MilSpo Careers Interactive Web Design Project

The Semantic Web, Part 5: Responsive Site Development (Final) Cheryl G. Edenfield // ITGM 715 Interactive Web Design // Course Project Process Book // Summer 2016

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com

Table of Contents PART 1: DESIGN PROPOSAL

PART 4: RESPONSIVE SITE DEVELOPMENT (ROUGHS)

Concept Statement.............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Project Summary................................................................................................................................................................... 3 End User Demographics & Psychographics........................................................................................................... 4 Personas.......................................................................................................................................................................... 5–16 User Actions.................................................................................................................................................................17–19 Competitive Research...................................................................................................................................................20 Mood Board (competition)....................................................................................................................................21–22 SWOT analysis..................................................................................................................................................................23 Sitemap..........................................................................................................................................................................24–31 Preliminary Sketches..............................................................................................................................................32–42

Home page [index.html]..................................................................................................................................................85 Sign Up page [signup.html]............................................................................................................................................86 Sign In page [signin.html]................................................................................................................................................87 Create profile page [create-profile.html]..........................................................................................................88–89 User profile page [user-profile.html].......................................................................................................................... 90 Explore careers page [explore.html]...........................................................................................................................91 Search careers page [career-search.html]...............................................................................................................92 Career search results page [career-search-results.html]...................................................................................93 Career comparison results page [career-compare-results.html]............................................................ 94–95 Saved Lists & Documents page [saved-lists-docs.html]..............................................................................96-97

PART 2: WIREFRAMES— DESIGNING THE EXPERIENCE Mood Board (visual interface design).........................................................................................................................43 Project documentation User flow............................................................................................................................................................................ 44 Revised sitemap...............................................................................................................................................................45 Wireframes................................................................................................................................................................ 46–60 Responsive views.............................................................................................................................................................61

PART 3: VISUAL DESIGN Visual-interface design 1 Inspiration...........................................................................................................................................................................62 Layouts........................................................................................................................................................................ 63–65 Visual-interface design 2 Inspiration...........................................................................................................................................................................66 Layouts........................................................................................................................................................................ 67–68 Visual-interface design 3 Inspiration...........................................................................................................................................................................69 Layouts..........................................................................................................................................................................70–71 Visual-interface design 4 (final) Inspiration........................................................................................................................................................................... 72 Mock ups.............................................................................................................................................................................73 Layouts........................................................................................................................................................................ 74–84

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PART 5: RESPONSIVE SITE DEVELOPMENT (FINAL) milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/ Home page [index.html]..................................................................................................................................................98 Sign Up page [signup.html]............................................................................................................................................99 Sign In page [signin.html]............................................................................................................................................. 100 Create profile page [create-profile.html].................................................................................................................101 User profile page [user-profile.html]......................................................................................................................... 102 Explore careers page [explore.html]........................................................................................................................103 Search careers page [career-search.html].............................................................................................................104 Career search results page [career-search-results.html].................................................................................105 Career comparison results page [career-compare-results.html]..................................................................106 Saved Lists & Documents page [saved-lists-docs.html]................................................................................... 107

APPENDIX URLs ..................................................................................................................................................................................108 Citations................................................................................................................................................................................108 Thank you.............................................................................................................................................................................109

Design Proposal CONCEPT STATEMENT MilSpoCareers.com will be a centralized aggregate service to assist military spouses plan their careers through job search, education, or entrepreneurship. Military spouses (also known as “milspos”) experience career shifts when their significant others are given orders to relocate from one duty station to the next as confirmed by (Maury & Stone, 2014). When they seek employment they find that their résumés do not have up-to-date skills or are filled with gaps in professional experience. There are many career resources available to military spouses, but it’s difficult and time consuming to search them all while also figuring out which path to take to fit their personal needs and desires.

PROJECT SUMMARY Most of the information related to military spouse employment and careers are spread out all over the Web on different sites, through different institutions; government, civilian, individual states, nationwide, and down to the local level. Using the services provided by MilSpoCareers.com will give milspos the opportunity to research available benefits and opportunities afforded to them all in one location.

The website will have three main types users: • Military spouses (primary users) • Service providers (secondary users: government, non profit, and for profit organizations) • Employers

Overview of featured sections by user: Military spouses • Career exploration • Education research and planning • Job search • Entrepreneurship Service providers • Create a profile to market services – Free to fee based based on non-profit or for profit status; service member family agencies of the government may claim their profile page for free • Make services available for users (military spouses) to add to their check lists Employers • Create profile to market services – Free to fee based based on non-profit or for profit status • Make services available for users (military spouses) to add to their check lists

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END USER DEMOGRAPHICS

END USER PSYCHOGRAPHICS

20.4%

OVER AGE 41

35%

UNEMPLOYED

35%

44.6%

UNDER AGE 30

BETWEEN AGES 31-40

Fig. 1: Less than half of all military spouses are employed, and they are well educated

Fig. 2: 93% of military spouses are women

Fig. 3: Nearly half of military spouses are under the age of 30

20%

OFFICERS

42.8%

Fig. 6: Super woman multitasking illustration (Freepik.com, 2015)

57.2%

SERVICE MEMBERS

FAMILY MEMBERS

80%

ENLISTED SERVICE MEMBERS

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MILLION SPOUSES

Fig. 4: 5 million total service and family members

Fig. 5: Average monthly income is $1500-$4300 (depending on pay grade and years of service)

Figures 1-5: Demographic statistics (Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, 2015); figure silhouettes (Freepik.com, 2015)

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Milspos, the majority of whom are women, are a powerful consumer market. More often than not, they make most of the household purchasing decisions and manage the family budget. (2014 Marketing to Military Consumers, 2014) The most common single word to describe these women is resilient. Milspos share a bond beyond the love of their respective service members. Not only are they strong, independent, flexible and adaptable, but they are also supportive, proud, patient, courageous and resourceful. (Sweeney, 2012)

PERSONA 1

scenario

needs

features

ALLY LERNER

With the birth of Ally’s and Chris’ baby, Josie, household expenses have become tight.

Ally needs flexible parttime work that is 25- 30 hours per week because the job market in the area doesn’t pay her well enough to afford full-time care for their baby.

Ally can enter her résumé and job qualifications on the site.

• Age: 19 • Originally from: Army brat; she moved all across the U.S. until she married a U.S. Marine • Married to a U.S. Marine for 1 year with one child • PCS (moved)*: 1 time shortly after she got married and currently lives near Camp Lejeune in Onslow, North Carolina Background Ally is was previously a college student at Penn State, but she dropped out when she got married and moved to North Carolina. Her husband Chris has been a marine for three years and recently came back from a six-month deployment. She recently gave birth to their first child, Josie.

Ally cannot afford to go back to school for both financial and time reasons (since plans for moving change all the time).

Ally wants to find a job, but not just any job. She wants to build meaningful experience on her résumé that will help her find a job as a teacher.

User Narrative Ally’s goal is to become a teacher one day. She is very computer savvy, and shares an old desktop PC with her husband that she logs in to every night while nursing the baby. If she’s not on the computer, she’s on her Android phone playing games or chatting with her friends while laying down with the sleeping baby.

Ally would like to work evenings and weekends when her husband is home to resolve the child care issue.

Ally wants to be able to quickly find work that will help her build her résumé for future work in education based on her current qualifications.

Ally doesn’t have much time before the baby wakes for another feeding, she needs to also be able to save the information she entered in the site as well has her search progress.

The website will give Ally the option to create an account with a password, save her information, and edit her information as it changes.

Ally can search for job listings based on the search terms that fit her needs by selecting: • part-time • week nights • weekends • entering the zip code for her search with a distance radius that she’s comfortable with The website will give Ally the option to save her job search and create a name for the search. She can choose to have the website search daily, weekly, or monthly and send her emails with a summary of the search results.

