Frame
Work with clients and product teams to understand business objectives, user needs, and technical state.
Scope refinement
Heuristic evaluation
Market & desk research
UX Strategy & Product Leadership
Building products that improve human lives
I lead UX strategy, research, and DesignOps for federal and enterprise programs — VA, DoD, EPA, and the Federal Home Loan Bank. My deliverable is rarely a single screen: it's the evidence, the system, and the call.
See the process ↓Approach
How the work moves
Evidence
Finetune strategy through research and data
Moderated interviews
Affinity mapping
Journey & blueprint models
Empower
Turn findings into strategy, standards, and training so teams keep delivering after hand off.
Design systems
Prioritization matrix
Workshops & training
Work
Case Studies
Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB)
Office of Finance Modernization
//Product strategy & design
FHLB provides member financial institutions such as Barclays and BoNY with financial products and services. It needed to modernize internal and member-facing systems into a cohesive brand language with a markedly better user experience.
- Products shipped
- 6 in 6 months
- Component library
- 30+ accessible components
- Pain points identified
- 20+
Process
01 — Build trust
Built credibility and momentum by delivering visible results early and on schedule.
02 — Build a system
Evangelized for and built a mature design system, cutting design-to-engineering handoff time across portfolios.
03 — Build strategy
Connected UX strategy up to leadership and portfolio level as a business imperative to the future state of the system.
04 — Deliver value
Converted a stalled effort into an ongoing delivery process within 6 months.
20+ Figma prototypesOn-shore & off-shore team4 financial modules & 2 full-scale dashboardsValue in 6 months
Department of Veterans Affairs
Chatbot to Live Chat Transfer
//Research & design
Booz Allen was contracted to consolidate 3 disparate Live Agent systems into 1 cohesive experience for Veterans seeking information and support on claims, health information, medical assistance, and women-centered support.
- User interviews
- 20+
- Insights
- 5 core, 8 themes
- Pain points identified
- 20+
Process
01 — Define the problem
Worked with VA leadership and product teams to refine the project scope, focusing on understanding the current user and technical state.
02 — Run a study
Designed a user study using a dual-track approach — interviews plus prototype testing — to address timing and budget constraints.
03 — Build strategy
Partnered with development and Machine Learning to use an algorithm to extract and tag insights for analysis.
04 — Deliver value
Reported on research findings outlining future-state solutions based on collected data and client objectives.
2 Figma prototypes20+ user interviews5 user insights & 8 behavioral themesDelivery in under 6 weeks
Department of Defense
DesignOps across 11 offices
//Research, design, empower
Launch 2 business intelligence platforms for financial analysis and order and message management within a year, and develop a DesignOps framework across the department to remove usability roadblocks and raise UX maturity.
- Saved through research
- under $1M
- Teams supported
- 60+ across 11 offices
- Products launched
- 6
Process
01 — Inverse user focus
To understand how to improve adoption rate, interviewed developers within 60 product teams stationed across 11 offices across the world.
02 — Identify gaps
Created an affinity map of all feedback to synthesize in MS Whiteboard.
03 — Prioritize & focus
Activated hands-on projects ranging from user research to UX design embedding within 4 product teams to provide immediate support.
04 — Deliver value
Created templates, how-to guides, facilitated hand-offs, and over 5 training workshops for engineering teams across the department.
60+ user interviews11 offices across the worldUnder 40% product adoption at startLaunched 6 products
Environmental Protection Agency
Superfund Enterprise App
//Design & people leadership
Lead analysis and design of UX/UI deliverables to build an enterprise application for diverse user groups within the department and the wider industry. Lead UX workstream.
- Screens designed
- 400+
- Components
- 80+
- Process improvement
- 30%
Process
01 — Consistency
Created a component library and style guides based on USWDS standards to adhere to the 21st Century IDEA Act mandate for the agency.
02 — Alignment
Facilitated demos to ensure all requirements and user needs were validated with the users.
03 — Hands-on design
Built over 400 high-fidelity screens showing interaction flows.
04 — Growth
Mentored and supported junior UX staff to ensure successful project completion and adherence to design standards.
80+ components400+ Adobe XD screens30% process improvementClient Design Award
Self-directed case study
LPGA*USGA Girls Golf
//Concept redesign
I wanted to redesign LPGA*USGA Girls Golf to inspire confidence, clarity, and user connection — a fresh digital experience for teens and parents that elevates purpose, participation, and giving to the organization.
- Audiences defined
- 2 primary
- Focus
- Confidence & clarity
- Outcome
- Full concept prototype
Process
01 — Analyze the market
Conducted market analysis of youth sports organizations and donation-driven programs.
02 — Define the audience
Developed an understanding of primary and secondary audiences for the site — teens and their parents.
03 — Prototype
Designed a Figma prototype for the new site.
04 — Refine
Improved usability and information flow.
Market analysisGenAI researchFigma prototypeNew visual language
Reference
“Masha provides high quality products with little guidance and direction. She quickly interprets a vision, develops products, and seeks feedback to iterate on a solution. Her understanding of our client and execution of tasks on the program enabled her to quickly produce multiple products that received outstanding feedback from leaders on the team and our client.”
Jeremiah Hurley, VP, Booz Allen