DARPA (OTs) Innovation Portal

Information architecture + UX direction for OT education, transparency, and trust

Role: UX / Product Design (Insights, IA, Personas) Scope: Discovery synthesis · site UX principles · persona definition Deliverables: Insights deck · UX requirements · personas · next-step plan Context: “Searching the internet for innovation should lead you to DARPA.”

Problem: Organizations want to work with DARPA, but the path into “Innovation” and Other Transactions (OTs) can feel unclear, fragmented, and intimidating. This work captured stakeholder needs and translated them into a UX direction: educate first, remove friction, build trust, and provide concrete samples and tools — without adding roadblocks like logins, forums, or confusing sign-up flows.

Turn ambiguity into a navigable, trustworthy experience.

The core objective was clarity: help businesses, researchers, and private-sector teams understand THE WHY, find best practices and samples, and move forward with confidence — supported by a structure that feels credible and government-grade.

Define what the experience must deliver

The “need” signals were consistent: educate entities on the innovation process, provide transparency, and create a repository of OT history and samples — supported by curated content that debunks myths and attracts private-sector engagement.

Remove friction and avoid accidental complexity

We explicitly avoided features that create hesitation or maintenance burden: logins and roadblocks, forums needing moderation, chats, pop-ups/Flash, and anything that makes users wonder “Do I sign up? Do I meet the terms?”

Design for trust + consumption

UX direction centered on desktop + mobile access, easily-consumed narratives, a defined architecture with clear navigation, dynamic imagery/video, and downloadable samples (PDFs/whitepapers) — while reinforcing credibility (.gov/.org/.mil).

01 / What we heard — needs vs. don’t-needs

02 / User experience — navigation, narratives, trust

03 / Personas — Lindsay, Kurt, Ehrlich

Personas that map to real decision behavior.

We grounded the experience around three archetypes: a research professional navigating terms and reassurance, a contract negotiator optimizing for leverage and best practices, and a tech-savvy futurist who needs hand-holding, examples, and IP confidence.

Key needs (from the personas)

Easy navigation and clear site architecture
Resources + downloadable samples (PDFs/whitepapers)
“The why” narrative and myth-debunking
Dynamic content (video / examples / best practices)
Confidence in terms, conditions, and process steps

Wireframes & UX Artifacts

Selected wireframes and interaction models used to explore navigation, content hierarchy, and trust signals for the DARPA Innovation experience.

Key outputs

The work focused on defining what the experience must be — and what it must not be — so teams can move into journey mapping and wireframes with a defensible UX foundation.

3 personas

Lindsay (research professional), Kurt (contract negotiator), Ehrlich (chief futurist) — each with clear needs that translate directly into navigation, content, and sample strategy.

0 roadblocks

“No logins or roadblocks for information,” and no forums/chats/pop-ups that create confusion or violate government standards — clarity and access come first.

Next steps

With needs, UX principles, and personas defined, the recommended sequence was: persona journey maps, then wireframes. This keeps the output grounded in real decision patterns and reduces the chance of building content or flows that add friction.

Note: This case study summarizes an insights deliverable. Details are presented at a high level.