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Collaboration cycle kickoff

Before engaging with the Collaboration Cycle, please review the guidance and questions below to help Platform determine what level of support, which practice areas, and which touchpoints are needed for your work. If you don’t know the answer to a question, then it’s too early for you to engage with the Collaboration Cycle.

Are you ready to engage with the Collaboration Cycle?

If yes, then a VFS Product Manager should submit a Collaboration Cycle Request ticket and answer the kickoff questions. We'll update that ticket with recommended touchpoints and respond in the Slack post.

Questions about your product or feature:

Review our terms and definitions regarding products vs. features. Then, prepare to answer these questions in the request ticket linked above:

1. Will your work result in visible changes to the user experience?

Examples of visible changes include:

  • Any changes that the user will see

  • Adding a new form, tool, or page

  • Modifying buttons, design elements, interactions, or page layouts

  • Reordering content, adding new calls to action, alert boxes, expandable sections, or error messages

Examples of no visible changes include:

  • Changes to code that the user won’t see

  • Changes to accessible labels (aria-label, aria-labelledby, aria-describedby)

2. Are you doing research with VA.gov users?

We ask this question to determine if a research review is necessary.

Examples of research with VA.gov users include:

  • Usability testing

  • User surveys

  • Card sorting

3. Will your work involve changes to: (select all that apply)

  • Tools, applications and dynamic pages*

  • Static pages**

  • Both

  • Other

*For tools and applications, take into account if any static page entry points will need updates.

**Please review the Static vs Dynamic guidance.

4. Does your product/feature have Google Analytics tracking and a KPI dashboard in Domo?

We ask this question to determine if Analytics will need to be involved in your Collaboration Cycle reviews, and if an Analytics Request is necessary.

5. Do you need to capture any additional analytics or metrics?

We ask this question to determine if Analytics will need to be involved in your Collaboration Cycle reviews, and if an Analytics Request is necessary.

Kickoff artifacts

It is the Product Manager’s responsibility to ensure the Product Outline is attached to the ticket.
The VFS team is responsible for providing all relevant and up-to-date links, screenshots, images, and designs of the product's as-is version.


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