Table 1. Persona 1 user story scenario, needs and features * PCS: Permanent Change of Duty Station. Number of moves the spouses have made since they have been married to a service member.

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PERSONA 2

scenario

needs

features

SHIRLEY LITTLE

Shirley’s husband Les is retiring next year to a home they bought in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has a government job in mind for when they get there, and she wants to be equally prepared to re-enter the job market.

Shirley needs to choose what she really wants to do before conducting a job search. To do this, she needs more information.

Shirley will be able to search a database for nursing and interior decoring job profiles and compare the education, skills, and experience requirements side-by-side just like one would be able to when searching and deciding between products.

• Age: 44 • Originally from: Carlsbad, New Mexico • Married to a U.S. Navy non-commissioned (enlisted) officer for 25 years and has 3 children • PCS (moved)*: 7 times and currently lives in San Diego, California Background Shirley is currently a homemaker, and was previously a WIC nutritionist. She wants to switch gears and go into nursing, or interior decorating. Her husband Lester plans to “double dip on retirement” by continuing to work for the government in a civil service job for another 20 years.

Their three children, Shawn, Maggie, and Michelle, are all grown.

User Narrative Shirley occasionally logs in to her computer to check e-mail, search for recipes on Pinterest, and see what old friends and family are up to on Facebook. She’s not interested in bells and whistles, but gets frustrated when she gets sucked in to the computer for hours trying to find information about careers that would suit her. She also doesn’t know if she should go back to school to become a nurse. She figures that her experience decorating her home every three years is enough to land her a job helping others doing the same, but she’s not confident.

Shirley wants to begin research and planning the next steps for her career now.

Shirley needs to pull up occupation profiles for nursing and interior decorating, along with the education, skills, and experience requirements for each, to be able to compare them side-byside.

Shirley needs to know what further education, skills, and experience she will need compared to her current qualifications for each occupation. This will help her decide which route to take.

Once she decides, she will need to plan her next steps.

Shirley will be able to create a user account and profile to compare her qualifications to both job profiles to identify where she has gaps.

Once Shirley decides which career path she wants to take, she will be able to turn those “gaps” into a checklist for her to complete with a list of options for: • education • skills • work experience This checklist can be saved for later, when she’s ready to start working towards completing each task.

Table 2. Persona 2 user story scenario, needs and features

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PERSONA 3

JENNY CRUZ • Age: 32 • Originally from: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • Married for 10 years to a U.S. Army officer and has 1 child • PCS (moved)*: 6 times and currently lives in Shreveport, Louisiana Background Jenny is currently an aspiring children’s book writer and illustrator. She was previously a mortgage loan officer, and was really good at her job but wasn’t happy. She thought about getting her real estate license, but the requirements change from state to state. Her husband Francisco has been serving for 15 years in the Army and affords them a comfortable lifestyle where she doesn’t have to work.

The extra income she brings in is for family vacations and saving for her son Mark’s college fund.

User Narrative Jenny is relatively tech proficient and is borderline A-D-D. She knows how to pull up YouTube videos to figure out how to get stuff done. For example, she figured out how to take digital photos of her paintings and upload them with her story to Amazon to create two self-published books. However, she’s limited to layout and design when publishing this way. Right now, though she’s proud of her accomplishments, the business feels like a hobby.

scenario

needs

features

Jenny recently completed the second of two books in a series. She is trying to launch her art prints for sale business while marketing both books and starting the artwork for a third book at the same time.

Jenny needs direction and a way to prioritize what needs to be done to be a successful business owner.

Jenny will be able to find an entrepreneur’s business start-up check list for military spouses on the site.

Mark will begin college next year, and they’re spending extra funds on her art supplies instead of saving for college. Her husband is telling her that it’s good that she has a lot of ideas on how to run her business, but she needs to focus on one aspect at a time in order to make a profit.

Last year, when Jenny’s husband brought their finances to the free tax preparer on base, they filed her business as a hobby due to lack of business registration and the financial loss.

Jenny needs to make her business official and registered with the state before they have to pack up and move again.

Jenny needs to find local help putting together a business and marketing plan to make her accountable for accomplishing each step.

Once Jenny’s business and marketing plan is in place, Jenny will need financing (a grant or loan) to help fund her start-up.

Within that enrepreneur check-list, Jenny will be able to: • search for the directions on how to register her business in the state of Louisiana; • search for the nearest small business administration office to help her in person; • search for financing options available to military spouses; and • search for budget friendly marketing tools.

Table 3. Persona 3 user story scenario, needs and features

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PERSONA 4

scenario

needs

features

MARY ELIZABETH CLARK

Mary Elizabeth just received notice on her application for naturalization (citizenship) to schedule an interview.

At the same time, she found out her husband will be stationed at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) in about a year’s time.

Mary Elizabeth wants to be prepared, and suspects that she will need to update her nursing license.

She needs to be able to find state licensing requirements and save them for future reference.

Mary Elizabeth will be able to search for nursing license requirements for the state of Texas and save them to her user account as a check list of items to be completed for licensure.

For example: • application • fees • school transcripts • credential evaluation service • required prep/refresher course(s) • state board testing and exams

• Age: 27 • Originally from: Ontario, Canada • Married for 4 years to a U.S. Air Force officer and has 2 children • PCS (moved)*: 3 times and currently lives at McConnell Air Force base outisde of Wichita, Kansas Background Mary Elizabeth is currently a homemaker and community volunteer. She was previously a nurse in Canada, but needs a license to practice nursing in Kansas. Her husband Dusty has been in the Air Force for 8 years and plans to make a career of it. They have lived in Kansas for two years and are getting ready to move again.

Dusty says that the Army Medical Command is a part of the San Antonio post, and that she should be able to apply for jobs before they arrive.

She also needs to be able to search for a list of the available job listings that match her current nursing qualifications in the San Antonio area.

User Narrative Nursing license requirements vary from state to state, and more difficult to qualify for since Mary Elizabeth is not yet a U.S. citizen. She is however a Permanent Resident.

There are some states that allow portability by observing multistate licensure, but the law is a choice for every individual state. She is also not sure if she will need to take more tests or go back to school to meet accreditation requirements.

Mary Elizabeth will be able to enter her current nursing qualifications and create a search agent for jobs in San Antonio that match her needs. She will also be able to save multiple search agents and have them email her with new listings as often as she wants to apply for jobs (daily, weekly, monthly).

Mary Elizabeth doesn’t spend much time on the computer while caring for two small children ages 1 and 3. The most time she has to sit and take a break is about an hour or two after the kids go to bed at 7:30 p.m. At that time, she’d rather sit in front of the t.v. or scroll through social media on her tablet.

Table 4. Persona 4 user story scenario, needs and features

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PERSONA 5

scenario

needs

features

AMBER MATTHEWS

Amber just found out that her husband is about to deploy again with the 3rd I.D. In order to make time feel like it’s going by faster while he’s gone, she decided to go back to school, and use 12 months of his G.I. bill to help pay for it.

Amber needs to search and save a list of schools in her area that offer a degree that will lead her towards becoming a speech pathologist.

Amber will be able to create a user account and save a search agent for schools in Southeast Georgia that offer programs for speech patholgoy.

• Age: 24 • Originally from: Yonkers, New York • Married for 2 years to a U.S. Army soldier and has 1 child • PCS (moved)*: 1 time and currently lives at Fort Stewart near Richmond Hill, Georgia Background Amber was previously an elementary teacher (K-8 certified). She wants to go into speech pathology, but needs to go back to school for another degree. Her husband Marlon has been in the Army for 11 years. They will be at Fort Stewart for 2 more years, but don’t know where they will be moving to next. Their son Richie is 2 years old and goes to the child development center on post part-time so that Ashlyn can volunteer in the military spouse community.

