January 2022 - November 2023

Lead UX Researcher and Strategist for Defense Systems

1 Manager, 1 UI Design Lead, 5 UI Designers, and 1 UX Writer
Designers were assigned to projects that had various cross-functional teams. The average project team consisted of 3 developers and a project lead.

Secure Enterprise UX Design for Defense Platform Modernization and Mission Critical Systems

• Higher user satisfaction: Improved user sentiment by 65%, indicating a major boost in user confidence and satisfaction with the platform.

• Efficiency gains: Saved over 500 development hours by uncovering issues early through research and design, preventing costly rework and accelerating delivery.

• Better field usability: Enhanced usability in the field with support for low-bandwidth connections and streamlined mobile access, so users in remote areas can reliably use the platform.

• Platform unification: Unified previously siloed tools into one cohesive platform, which greatly improved collaboration, communication, and strategic alignment among defense users (reducing multiple systems results in a simpler, more effective user experience ).

A classified defense platform supporting mission command and intelligence operations was operating as a disconnected ecosystem. Dozens of siloed applications offered overlapping capabilities, unclear ownership, and inconsistent user experiences. These inefficiencies impacted operational clarity, decision-making speed, and system trust. Our mission: uncover user pain points, map platform workflows, and guide modernization efforts grounded in real-world behavior.

Strategic Research & Heuristics

I led interviews and observational research across multiple user types in secure environments. I conducted heuristic evaluations using Nielsen Norman standards and mapped cross-application user journeys to uncover friction points, inefficiencies, and modernization opportunities.

Platform Ecosystem Mapping

I identified overlapping functionality across tools and introduced a new taxonomy to categorize platform applications. Previously peripheral tools—like mapping, chat, and storage—were repositioned as core support services, reframing their role within the platform’s architecture.

Context-Driven UX Discovery

Through discovery, I uncovered divergent needs between frontline operators and high-ranking command officers.
• Deployed field agents needed minimalist, low-bandwidth interfaces optimized for rapid input and offline use.
• Command officers required high-resolution dashboards tailored for strategy meetings and secure, high-bandwidth environments.
This insight led to a dual-path UX strategy that supported both tactical execution and strategic oversight—ensuring functionality without compromise across roles.

Cross-Functional Alignment

I introduced UX-led journey maps and workflow analyses to shift product planning from feature-first to workflow-first thinking. These artifacts clarified dependencies, reduced redundancy, and aligned teams around shared priorities across applications.

Cultural Influence

The impact didn’t go unnoticed. Following a key UX workshop, one manager shared:

“Sounds like you and Tom are leading the UX way.”
Another added:
“John Mariano has consistently demonstrated qualities that set him apart as a dedicated team member. His extensive experience in the realm of UX design positions him as a potential candidate for management roles.”

I mentored six junior designers embedded across multiple teams and led a Lunch & Learn session with over 150 participants to champion UX’s role in strategic planning. These efforts helped scale UX maturity beyond execution—positioning design as an infrastructure asset.

• Reframed Platform Architecture
UX insights led to the reclassification of several applications as core services—shifting how leadership assigned ownership, organized investment tiers, and envisioned platform evolution.

• Elevated UX Maturity
Mentorship and advocacy seeded UX practices across teams, reframing design from a tactical role to a platform-wide strategic force.

• Cross-Program Reuse
Research methods, journey frameworks, and system-level modeling were reused across DoD teams to support additional modernization efforts.

• Cultural Momentum
Design became embedded in early-stage planning, and UX-led conversations began shaping decision cycles—solidifying design as a mission-enabling discipline.

Linkedin.com/in/John-Mariano/