Collaboration cycle
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Design Intent

Last Updated: September 9, 2026

Waiver available: Yes

Recommended timing: Schedule early — when you first develop a user flow, and before you start high-fidelity design.

How this touchpoint helps you, VA, and Veterans

Design Intent helps you build a product that meets VA.gov Experience Standards, before you invest time in high-fidelity artifacts or prototypes. It's a discussion, not a formal presentation. Use it to get early feedback on your user experience and design, so you can lower the risk of launch-blocking issues at Staging Review.

This touchpoint is only for teams building products for Veterans, their caregivers, families, survivors, and representatives. If you're building for organizations — VA employees, contractors, or representatives acting in an organizational capacity — skip this touchpoint.

No GitHub ticket yet? Start with a Collab Cycle kickoff first.

Watch this video for a quick, high-level overview of the Design Intent meeting. For complete details, read the article below.

What you need to bring

Required artifacts

Up-to-date user flow. This is the artifact we rely on most. Show the interaction points and decisions your user will encounter — a simple flowchart of arrows and shapes works. Need help? Check out our guidance for creating user flows or reach out to the Content and IA team in #content-ia-centralized-team on Slack.

Nice to have, at any stage of completeness:

You’re ready for this touchpoint when

  • You've developed an idea for how to solve your problem statement

  • You've drafted a user workflow

  • Required artifacts (listed above) are ready

How to schedule your review

  1. Create a ticket
    Use "Initiate a Design Intent" in the Design review touchpoints section of your Collab Cycle Kickoff ticket.

  2. Book a time
    Use the Calendly Design Intent calendar linked in your ticket.

  3. Add your artifacts
    Link them in your ticket at least 2 working days before your meeting.

No specific role is required to schedule Design Intent. The person who schedules it is responsible for inviting the rest of the team.

How to prepare for your review

Deadline: At least 2 working days before your meeting

How to deliver: Link all artifacts in your Design Intent GitHub ticket

What happens during the meeting

Format: 30-minute Microsoft Teams meeting, hosted by the Governance Team and recorded.

Who should attend: Your designer(s) and product manager, at minimum. We also encourage you to invite content, IA, and accessibility or QA specialists, plus any VA stakeholders working on or advising the product.

Who else attends: Relevant VA.gov leads, invited by the Governance Team.

Agenda:

  1. Welcome

  2. Your team introduces the initiative and gives updates (about 10 minutes) — cover the problem you're solving, any constraints, and walk us through your user flow

  3. VA.gov leads, and the Governance Team asks questions and shares feedback

This is a discussion — ask questions any time.

What to expect: You'll hear initial feedback live during the meeting. Governance Team design, accessibility, and IA reviewers then document detailed feedback as GitHub tickets, using the Must, Should, and Consider framework. These are available no later than the end of the next working day.

What happens after the meeting

  • The Governance team will link the meeting recording to your Design Intent GitHub ticket.

  • You review your feedback tickets, linked through the ticket's Milestone.

  • You update your plan and design to meet the relevant standards.

  • You move on to the next design touchpoint: Midpoint Review.

Waiver process

In rare cases, your team may not need a Design Intent, Midpoint Review, or Research Review. Start by discussing this at Gov Leads Sync.

To request a waiver, comment on your Collaboration Cycle GitHub ticket with a brief justification. Examples that may support a waiver:

  • Your team already has expertise in VA.gov accessibility, design, content, and IA standards, plus design system components and patterns

  • Your product has already been researched and tested, and this update makes minor or no user experience changes

  • Your team already attended one design touchpoint and discussed not needing another

  • Your team accepts the risk of possible delays, added compliance documentation, or launch-blocking findings at Staging Review

We'll respond on your ticket to confirm the waiver or ask for more detail. A waiver applies to the touchpoint itself — both the meeting and its required deliverables.

Help and feedback