User Narrative Amber knows her way around a computer and navigating the Web. When teaching her elementary grade students, she used several websites to share assignments with her class’ parents, such as spelling lists on Spelling City. Her husband served in the Army long enough to qualify for the post 911 G.I. Bill and transfer benefits to her.

The information Amber needs saved in one place includes: • college/university URL • contact information to speak to an admissions counselor • application and documentation check lists • financial aid to cover what the G.I. Bill might not cover Amber also needs due date reminders for her application and documents that need to be submitted to the various sites.

Amber will be able to save her progress and create a check list with the requirements for her application.

Amber will also be able to search for financial aid available to military spouses based on her husband’s service. When she makes a match, she will be able to add the special financing to her application check list.

Amber will be able to set up reminders for each item on her check list that she needs to be reminded to complete and send in.

Table 5. Persona 5 user story scenario, needs and features

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PERSONA 6

scenario a

needs

features

SARAH HERMAN

Sarah meets with a handful of military spouses on a daily basis. Once a month she speaks about her office’s services to newcomers. More often than not, it’s the soldier and not the spouse who attends those meetings.

Sarah needs to reach more military spouses to let them know what services her office provides.

Sarah will be able to create a free service provider profile on the website for ACS at Fort Sill, and will be verified as authentic through by using her name.mil@mail.mil email to establish the account.

Before she leaves her position, she will be able to transfer the account to another mil@mail.mil user.

• Age: 40 • Originally from: Yorkshire, England • Married for 14 years to a British Army soldier and has no children • PCS (moved)*: 6 times all over the U.K. and currently lives at Fort Sill near Lawton, Oklahoma Background Sarah works for Army Community Services (ACS) as an Employment Readiness Specialist. She recently went through the process of obtaining the proper documentation to work in the U.S. (social security) and his helping fellow military spouses with their job search at Fort Sill. A military spouse herself, she understands the obstacles one faces when moving and applying for new jobs every few years. Her husband Nick will be leaving the British Army in a few years. They have plans to “make a go of it” in the U.S.

Sarah recently saw an ABC news report about the 26% unemployment rate of military spouses and she wants to help the cause.

The resources Sarah has to help military spouses is a list of websites and several flyers to help with job search, continuing education, and résumé writing. All of the information is spread out on paper hand outs.

What she needs is the information all in one place for herself and for the clients that come in to her office. Otherwise, the papers get lost or thrown away.

User Narrative Sarah would like to be able to assist the spouses who come into her office, but she has little no experience with career advising. She was previously U.K. civil service worker at a local police department.

Sarah will be able to include how to make an appointment and links of resources she finds helpful for military spouses to the site. If the resource has already been listed, or found, by another user or service provider, it will autopopulate her page so that duplicate information isn’t stored in the database.

When a user from Fort Sill creates an account, ACS at Fort Sill will pop up as a resource the user should check out.

Table 6a. Persona 6 user story scenario, needs and features

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scenario b

needs

features

After creating a service provider profile for ACS Sarah wants to create user profile for herself. Since Nick started feeling out potential jobs for when he leaves service, she wants to be equally prepared.

Sarah needs a way to quickly create and complete her user profile.

She already has a LinkedIn profile with her résumé information stored, and recommendations for jobs she might be interested in.

Sarah will be able to create her user profile by signing in with her LinkedIn account.

Since Sarah works 35 hours a week, she doesn’t want to spend a lot of time creating her account. She also doesn’t want to do it on the job, even though doing so could be used as an example for others.

She really doesn’t want to share personal or sensitive information with all the spouses who walk into her office.

Sarah needs to be able to save searches for multiple locations in the U.S. She and Nick haven’t decided where they will settle, but the areas with the best prospects, or job offer, will most likely be where they land.

Sarah’s profile will be personalized with her upto-date LinkedIn member profile data without having to do double duty on two different sites.

Sarah needs to be able to pull up saved searches and compare them side-byside.

Table 6b. Persona 6 user story scenario, needs and features

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PERSONA 7

scenario a

needs

features

JOCELYN KEOHO

Jocelyn bumped into Ally (persona 1) in the hallway when Ally came in to pick up more information about jobs at Camp Lejeune.

Like Sarah (persona 6), Jocelyn needs to reach military spouses and let them know about civil service job hiring practices.

Jocelyn saw several brochures and flyers stuffed into Ally’s diaper bag, and asked her how she could help.

Jocelyn needs — as both a civil service job seeker and hr assistant — for clients to be able to store/ retrieve official copies of their credentials and keep a checklist of qualifications (for both civilian and civil service jobs) all in one place. This could include a secure place to store official copies of their: • driver’s license • proof of citizenship • social security card • marriage license/ certificate • the service member’s orders • college transcripts • proof of recently cleared background check

Jocelyn will be able to create a free service provider profile on the website for NAF Human Resources at Camp Lejeune, and will be verified as authentic through by using her name.mil@mail.mil email to establish the account.

Before she leaves her position, she will be able to transfer the account to another mil@mail.mil user.

Age: 39 • Originally from: Koloa, Kaua`i, Hawaii • Married for 10 years to a U.S. Marine and has 2 children • PCS (moved)*: 4 times and currently lives near Camp Lejeune in Onslow, North Carolina Background Jocelyn’s last job was as a family support worker (FSW) in the Healthy Start Program at Quantico, Virginia. Since moving to North Carolina, she switched gears and is now working for U.S. Marines NAF (non-appropriated funds) Human Resources as an HR assistant. She helps job seekers in the employment process for civil service jobs at Camp Lejeune.

User narrative As a military spouse too, Jocelyn knows the process for applying to civil service jobs has a long lead time.

Many positions require a background check that takes a minimum of 30 days, and this is after a candidate is selected for hire. She would like a system that helps job candidates be prepared before they apply on USAJobs. gov. Many times, the application process requires candidates to log in to multiple systems to fill out forms.

Ally explained how she found out about the openings through MilSpoCareers.com and went to USAJobs.gov to apply. The problem was that all the jobs come with a lot of red tape so she came in to find someone to speak to in person.

Jocelyn wants to help fellow military spouses make the application process for civil service jobs a lot simpler.

Jocelyn needs system users to be able to file transfer selected documents as a zipped file to USAJobs.gov.

Table 7a. Persona 7 user story scenario, needs and features

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Jocelyn will be able to include how the employment process works based on the generalized steps listed on USAJobs.gov plus any steps specific to Camp Lejeune. The steps will then be able to become a check list for applicants.

Jocelyn will be able to accept files transferred securely from the site to USAJobs.gov.

When a user (like Ally) from Camp Lejeune logs in, NAF Camp Lejeune will pop up as a resource the user should check out.

scenario b

needs

features

Jocelyn is happy with the results of her service provider profile for NAF Human Resources at Camp Lejeune. However, her time as an NAF employee is coming to an end. Her contract was temporary for one year, and there are just no more nonappropriated funds to cover her position as a fulltime employee. It’s not a problem though, because her husband Todd received orders for them to move to Hawaii in three months.

She’s thrilled to be moving “home” near family!

Jocelyn needs to take the time to seriously update her résumé, LinkedIn and USAJobs.gov profiles.

None of them are current.

Jocelyn will be able to log in and create a user profile with her LinkedIn account. Her profile will be personalized with her upto-date LinkedIn member profile data.

