The project I worked on was part of the Hacking for Defense program. It is a nationwide initiative that allows university students to work with military personnels to solve readl-world problems in the Department of Defense. Through this program, me and 4 other classmates were assigned with working with our sponsor who is a unit training manager from the Hawaii Air National Guard, DET 1 (Detachment 1; 154 MDG - a medical Army and Air Force detachment).
Unit Training managers need a system to inform servicemembers when they are due for training to track career progression and ensure certification requirements are met. This is important because DET 1 must be up to date on both medical and administrative training in order to respond to mass medical casualties. Managers track individuals’ progress across various systems, but data is not consolidated or user-friendly, making accurate tracking very difficult. Personnel are trained on all platforms to meet individual and group requirements. MRDSS (Medical Readiness Data Support System), TFTR (Total Force Training Record), and ARCnet (Air Reserve Component Network) are just a few platforms used for hazard, advanced cardiac life support, and pediatric life support training.Managers use these disparate systems along with Excel documents to track all personnel certificates. When a member completes training or is scheduled to begin the next iteration, managers must manually update their certification onto a single spreadsheet.
To further investigate the issue at hand, our group has proactively initiated weekly meetings with our sponsor and conducted outreach efforts to multiple Unit Training Managers across the nation. Our primary objective was to effectively address their concerns regarding the current training tracking systems and ascertain the features that would be desirable for their optimal utilization. Furthermore, we have presented our prototypes to several Unit Training Managers at Hickam Air Force Base, located in the scenic Oahu, Hawaii. Their enthusiastic response underscores the potential success of our implemented features.
Using the insights gained from the interviews, we created a user-friendly web application with the desired features expressed by interviewees using Figma for the UI/UX design and a no-code platform for implementation. This approach allowed me to quickly iterate on the design based on user feedback and ensure that the final product met the needs of the beneficiaries.
Throughout the project, we applied the lean startup methodology and utilized the Mission Model Canvas to present a minimum viable product for our sponsor and beneficiaries. This approach allowed us to validate our assumptions and refine the product based on feedback from users.
Although the process of revamping the actual web application of these training tracking systems is a complicated one with time and money, the Hacking for Defense program provided an insighful opportunity for me. It taught me lean startup methodologies in a real-world setting as well as allowed me to develop my skills and knowledge in understanding a client’s problem and apply design thinking. For more information on the Hacking 4 Defense program, please visit their website at https://www.h4d.us/.
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