U.S. Air Force~2 min readCivic Tech · Data Visualization

From Reports to Insight

TL;DRLed the 0→1 design of GearFit's first visual analytics experience, helping U.S. Air Force stakeholders identify patterns in equipment issues, compare trends, and prioritize action without manually reviewing individual reports.

Role

Lead Product Designer

Team

Design · Eng · Air Force stakeholders

Owned

  • 0→1 data visualization dashboard
  • MVP strategy & scope
  • Interaction design

Result

40% improvement in data quality & usability, serving 1,000+ aircrew personnel

01Challenge

Plenty of feedback. Not enough signal.

GearFit helps the U.S. Air Force identify equipment issues affecting aircrew safety and mission readiness. Its data informs funding and policy decisions across the Human Systems Division and Congress.

The existing analytics page showed only the top 10 submission counts by category, forcing program managers to review individual reports and manually identify patterns, assess severity, and prioritize issues. Prioritization was slow and reactive.

Key insight

Volume didn't equal risk. A frequently reported issue wasn't necessarily the most critical, while high-risk issues could be overlooked among individual submissions.

02Design Response

Making equipment issues visible and actionable.

I proposed a scoped MVP that introduced GearFit's first data visualizations within the existing Gear Submissions page, bringing equipment insights into the workflow stakeholders already used.

Rather than relying on submission counts alone, I brought volume and mission impact together to help stakeholders distinguish widespread complaints from potentially critical issues.

Existing experience

GearFit analytics before: a single ranked list of top 10 submission counts
A ranked list of submission counts, without visibility into severity or underlying reports. Numbers blocked for confidentiality.

Initial concept

GearFit dashboard after: submissions by gear type, top impact statements by gear type, and a filterable submissions table
Submission volume and mission impact presented side by side, with a filterable submissions table. Dummy data.

03Key Decisions

Designing for comparison, not just visibility.

User feedback shaped three decisions that made the initial concept easier to interpret and more useful for investigating equipment issues.

What changed

Graph readability

Replaced the pie chart with horizontal bars.

User testing revealed difficulty comparing proportions across gear types.

Information prioritization

Focused on the 5 most-reported gear types.

Grouped the remaining 100+ possible gear types under All Others to keep comparisons manageable.

Interactive filtering

Connected existing table filters to both charts.

Stakeholders could investigate patterns by gear type, date, and other attributes.

04Impact

From reactive reporting to proactive prioritization.

GearFit's first visual analytics experience gave program managers a way to identify patterns, compare mission impact, and prioritize equipment issues without manually analyzing individual submissions.

Data quality & usability

40%

improvement from visual analytics

Serving

1,000+

Aircrew personnel using GearFit

“This does all of my [analysis] work for me now.”

AFE Manager · Air Force

“This would really help me with the gear program I'm working on right now.”

Requirements Manager · Air Force

Looking ahead

I advocated for expanding analytics across roles, bases, and units to help stakeholders identify systemic issues before they escalated.