Jocelyn started a MySECO (Military One Source Spouse Education & Career Opportunities) account, but got stuck filling in industry and occupation preferences because she’s not sure. She abandoned the site and decided to try MilSpoCareers.com since she had a good experience with it as a service provider.

Jocelyn needs to explore her options career options because her résumé is filled with a variety of different jobs and gaps in employment.

Jocelyn needs to include her volunteer time, when she wasn’t working, in her career and job search.

Jocelyn needs to be able to save her progress searching or filling in information without having to quit and start over.

Jocelyn will be able to search occupation profiles based on the skills she enters or has been endorsed for on LinkedIn. If she hasn’t already, she will be reminded to include skills from volunteer work in her experience.

Jocelyn will be able to save the occupation profiles and use them as a basis for job search when she’s ready.

Table 7b. Persona 7 user story scenario, needs and features

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PERSONA 8

scenario

needs

features

ADAM H. HALE

Adam’s boss is pushing him to increase attendance at their one-on-one nocost counseling and training seminars.

Adam needs to make the SBDC known to military spouses and veterans in the area. Not just in person at local events. He needs to get on their radar at little to no cost.

Through MilSpoCareers. com Adam can get his services and resources in front of a broader community by creating a service provider profile for a low fee that is based on non-profit or for profit status.

• Age: 25 • Originally from: Shreveport, Louisiana • Single • Lives in Shreveport, Louisiana Background Adam is a small business specialist for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) through Northwestern State University of Louisiana. He recently completed his M.B.A. at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, an hour and a half drive away from his aging parents. The youngest of seven siblings, Adam is the only one who stayed near by.

User narrative Adam went straight to work for the SBDC after graduation, so he has no entrepreneurial experience. He does, however, have an excellent grasp of the process and what it takes to start a business. His father is a retired airman (from nearby Barksdale Air Force Base) and small business owner, so he’s familiar with owning a business as well as the military lifestyle. He grew up around technology, and isn’t afraid to try anything new.

Adam is not sure how to meet his boss’ demands so he plans to talk to his father to gain perspective.

Adam’s dad invites him to attend a past subordinate’s retirement ceremony so that he can drive him there. While there, he meets Jenny (persona 3), who’s husband was the retiree’s commander. After a conversation with Jenny, Adam realizes there’s an untapped community outside of the university that could benefit from the SBDC’s services. She also mentions MilSpoCareers. com to him.

Adam needs more than his office’s single informational page on the university website.

Adam needs a way to share how he can help, and integrate those services, on check lists like the one Jenny’s creating to bring more entrepreneurs in to use the SBDC as a resource. Those services include but aren’t limited to: • marketing • business planning • financial analysis • industry-specific information • loan structuring and packaging

Table 8. Persona 8 user story scenario, needs and features

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Adam will be able to share: • the list of SBDC services • how to make a counseling appointment • list of training seminars and upcoming dates Before SBDC’s ervice account is published live, someone from the company will call to confirm and validate the service and organization.

When Jenny (persona 3) logs in to her account, SBDC will pop up as a resource the should contact, and will be able to choose which items she wants to integrate on her check list.

PERSONA 9

scenario

needs

features

ELVIN DOUGLAS

Elvin is looking to hire a junior designer for his store. The position is not difficult to train for a person with people skills, understanding, and a willing to learn more about inerior decorating. The interior designers who apply from the nearby NewSchool of Architecture + Design are either over qualified or tend to quit after a short period because the job wasn’t what they expected.

Elvin doesn’t need to spend a lot of money to market the job opening.

Elvin will be able to create an employer profile for a fee that is based on a company’s size and income.

• Age: 50 • Originally from: Raleigh, North Carolina • Single, widowed, and retired from the U.S. Navy with two children • Lives in San Diego, California Background Elvin works at Woodbridge Interiors, a family-owned furniture store in San Diego. His experience as a supply resource manager in the Navy lends itself to his current job as a store manager. His wife Theresa passed away shortly before he retired from the Navy. He has lived in the area for the last 5 years so that his kids Camden and Deandra could finish high school. He remembers what it was like for his wife, searching for job opportunities, when his service moved them around all over the world.

User narrative Elvin comes across many young sailor spouses as they move into the area, but not many older spouses of service members about retire. When he does review résumés of spouses that have been married and moved around several years, he finds that their experience varies or there a periods of unexplained unemployment.

Elvin runs into Shirley (persona 2) in the food court at the Navy Exchange on 32nd Street.

Shirley’s daughter Maggie used to babysit Camden and Deandra. They decide to sit together and catch up. Shirley tells Evlin about her desire to be an interior decorator and her experience with the MilSpoCareers.com site. A light bulb goes off in his head.

Elvin needs to know if Shirley’s experience and skills line up with what he’s looking for before he conducts an official interview.

Elvin needs to find additional applicants, and to extend his regular search to let military spouses know that Woodbridge Interiors is willing to hire them if they are qualified.

Elvin needs a simple hiring and application process that ensures a good fit.

Elvin will be able to set up job and position information with: • options for full time, part time, flexible, permanent, temporary, salaried, hourly, weekdays/nights, weekends; • position description and benefits; • skills/experience Elvin will be able to review applicant user profiles, and users like Shirley will be able to apply without having to re-enter data.

Before the employer account is published live, someone from the company will call to confirm and validate the organization.

When Shirley logs in to her account, Woodbridge Interiors will pop up as a company she might be interested in applying to.

Table 9. Persona 9 user story scenario, needs and features

15

PERSONA 10

scenario

needs

features

JUDITH “JUDY” STEPHENS

Judy has been meeting with several prospective students that are either veterans or military family members (children or spouses). Summer is the time of year when military families move so it’s no surprise that they are coming to her now. She knows through personal experience (at home) what military life is like, but they are asking about information not yet familiar with. She has not yet mastered the ins and outs of education benefits for military dependents.

Judy doesn’t have the need or budget to spend on marketing the university.

Judy will be able to create a free educator user account to use the site as a resource and tool for herself. Her educator status will be verified by using an @schoolname.edu email address.

• Age: 53 • Originally from: Savannah, Georgia • Married for 26 years with three children • Lives in Pooler, Georgia Background Judy works for Armstrong Atlantic State University admissions as a recruiter and counselor for the department of rehabilitation sciences. She has been married to her husband Russell for 38 years. Prior to working at Armstrong, Judy was a school teacher in Chatham County for about 5 years. When her now grown children were born, Judy took a break to stay home with them before returning to work. Rather than return to teaching, she chose to help others on their path. Two of her sons decided to take a commission in the Army. Jack lives at Fort Bliss (El Paso, Texas) and Ben is nearby at Fort Stewart. Her daughter Grace married a soldier and lives at Fort Campbell, Kentucky (Clarksville, Tennessee).

User narrative Judy has been in her job for nearly four years now. After being out of the work force for a little more than two decades, her computer skills are a little rusty. She’s started getting the hang of technology, even FaceTiming with her son, Jack, to see her first grandson Colby in El Paso, Texas.

Judy is familiar with typing in URLs and conducting a Google search to find what she needs.

16

Judy needs a website that pulls all available military spouse benefit information to help both her and the prospective students she counsels. She’s familiar with search engines, so if all she has to do is enter a few pieces of information, versus clicking all over a site, she’s good to go.

Judy needs to be able to indicate that Armstrong is a military family friendly school, and that is in closs proximity military installations (Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field).

Judy needs to be able to indicate that Armstrong offers military benefits and scholarship opportunities in addition to accepting other military spouse benefits (such as MyCAA or the G.I. Billl).

Table 10. Persona 10 user story scenario, needs and features

Judy will be able to enter Armstrong’s URL and the academic/degree program information will appear on MilSpoCareers.com in an easy to view format.

