U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Designing VA’s API Ecosystem for Trust & Security

Yellow circles Collage of screenshots including VA app directory, emails, Okta consent screen, and VA.gov modals.

The Challenge

Veterans benefited from sharing their VA health data with third-party apps like Apple Health, but the existing process created security concerns and lacked transparency. This eroded trust and limited adoption.

My Role & Approach

As the Product Design Lead, I balanced hands-on IC work with broader design strategy and cross-functional alignment for VA's Connected Apps platform—a key part of its public API ecosystem. I collaborated with VA's Director of Developer Experience, 4 PMs, 3 engineering teams, and VA.gov partners to identify and address critical gaps in the end-to-end experience.

My approach centered on empowering Veterans with greater visibility and control over their data. I developed a three-pillar, trust-centered strategy that balanced strong security practices with human-centered usability—shaping both front-end experiences and the platform's underlying architecture.

Screenshot of VA.gov profile showing screens of a user disconnecting a connected app.

Results & Impact

  • Empowered 83,000+ Veterans to securely share their health data with third-party apps.
  • Drove key consent and OAuth UX improvements, including recommendations adopted by Okta.
  • Shifted product focus by reframing metrics to prioritize the Veteran experience in addition to developer adoption.