Leading digital transformation for the Department of Defense Education
Deloitte Digital
Modernized DoDEA operations by replacing manual, spreadsheet-based workflows with an automated digital platform—improving transaction speeds by 37% and increasing team job satisfaction by 31%.
Role
UX Lead
End Users
DoDEA Educators and Licensure Analysts
Project Duration
3 Months
Responsibilities
Research + Discovery
Usability Testing
Interaction + Design
Background
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a complex global organization responsible for 160 schools across 11 countries and 7 states. Serving over 67,000 students and employing more than 14,000 staff members, the agency operates under a high level of administrative scrutiny to ensure every educator is properly certified and endorsed according to federal standards.
Despite the scale of this operation, the internal endorsement process remained heavily manual. Staff managed teacher credentials through a fragmented system of spreadsheets, printed lists, and thousands of emails. This "manual keying" was not only exhausting for the team but created significant bottlenecks in the hiring and verification pipeline, making it difficult to maintain an accurate, real-time "source of truth" for the workforce.
Approach
Discovery & Research
I led discovery across both primary personas: DoDEA educators and Licensure Analysts.
Conducted interviews with educators located across multiple global regions
Interviewed licensure chiefs, senior analysts, and junior analysts
Analyzed the end-to-end certification and endorsement process
Audited existing tools, artifacts, and analog workflows
Educator Pain Points
Information Overload: If an educator wants to add an endorsement (i.e. subject/grade level), must sift through 100+ endorsement codes and requirements on DoDEA web page.
Cumbersome Manual Process: Educators must manually scan and email transcripts to DoDEA.
Unclear Expiration Dates: Educators are unsure of when their teaching licenses may expire and have to manually keep track.
Stakeholders & Licensure Professionals Pain Points
Multiple Systems: Licensure Analysts manage employee records across three systems: email, spreadsheets, and DoDEA database.
Manual Process = increased odds of human error.
No Filters: Licensure analysts are unable to filter the list of educators, schools, and endorsements.
Stretched Thin: Case loads were high; 6-8 licensure analysts are in charge of 300k+ Educators.
As one analyst described it:
“Manual keying of endorsements… working off spreadsheets, printed lists, and emails—it’s exhausting.”
Defining the Core Flows
From synthesis, we identified two critical workflows that accounted for the majority of effort and friction:
Renewing an educator license
Adding or updating endorsements (e.g., grade level or subject expertise)
These flows became the foundation for reimagining the system.
Ideation & Solution
Centralize Educator Data: Replace fragmented spreadsheets with a "Single Source of Truth" directory where HQ staff and recruiters can access up-to-date teacher credentials in real-time.
Automate Endorsement Workflows: Transition from manual email sifting to an automated digital flow that allows teachers to submit and staff to approve endorsements instantly.
Self-Service User Profiles: Create an intuitive "Educator Directory" concept where teachers can manage their own professional profiles, reducing the administrative burden on HQ staff.