Judy will be able to add Armstrong as a “university of interest” to military spouses to ensure it comes up in a search by other users.

Judy will also be able to specify whether or not information about education benefits for military spouses and families at Armstrong will be listed as a “resource of interest” in searches by other users.

When Amber (persona 5) logs in to her account, Armstrong will pop up as a university she might be interested in applying to.

#

User Actions Summary

Result

1.0

START. Register for an account (military spouses).

The home page has two buttons, “Sign up” and “Get started,” that will take the user to create a profile. “Sign up” will be at the top of every page when a user does not log in or register. User is taken to the “Create an account” page.

2.0

LOG IN. Use Google account; or

User is given the option to select “log in with Google” instead of filling in email/password combination on “Create an account page.”

2.1

Use email and combination to log in

MilSpo user must wait for miltary spouse status verification email; service providers and employers must also wait for account verification; then the user may sign in with Google or Email/password combination.

3.0

CREATE A PROFILE. To be completed any time after account registration

Users are brought to the “Create a profile” page the first time they log in after their account is verified.

3.1

SAVE PROGRESS. User would like to finish later

Click on “save” to return the next time user logs in.

3.2

CONTINUE. User would like to continue

Click on “next” to continue to the next screen.

3.3

GO BACK. User would like to go bacK

Click on the “back” button to go back; user is taken.

3.4

SYNC WITH LINKEDIN. User would like to continue and sync background information

Click on the “in” logo for LinkedIn.

4.0

CAREER RESEARCH. User would like more information about certain careers

Click on “Career Exploration” on the home page or on the left navigation bar. If a profile is not yet created, he/she will be brought to the “Create an account page.” Otherwise, he/she will be taken directly to the page to search by industry and occupation.

4.1

SEARCH. User would like to search careers

Enter career exploration parameters, then click on the “search” button.

4.2

COMPARE. User would like to compare results with his/her profile

Click on the “compare” button.

4.3

SAVE SEARCH. User would like to save search parameters

Click on the “save search” button.

4.4

START OVER. User would like to start the search over

Click on the “start over” button.

Table 11a. User actions

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18

#

User Actions Summary

Result

4.5

GO TO SAVED LISTS. Go to saved lists when returning to the site after log in.

Click on “My saved lists and documents” option which will appear below user profile greeting at the top right hand side of the page.

4.6

Go to saved lists from current search process.

Click on “save search.”

5.0

EDUCATION RESEARCH. User would like to search schools.

Click on “Education” on the home page or on the left navigation bar. If a profile is not yet created, he/she will be brought to the “Create an account page.” Otherwise, he/she will be taken directly to the education landing page to search.

5.1

User would like to find professional development opportunities.

From the “Education” landing page, click on “professional development.”

5.2

User would like to research how to finance his/ her education.

From the “Education” landing page, click on “finances.”

5.3

User would like to find out how to update a nursing license (or any other certification).

From the “Education” landing page, click on “professional occupational licensing.”

6.0

JOB SEARCH. User would like to search jobs.

Click on “Job Search” on the home page or on the left navigation bar. If a profile is notyet created, he/she will be brought to the “Create an account page.” Otherwise, he/she will be taken directly to the job search landing page to search.

6.1

SEARCH. User would like to search careers.

Enter job search parameters, then click on the “search” button. User may save search parameters (4.3) to saved list(s).

6.2

VIEW JOB. User would like to view individual job listing from search results.

Click on the job title to view individual job listing. User may go back (3.3), save to list(s) (4.3), start over (4.4) or exit when finished. Job application requirements vary and are external from the site.

6.3

SAVE RESULTS. User would like to select individual listings and save search results to list.

To save as a group, select (check box) search results from list and save to list(s) (4.3).

7.0

BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR. User would like to learn how to start a business.

Click on “Entrepreneurship” on the home page or on the left navigation bar. If a profile is not yet created, he/she will be brought to the “Create an account page.” Otherwise, he/she will be taken directly to the entrepreneurship landing page to see the steps to starting a business.

7.1

VIEW STEPS. User would like to learn more about each step.

Click on “learn more” beneath each step to see a list of resources (will be brought to a new page based on the step)

7.2

SAVE STEPS & RESOURCES. User would like to save information to a list.

Select (check box) desired steps to save, and save to list(s) (4.3), start over (4.4) or exit when finished.

Table 11b. User actions continued

#

User Actions Summary

Result

8.0

START. Register for an account (service providers).

Click on “Service providers” at the top right hand side of the page to be taken to “Create an account” page for service providers. Service providers are given the same option to log in with Google or email/password combination (2.1 and 2.2) when registering.

8.1

CREATE A PROFILE. To be completed in conjunction with account registration.

Users are asked to enter their URL to “find” their page. They will be asked if they would like to “claim their page” to complete their profile, or enter information about the organization manually.

8.2

CLAIM A PAGE. User would like to “claim a URL” as theirs.

Check the box for “claim your page” before submitting application.

8.3

ADD SERVICES TO CHECKLIST. User would like to allow milspo users to add organization services to their lists.

Check the boxes next to each service provided (pulled from user’s URL or entered manually)

8.4

Account verification.

System will send an email to the @organization.org/.mil/.edu address to verify the validity of the service.

9.0

START. Register for an account (employers).

Click on “Employers” at the top right hand side of the page to be taken to “Create an account” page for employers.

Service providers are given the same option to log in with Google or email/password combination (2.1 and 2.2) when registering.

Employers follow the same steps 8.1–8.4 to create a profile, claim a page, add services, and for account verification.

10.0

POST A JOB. User would like to post a job manually.

On the employer’s profile page, click on the button labeled “job post”

10.1

User would like to link to an existing job post and application.

After clicking on the “job post” button, enter the lob listing URL in the first field labeled for it, then leave all other information blank to autofill

11.0

UPLOAD DOCUMENT(S). (MilSpo) User would like to upload document(s) for application submission.

Go to “My saved lists and documents” and click on “upload” document; browse to find; and click “attach” to upload.

11.1

SEND DOCUMENT(S). User would like to send uploaded document(s) to service provider or employer

Go to “My saved lists and documents” and select the document; pop up window will display the document; click on “send” button then select service provider or employer from drop down list of users (user may start typing in the same to search for the name quickly)

Table 11c. User actions continued

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COMPETITIVE RESEARCH Similar interactive products in the marketplace can be broken down into three categories and include: Government career and job search providers • MySECO (My Spouse and Education Career Opportunities) • NAFJobs.org • USAJobs.gov • cpol.army.mil (US Army Civilian Personnelll On-Line) MySECO is a career opportunities portal found through MilitaryOneSource.mil. Military OneSource offers information about “Education and Employment,” however, it’s not clear how to get to the MySECO portal. It’s buried under a heading not found on the “Education and Employment” page. It is a submenu item “Spouse Education and Career Opportunties.”

MySECO’s end users are verified military spouse dependents through DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System).

MySECO’s service provider list are primarily government run programs. Career coaches are required to apply to be an independent provider.

MySECO’s job search link leads to a page of primarily government run services and programs. It does, however, show the user links to MSEP (military spouse employment) groups on LinkedIn and Facebook.

NAFJobs.org, USAJobs.gov, and cpol.army.mil are job post sites. Many times the information is duplicated among two or all three sites, or the application process requires the user to fill out information on each separate site to submit.

Like other job search site, they allow résumé building or upload. USAJobs.gov allows users to set up job search agents to email results when the user wants to receive them.

20

Social networking for careers sites • LinkedIn • Aprés Both LinkedIn and Aprés add the additional layer of social networking to résumé building (or creation) and job search.

LinkedIn is for anyone who is interested in networking for career opportunities, whether it’s professional, consulting, or in a volunteer/community service capacity. Both afford content rich stories provided by the website and users.

