling blocks, forcing them to take one step at a time. Choose phase first, then a constituent role to edit questions for.
Choose phase first, then a constituent role to edit questions for.
DECISION #2
A context-focused workspace for participants
The typical workflow consisted of participants constantly referencing scenario context while answering questions. Context remains prominent on the page rather than being lost after clicking continue.
Everything participants need: context, questions, and chat.
HOW’D I KNOW WHAT THEY NEEDED?
I did user interviews & testing to discover the true workflow
Before EcoVet rolled out the previous program to governments, they tested with high schoolers familiar with the problem space. I tested with those same users!
User testing over Zoom!
DECISION #3
A live view for facilitators to monitor participant progress and interact with announcements
Live monitoring gives facilitators valuable insights that would be invisible after the fact. Opening a participant’s page automatically opens a private announcements channel to them.
Easy for devs to implement as announcements recycle chat backend.
DECISION #4
Accelerating the role matching process with keyboard navigation
Interviews and client feedback pointed at one process as the worst pain point: role matching. When starting an exercise, a facilitator must choose everyone who is participating and match them to an available role.
Cannot match ahead of time. Our client was firm on this - participants change, but roles don’t.
So what’s the solution?
Keyboard navigation!
Video starts with matching with mouse cursor, then using keyboard navigation. Much faster, isn’t it?
CLOSING THE LOOP
PDF reports translate exercises into action
After-action reports are available after running an exercise, and an in-progress version is also available during the simulation. These PDFs are crucial for a team to truly improve upon their disaster response.
View all responses from every participant.
Communication matrix and message logs measure collaboration between team members.
DESIGNED A BUNCH OF OTHER COOL STUFF
The rest of the product
Admin dashboard for EcoVet employees to manage partner organizations.
Manage exercises and use global pre-made templates (facilitator).
Invite participants and other facilitators. (facilitator).
Multiple question types to accurately assess participants.
Send nudge emails (facilitator).
Account settings.
LOOKING FORWARD
Rolling out for field use
Since handoff, EcoVet has been testing using our product internally to prepare for deployment in countries like Tanzania and Pakistan.
Working with a unique, complex problem led me back to the users’ various personas rather than relying on the norm of similar products (barely any). I learned to trust my decisions and solution ideation even when I don’t have an established pattern to cite.