Content

Descriptions of benefits exist in many places: the VAC website, existing tools, brochures, and external groups. These descriptions vary across sources and often use language or jargon that Veterans don’t understand, and frontline staff struggle to translate content from VAC language to plain language.

The alpha prototype originally used descriptions from an existing tool, Benefits Navigator, but they proved to be too long for at-a-glance use. Informed by user research (with both Veterans and frontline staff), CDS collaborated with VAC Online Services and the VAC Communications and Outreach Renewal Initiative to create one-line descriptions for the 38 benefits included in the alpha product. Testing was conducted to ensure Veterans can connect their need to a benefit and to ensure that the descriptions were free of unfamiliar or uncommon words. The words used in the descriptions come directly from Veterans themselves.

Learn more about the content principles, strategy, and how CDS conducted the content workshops.