Both also have employer end users.

Aprés is specifically for women who are re-entering the work force. It also has a curated job market, for employer users who have pledged to hire women returning to the workforce.

Aprés is also different from LinkedIn because career coaches are another user.

Both sites allow users to search for jobs based on the typical parameters (keyword, location, sector, type, experience) and apply for them within the site.

LinkedIn allows users to save jobs under “MyJobs” to return to at a later date.

Aprés is still so new that a search for full-time work in Kansas City, MO for any sector and any level of experience turns up zero results.

The two are competing sites, but Aprés definitely has its niche to separate itself. Both offer premium membership.

Career and job search sites • Indeed.com • Monster.com • Careerbuilder.com Each of the sites are competition for one another. All three career and job search sites offer similar features and services. They help users build their profile by uploading a résumé or entering the information with a résumé builder.

Indeed is the simplest with the least amount of features.

All three have the same primary service: to job search by title, keyword, or company name in a specific location.

Recent searches are saved intuitively by the systems, which allows the systems to also provide a list of “recommended jobs” when the user logs in. Users have the option of having the list of “recommended jobs” emailed to them as frequently as they want (daily, weekly, monthly, never).

Monster and Careerbuilder go a step further than Indeed by offering other resources like career advice, résumé writing services, interview tips, salary and benefits, and career management tools and insights.

All three sites offer some sort of employer partnership.

Indeed is the only one with an API through the Indeed Publisher Program (affiliate money earning) to include their job search tools on a partner website or blog.

All three have both free and paid job listings. The paid job listings are a premium and can be a “sponsored” listing that resides at the top of a job search or a “banner” ad.

MOOD BOARD HIGHLIGHTS [DRAWN FROM COMPETITOR RESEARCH]

Figures 7-12: Competitor screenshots from linkedin.com, militaryonesource.mil, myseco.militaryonesource.mil/portal

21

22

Figures 13-20: Competitor screenshots from apresgroup.com, careerbuilder.com, indeed.com, linkedin.com, monster.com, myseco.militaryonesource.mil/portal

SWOT Analysis — MilSpoCareers.com vs competitor features

Fig. 21: Working wall mood board of printed competitor features. Author’s own photograph.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

• Resources geared specifically for military spouses • Links to government jobs typically found where military spouses live

• Sites like MySEC and MilitaryOneSource. com are backed by the government and promoted as the number one resource to find everything one would need

• Room for growth and partnership with other non-government backed organizations to improve the capabilities of the site, such as partnering with Indeed.com to use their search for jobs API

• Sites like MySEC and MilitaryOneSource. com are backed by the government and promoted as the number one resource to find everything one would need

• Ability save progress when forms are incomplete and come back later

• Military spouses, service providers, and employers don’t know much about the site

• Simplify and combine resources into one overall system to search, find, and save information

• Possibility there’s too many options available on the site

• Pull job listings from all relevant and available resources like USAJobs. gov, NAFJobs.org and cpol.army.mil

• Employers are more familiar with using sites like Indeed.com, Monster. com, or Careerbuilder. com

• Scale the site back to focus on career path exploration with everything else secondary listed as resources to visit

• Government agencies post their jobs to USAJobs.gov

• Saved information can be turned into actionable lists

Table 12. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for MilSpoCareers.com as they relate to a summary

23

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES: SITEMAP MilSpoCareers.com Sitemap 01 July 2016

a Home page

a

a

a

Military Spouses

Service Providers

Employers

a

a

a

Create an account (options to log in with Google or LinkedIn)

Enter service provider URL

Enter employer URL

a Verify military spouse status through DEERS

a

a

a

a

a

Career Exploration

Education

Job Search

Entrepreneurship

My Notes and Saved Files

a

a

a

Compare user profile to occupational profile database

My Career Exploration page

a

a

Save career and occupation profile(s)

Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

a

a

Save career comparison and name it

Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

a

a

a

Saved occupational search profile(s)

Saved career comparison(s)

Saved career path check list(s)

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

School search

Professional Development

Financial Planning (Education)

Professional occupational licensing

Search by... enter parameters

My saved job search

Steps to entrepreneurship

a

a

a

Vocational or technical training

Higher education institutions

Saved schools

a

a

Select and save schools

Select and save schools

a

a

a

a

Search for military spouse professional development opportunities online or in your area

List of benefits and opportunities for military spouse financial aid, grants, and scholarships

Search for more resources

My Financial Planner

a

a

Saved resources and tips

Financial aid check list

a

a

a

Teacher certification search by state

Health professions licensing by state

Bar association by state

a

a

Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list

Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list

Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

Search results page

Saved job search agents

Saved jobs

Job search check list

Entrepreneur resources specifically for military spouses

Registering your business

Writing a business plan

Financial planning (business)

Marketing

My start-up check list

a

a

Save search results, name it, and set up job search agent

Job post

a

a

a

a

a

a

Compare position requirements to profile

Save to view later

Apply for job

Add job to a check list

a a Add missing skills, training, education, or experience to career path check list

Fig. 22: Sitemap of MilSpoCareers.com created with writemaps.com. (view online)

24

a

a

a

Claim your page

Create your profile

Claim your page

a

Allow users to add your service to their check listEm

a

Link to existing job post and application

Allow users to add your service to their check list

a View and edit profile page (becomes user home page)

Search for careers and occupational profile(s)

a Create your profile

Upload documents for application (optional based on employer requirements)

Select resources and instructions to add and save to start-up check list

a a a Select resources Select resources Select resources Select resources and instructions to add and save to and instructions to and instructions to and instructions to add and save to add and save to add and save to start-up check list start-up check list start-up check list start-up check list

a

a

a

Saved searches and lists

Saved check lists (action items)

Upload documents and view list of uploaded documents

a

Post a job

a

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES: SITEMAP LIST OF PAGES Home page Military Spouses • “Create an account (options to log in with Google or LinkedIn)” — Verify military spouse status through DEERS — View and edit profile page (becomes user home page)

Career Exploration • Search for careers and occupational profile(s) — Save career and occupation profile(s) — Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list • Compare user profile to occupational profile database — Save career comparison and name it — Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list • My Career Exploration page — Saved occupational search profile(s) — Saved career comparison(s) — Saved career path check list(s) Education • School search — Vocational or technical training * Select and save schools — Higher education institutions * Select and save schools — Saved schools • Professional Development — Search for military spouse professional development opportunities online or in your area • Financial Planning (Education) — List of benefits and opportunities for military spouse financial aid, grants, and scholarships — Search for more resources

— My Financial Planner * Saved resources and tips * Financial aid check list • Professional occupational licensing — Teacher certification search by state * Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list — Health professions licensing by state * Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list — Bar association by state * Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list Job Search • Search by... enter parameters — Search results page * Save search results, name it, and set up job search agent — Job post * Compare position requirements to profile - Add missing skills, training, education, or experience to career path check list * Save to view later * Apply for job - Upload documents for application (optional based on employer requirements) * Add job to a check list • My saved job search — Saved job search agents — Saved jobs — Job search check list Entrepreneurship • Steps to entrepreneurship — Entrepreneur resources specifically for military spouses

* Select resources and instructions to start-up check list — Registering your business * Select resources and instructions to start-up check list — Writing a business plan * Select resources and instructions to start-up check list — Financial planning (business) * Select resources and instructions to start-up check list — Marketing * Select resources and instructions to start-up check list — My start-up check list

to add and save to add and save to add and save to add and save to add and save

My Notes and Saved Files • Saved searches and lists • Saved check lists (action items) • Upload documents and view list of uploaded documents Service Providers • Enter service provider URL — Create your profile * Allow users to add your service to their check list — Claim your page * Allow users to add your service to their check list Employers • Enter employer URL — Create your profile * Post a job — Claim your page * Link to existing job post and application

25

a Home page

a

a

a

Military Spouses

Service Providers

Employers

a

a

a

Create an account (options to log in with Google or LinkedIn)

Enter service provider URL

Enter employer URL

a Verify military spouse status through DEERS

a

a

a

a

Create your profile

Claim your page

Create your profile

Claim your page

a

Allow users to add your service to their check listEm t

a

Link to existing job post and application

a

Allow users to add your service to their check list

a View and edit profile page (becomes user home page)

Fig. 23: Sitemap of MilSpoCareers.com detail zoom; created with writemaps.com. (view online) Project will focus on prototyping the pages/section of the website highlighted in red.

