The Problem

The one page on the website that was home to every single, crucial, form — how the public accesses all of the services DOL provides — was an illegible, infinitely-scrolling, illogically-organized PDF dump site with nothing to assist even the most experienced english-speaking user in finding what they needed or accessing assistance if it was not locatable.

Before: A Usability Nightmare and Broken User Experience

• Static, text-heavy accordion lists with no filtering or search.

• Forms organized bureaucratically, not by user need.

• Critical multilingual options buried in cramped sub-bullets.

• No dynamic discovery or in-page assistance. Users had to know exactly what they were looking for, by the specific form name.

• Numerous heuristic review failures.

Accessibility Failures

• Wrong USWDS components and content types, used improperly.

• Failed color contrast requirements.

• Non-semantic HTML hindering screen readers.

• Violated multiple WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

Excluded Users

• Non-English speakers couldn't find translated forms, only one other language, Spanish, was available, and only a handful of non-English forms existed.

• Users with disabilities faced insurmountable barriers.

• Mobile users struggled with illegible text and lengthy scroll times.

• Users without legal/bureaucratic knowledge and each agency’s specific form naming convention couldn't navigate without NCC support.

Research showed users often gave up and called DOL phone lines instead—creating operational burden and delaying critical services like wage claims, benefits applications, and workplace complaints.

AI-Enhanced, Accessible, User-Centered Redesign

I prototyped a complete reimagining of the Forms page experience:

AI-POWERED FACETED SEARCH

- Dynamic filtering by topic, agency, audience, and language.

- Real-time results as users refine selections.'

- "Smart suggestions" based on related forms and common paths.

- Natural language search understanding user intent.

AGENTIC AI WAYFINDING

- Conversational AI assistant, to be trained in partnership with the NCC, helping users identify correct forms.

- Personalized recommendations based on user scenario.

- Multi-step guidance for complex processes (e.g., filing complaints).

- Available in multiple languages with culturally appropriate support.

METADATA-DRIVEN ARCHITECTURE

- Every form tagged with rich, searchable metadata.

- Taxonomy aligned to user mental models and data-backed insights, not agency structure.

- Multilingual content architecture enabling true language parity.

- Scalable system supporting future form additions.

WCAG and Section 508-COMPLIANT, MODERN UI

- USWDS 3.0+, Drupal-10 compliant components, used correctly and accessibly.

- Keyboard navigation and screen reader support - High-contrast, readable design The result: A forms page that actually helps people, instead of hindering them.

Before:

• The wrong component with cruicial information revealed to be going unseen by the majority of users, and unnecessary white space within component was pushing page content below fold.

• Exhaustive bullet lists with no structure.

• Multilingual options buried and invisible.

• No in-page search, filter, or sort capability.

• Accessibility violations throughout.

After:

• Prominent, AI-enhanced search interface.

• Clean, scannable, sortable card and table-based layouts.

• Dynamic filtering by multiple dimensions.

• Agentic AI assistant for additional, personalized guidance.

• Full WCAG compliance and multilingual support.

Deliverables

✓ High-fidelity, dev-ready prototype (full clickable experience)

✓ Scalable information architecture and navigation system.

✓ USWDS 3.0+ compliant design system and component library.

✓ Content strategy framework and governance recommendations.

✓ AI integration roadmap and implementation guidance.

✓ Accessibility compliance documentation.

Stakeholder Response

• Enthusiastic reception from DOL leadership.

• Prototype adopted as foundation for full implementation.

• Influenced broader DOL intranet modernization strategy.

• Referenced in internal planning and budget discussions.

• Demonstrated what modern government intranets could achieve.