MySBA Certifications Usability Testing

The following case study displays a moderated usability study of the MySBA Certifications system. This project included the development of a research plan, conversation guide, test materials, test accounts, session/post session notes, and a research report of findings and accompanying recommendations. I identified the need for research of the application process of UCP (Unified Certification Platform) in the MySBA Certification system acting as the project lead and point of contact. I collaborated with Business Opportunity Specialists, Product Managers, Business/Management Analysts, a Software Engineer, and UX Designers to implement this project and its results.

Research Plan

Background

The Unified Certification Platform (UCP) is designed to improve and streamline the initial application, evaluation, and recertification processes for various Small Business Administration (SBA) programs. This project's target group are participants of the 8(a) business development program.

The 8(a) Business Development program is a specific SBA certification program for small businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged U.S. citizens (individuals) or by certain entities. Entity-owned firms are a subset/category within the 8(a) program.

The External Experience product focuses on the needs of the business user to provide firm owners with unified tools/interfaces that improve efficiency and mitigate friction.

This study’s purpose is to understand the business practical differences between 8(a) Entity-Owned firms and individual 8(a) firms and how this affects the features and workflows Entity-Owned business owners should encounter using UCP. With this data, the SBA will work toward prioritizing and customizing UCP to the Entity-Owned experience.

Project/SBA Objectives

  1. Further the SBA’s understanding of Entity-Owned business needs as they navigate UCP and tailor the site to better align those needs with the user experience.

  1. Refine the current application workflow that allows external users to manage active certifications and apply for new certifications considering Entity-Owned status and eligibility requirements.

  1. Increase efficiency and reduce actions which cause friction to Entity-Owned users while starting, completing, and submitting applications.

  1. Provide a central application that serves as a system of record for user certifications and supplementary documentation.

Research Goals

  1. Receive overall feedback on current designs and features of UCP as they relate to Entity-Owned requirements.

  1. Make recommendations supported by user feedback that will tailor UCP to the Entity-Owned experience.

  1. Solicit and refine design requirements to align the 8(a)-user experience with Entity-Owned end-user needs.

  1. Keep UCP team members apprised of user feedback and foster beneficial engagement.

Methodology

Moderated usability testing will be utilized to conduct this study. By engaging with users active in current systems, this type of testing will solicit user feedback of designs and workflows and inform future iterations. Each successive round of user testing will gather feedback on both a new iteration of previously viewed design and the next stage of the workflow. In this way, each user testing session moves the UCP design forward to approach a system that operates in a way that meets users’ needs.

Recruitment Email

Research Sessions

Planned dates of research: 8/26/25-9/5/25

Length of sessions: 1 hour

Buffer time between sessions: Minimum of 30 minutes to reset between sessions, review notes of session, and to account for a participant arriving late or a session going over time.

Research Findings & Recommendations

The research identified key areas of friction in the application process. These findings helped advance the UCP by highlighting features and processes that caused the most user errors and friction for Entity-Owned users attempting to complete core website flows.

Based on the identified user needs, wants, and pain points, the UX team worked to improve UCP by addressing those needs/wants and reducing pain points. This provided the SBA with evidence-based recommendations to prioritize and tailor UCP for a better Entity-Owned user experience.

  • Ownership

  • Language of prompts & descriptions could be more expansive. This would make UCP more user friendly to beginner users not familiar with UCP or the overall process.

  • Document Upload

  • Control & Operations

  • Entity-Owned Page

  • Refine the Individual Questionnaire

  • After Application Submission

Final Steps & Key Takeaways

Once I had completed my report of research findings, I met with internal & external team members to share my results. From there, team members began to collaborate discussing which solutions to apply to identified issues, what research recommendations were feasible given the business requirements of the project, and the timeline of making improvements to the site. The next step involved the creation of work tickets that were implemented in the project's next Entity-Owned sprint. All of the improvements were implemented within 3 months and the project came to a close. I am thrilled with the results of this project and the opportunity it provided. This is the first UX Research Project that I completed from start to finish and was the Point of Contact for. I learned invaluable skills including the creation of a project's research plan, conversation guide, testing materials, usability session booking tool, and research findings report. I also learned how to recruit test participants, moderate a usability study, and prepare a presentation of results to team members. I am excited to utilize the tools I learned from this project to inform research studies of future products.