26

a

a

My Notes and

Job Search

Post a job

a

a Career Exploration

a

a

a

Search for careers and occupational profile(s)

Compare user profile to occupational profile database

My Career Exploration page

a

a

Save career and occupation profile(s)

Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

a

a

Save career comparison and name it

Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

a School search

a

a

a

Saved occupational search profile(s)

Saved career comparison(s)

Saved career path check list(s)

a

a

Vocational or technical training

Higher education institutions

a

a

Select and save schools

Select and save schools

Save

Fig. 24: Sitemap of MilSpoCareers.com detail zoom; created with writemaps.com. (view online) Project will focus on prototyping the pages/section of the website highlighted in red.

27

a Education

path s)

a

a

a

School search

Professional Development

Financial Planning (Education)

a

a

a

Vocational or technical training

Higher education institutions

Saved schools

a

a

Select and save schools

Select and save schools

a

a

a

a

Search for military spouse professional development opportunities online or in your area

List of benefits and opportunities for military spouse financial aid, grants, and scholarships

Search for more resources

My Financial Planner

Fig. 25: Sitemap of MilSpoCareers.com detail zoom; created with writemaps.com. (view online)

28

Pro occ li

a Teacher certification search by state

a

a

Saved resources and tips

Financial aid check list

pr licens

a Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list

Sa res requi instr caree

a Job Search

check

a

a

Professional occupational licensing

Search by... enter parameters

a

a

a

Teacher certification search by state

Health professions licensing by state

Bar association by state

a

a

Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list

Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list

a Save search results (state requirements and instructions) to career path check list

My

a

a

Search results page

Saved job search agents

a

a

Save search results, name it, and set up job search agent

Job post

a

a

a

a

Compare position requirements to profile

Save to view later

Apply for job

Add job to a check list

S

a a

Fig. 26: Sitemap of MilSpoCareers.com detail zoom; created with writemaps.com. (view online)

Add missing skills, training, education, or experience to career path check list

Upload documents for application (optional based on employer requirements)

29

a Entrepreneurship

a

a

My saved job search

Steps to entrepreneurship

Saved an

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

Saved job search agents

Saved jobs

Job search check list

Entrepreneur resources specifically for military spouses

Registering your business

Writing a business plan

Financial planning (business)

Marketing

My start-up check list

a

a

a

a

Select resources Select resources Select resources Select resources and instructions to a and instructions to and instructions to and instructions to add and save to Select resources add and save to add and save to add and save to start-up check list and instructions to start-up check list start-up check list start-up check list add and save to start-up check list

check

Fig. 27: Sitemap of MilSpoCareers.com detail zoom; created with writemaps.com. (view online)

30

a My Notes and Saved Files

a

a

a

Saved searches and lists

Saved check lists (action items)

Upload documents and view list of uploaded documents

p check

Fig. 28: Sitemap of MilSpoCareers.com detail zoom; created with writemaps.com. (view online)

31

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES: INITIAL CONCEPT PITCHES

Fig. 29: Initial concept pitch 1. 1) MilSpoCareers.com front page highlights all users, 2) focus on MilSpo, 3) account creation, and 4) résumé building capabilities.

32

Fig. 30: Initial concept pitch 2. 1) MilSpoCareers.com front page highlights MilSpo services, 2) focus on career exploration, 3) search results and ability to save, and 4) user profile and career results comparison.

33

Fig. 31: Initial concept pitch 3. 1) MilSpoCareers.com front page focus on creating an account, 2) import LinkedIn profile to account, 3) view LinkedIn profile in MilSpoCareers, and 4) user profile and career results comparison.

34

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES: OUTLINE OF WORKFLOWS

Ally Lerner (P1: early career persona)

System

1. Ally visits MilSpoCareers.com

2. The home page presents a variety of options. She can choose to create an account, go to on of the four main menu options: “Career Exploration,” “Education, “Job Search,” or “Entrepreneurship.”

3. Ally selects “Create an account”

4. Ally is presented with a page to enter her email address, first name, last name, and DSL (Department of Defense Selfservice Logon) information to verify her status as a military spouse. She procedes to fill out all the information and is prompted to “submit.”

5. Ally is now re-directed her her user profile “home” page

6. System inside the account now shows Ally an additional main menu item labeled “My Notes and Saved Files.”

7. Ally decides she wants to search for a part-time job. She clicks on the “Job Search” menu item.

8. The job search page appears with a search bar for key word search. She also has the option to choose to enter location, sector (drop down menu with list of industries), type (drop down menu: full time, part time, temporary, freelance), and level of experience (0-3 years, 3-5, 7-10, and 10+). She fills in the criteria she entered.

9. Ally is presented with a list of results.

10. The results are summarized up to 3 lines each. The title of each job listing is underlined, indicating a hyperlink to read the details of the job description. Next to each individual result, there is a “plus sign” so that she can choose to save a job listing. Right above the list of results is also an option to “save search” and name it.

11. Ally chooses and clicks on “save search.”

12. The system brings up a pop-up window to name and save the search. There is a box to enter the search name, and options to change previously chosen search criteria. There is also a box to check to receive search results via email daily, weekly, or monthly (or all three).

13. Ally chooses to name the search “part-time North Carolina” and opts in to the weekly email job search agent.

Table 13. Outline of workflows (steps 1–13) for Amy, early career persona

35

Shirley Little (P2: transition persona)

System

1. Shirley visits MilSpoCareers.com

2. The home page presents a variety of options. She can choose to create an account, go to on of the four main menu options: “Career Exploration,” “Education, “Job Search,” or “Entrepreneurship.”

3. Shirley selects “Career Exploration”

4. The system gives Shirley the option to “Search fo careers and occupational profile(s). The system does not show her “Compare user profile to occupational profile database” because she has not yet set up an account.

5. Shirley enters “interior decorating” into the key word search field box

6. The system searches the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation Finder and pulls up the summary for interior designers.

It shows quick facts (median pay, typical entry-level education, if there’s on-the-job training, job outlook). It also gives a summary of what interior designers do.

7. Shirley wants to compare interior decorating to nursing, but she doesn’t want to lose the results she just found so she clicks on “save search”

8. The system replies that in order to save search, Shirley must first create a user account and profile.

9. Shirley selects “create an account”

10. Shirley is directed to the account creation page to enter her email address, first name, last name, and DSL (Department of Defense Self-service Logon) information to verify her status as a military spouse. She proceeds to fill out the information and is prompted to submit. The save search window reappears when she is finished.

11. Shirley clicks on “save search”

12. The system brings up a pop-up window to name and save the search. There is a box to enter the search name, and options to change previously chosen search criteria. Once complete, the system asks Shirley if she wants to save any occupation criteria to her “career planning check list.” She has the option to save education and a variety of skills.

13. Shirley chooses to save education and the skills she needs to be an interior designer to a career planning check list for interior design.

