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• Client: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  Office of Financial Responsibility


• Project Title: IRIS Global
• Project Date: February 2017


• My Role: User Interviews | Persona Development | Flow Diagrams | Wireframes | Focus Group Facilitation | Usability Testing | Section 508 Accessibility Compliance Assessment


• Project Summary:
• The main goal of IRIS Global was to develop a budgeting tool that provides the CDC HQ Office in Atlanta GA with visibility into the Spend Plans of the CDC International Budget Analyst (BA). In addition, the tool was designed to consolidate all budgeting activities into one automated system.
• The project involved the development of an informational dashboard used to aid in decision-making, Budget Planning and Execution modules, Program based Workflows, Ceiling Management, Report generation and System Administration.
• The Challenge:
• Because no automated system existed for the creation, management and tracking of budgets for the CDC overseas Budget Analyst (BA), it was necessary to develop a tool that would allow for these actions of past, current and future Spend Plans. In addition, it was essential that the tool provide HQs visibility into the Spend Plans of these 72+ CDC International Offices.
• The Solution: With the user base consisting of such a diversity group of international end-users, it was crucial to learn as much as possible about their needs, current pain points and specific cultural customs. To accomplish this, a team of five (myself included) traveled to Pretoria, South Africa and Hyderabad, India were we met, observed and queried a number of our users.
• Upon return, additional end-user interviews and focus group sessions were conducted (both in person and remotely via Skype) which resulted in identifying the actual problem. Through contextual inquiries and the dissemination of a user satisfaction survey, we were able to capture critical pain points as well as additional requests. From the data collected, user personas were developed which aided in keeping the development team focused on the actual needs of the end-users. Next, a series of flow diagrams were created. The feedback from the end-users and the flow diagrams were then used to create interactive wireframes. A subset of users was presented with the wireframes and through various iterations a final design was accepted. The approved UI design was then used to conduct usability testing with the end-users.
• Throughout the development lifecycle of this project, we performed a number of Section 508 assessments. As should be the case with any Information and Communications Technology, accessibility requirements must be met. This meant that all areas of the system are required to be accessible for users with disabilities and assistive technologies.
• To wrap it all up, in-person training sessions were facilitated and interactive e-learning modules were developed to assist user with understanding the functionality of the new system.

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