14. The system shows Shirley her “My Career Exploration” page with the saved occupational search profiles and career path check list for interior design.

Table 14. Outline of workflows (steps 1–14) for Shirley, transition life stage and career persona

36

Elvin Douglas (P9: employer)

System

1. Elvin visits MilSpoCareers.com

2. The home page presents a variety of options for MilSpos, but off to the side at the top is an option for “Service providers” or “Employers.”

3. Elvin selects “Employers”

4. The system brings Elvin to a company profile page with a field/box to enter his company’s URL.

5. Elvin enters the URL for Woodbridge Interiors

6. The system shows a thumbnail sketch of the Woodbridge Interiors site along with physical address on the company profile page and asks Elvin, “would you like to claim your page for free?” with a yes or no button.

7. Elvin clicks on “yes”

8. The system sets the profile page and gives the options to “post a job” or “link to an existing job post with application online.” Below the options, the system tells Elvin that there is a fee based on the company size. Since the system searched the company by URL, it determined the cost to be $5 per month for premium services to post the job.

9. Elvin agrees to the conditions to “post the job”

10. The system then advises Elvin that the account and job post will go live once someone from the company verifies the account creation and job listing.

11. Elvin exits the system and 24 hours later, someone calls Elvin to verify the account and job post.

12. The system posts the Woodrbridge Interiors company page and job post live. It is also set to appear in any job searches, and on a side bar to account users who indicated an interest in interior design.

Table 15. Outline of workflows (steps 1–12) for Elvin, employer persona

37

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES: SKETCH USER-INTERFACE CONCEPTS

MILSPO CAREERS

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | SIGN IN

SIGN UP

MILSPO CAREERS

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | SIGN IN

CAREER EDUCATION

WELCOME!

JOIN MILSPO CAREERS TODAY!

JOB SEARCH ENTREPRENEURSHIP

It’s quick and it’s FREE! USERNAME & PASSWORD

••••••••

NAME (FIRST & LAST)

EMAIL

CAREER EXPLORATION

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

▼

COUNTRY

CITY

STATE

GET STARTED LINKED IN

GOOGLE

SUBMIT

CLICKING ON THE BUTTONS ABOVE WILL THEN TAKE YOU TO DS LOGON (THIS WILL TAKE YOU TO AN EXTERNAL SITE TO VERIFY YOUR MILITARY SPOUSE STATUS THROUGH DEERS)

Fig. 32: Home page

38

Fig. 33: Create an account page

▼

SIGN UP

MILSPO CAREERS

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | SIGN IN

CAREER

SIGN UP

MILSPO CAREERS

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | USER PROFILE

CAREER

EDUCATION

EDUCATION

SIGN IN

JOB SEARCH

JOB SEARCH

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CAREER EXPLORATION

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

USERNAME OR EMAIL

PASSWORD

SEARCH for careers and occupational profiles

REMEMBER ME

LINKED IN

Fig. 34: Sign in page

GOOGLE

LOG IN

COMPARE user profile to occupational profile database

MyCAREER exploration page with saved occupational search profile(s) saved career comparison(s) saved career path check list(s)

Fig. 35: Career exploration landing page

39

MILSPO CAREERS

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | USER PROFILE

CAREER

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | USER PROFILE

CAREER

EDUCATION JOB SEARCH

MILSPO CAREERS

EDUCATION

jOB SEARCH

SEARCH RESULTS

JOB SEARCH

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

❏ ✚ select to compare & add to list

❏ ✚

LISTING 2. Odio scaevola neglegentur eum et, ut his duis doming menandri. Ne quo admodum philosophia comprehensam, alii mentitum persequeris no has.

❏ ✚

LISTING 3. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ubique noluisse theophrastus in qui, mei modo aeque doming ad. Cu mei magna principes. Vim et regione recusabo, aeque soleat noluisse an sed.

❏ ✚

LISTING 4. Odio scaevola neglegentur eum et, ut his duis doming menandri. Ne quo admodum philosophia comprehensam, alii mentitum persequeris no has.

❏ ✚

LISTING 5. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ubique noluisse theophrastus in qui, mei modo aeque doming ad. Cu mei magna principes. Vim et regione recusabo, aeque soleat noluisse an sed.

SEARCH key words (separated by comma)

location ▼

type ▼

Fig. 36: Job search landing page

40

LISTING 1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ubique noluisse theophrastus in qui, mei modo aeque doming ad. Cu mei magna principes. Vim et regione recusabo, aeque soleat noluisse an sed.

sector (industry) ▼

level of experience ▼

Fig. 37: Job search results page

MILSPO CAREERS

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | USER PROFILE

CAREER

SERVICE PROVIDERS | EMPLOYERS | USER PROFILE

CAREER

EDUCATION

EDUCATION

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

JOB SEARCH

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

SEARCH for a school: vocational or technical higher education institutions select and save school search

MILSPO CAREERS

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

FINANCE PROFESSIONAL Financial planning. search for professional development opportunities Review list of benefits and resources for military online or in your area spouse financial aid, grants, and scholarships. Search for more resources.

LICENSE Search for professional or occupational licensing by state: teachers nurses lawyers

STEP 1 ✚ to entrepreneurship Nec dicit utinam te, his id pericula vulputate, tamquam detraxit repudiare et mea. Legere ornatus no ius, accusam detraxit cu ius, an mutat delicata eos. Ius an alterum copiosae philosophia, sed ei dolorem accusam, ne primis vocibus corrumpit ius. Posse facilisis cum cu, nec ei oportere repudiandae.

Cu pro iusto tempor explicari, nam ne zril nullam graeco. Mel no libris audire, te pro altera laoreet referrentur, has sale sonet eu.

STEP 2 ✚ Sea elitr laudem no. Ad veniam nominati explicari mel, nulla vocibus reformidans mei at. Vel ut semper referrentur, vis assum sadipscing ex.

Fig. 38: Education landing page

Fig. 39: Entrepreneurship landing page

41

Fig. 40: Sketch to visualize the overall layout and structure of the interactive design

42

Wireframes—Designing the Experience MOOD BOARD Top navigation area will be for types of users

Clean layout with a lot of white, minimal graphics. Colors will be red, white, and blue like the colors in Blue Star Families and other military family related websites.

Logo placement in top left corner Career Exploration

Image or graphic at the top

Education Job Search

Page title instead of company name here

Entrepreneurship

User profile photo imported from LinkedIn or uploaded by user when creating profile.

Main navigation list on home screen

Main page navigation options will be on the left on subsequent pages (not on the home screen). Space will be left clear of images, graphics, or text in case cascading menu option is added (to make room for the drop down text).

Flat rectangle buttons

Fig. 41: Collaged mood board rough mock up

43

USER FLOW FOR CAREER EXPLORATION

Fig. 42 Site flow demonstrated with sitemap translated in Axure

44

SITE MAP

(PROTOTYPE PAGES IN RED)

Fig. 43: Sitemap of prototype and wireframes translated in Axure

45

WIREFRAMES

Fig. 44: Home page

46

Fig. 45: Create an account page

47

Fig. 46: Sign in page

48

Fig. 47: Profile info 1 page

49

Fig. 48: Profile info 2 page

50

Fig. 49: Background info page

51

Fig. 50: User profile page

52

Fig. 51: Career Exploration landing page

53

Fig. 52: Career search results page

54

Fig. 53: Career comparision results page

55

Fig. 54: Saved career search, comparision results, and check list page

56

Fig. 55: Education landing page

57

Fig. 56: Job Search landing page

58

Fig. 57: Start a Business landing page

59

Fig. 58: User’s saved lists and documents page

60

RESPONSIVE VIEWS

Fig. 59: Screen shot of the home page as viewed on a tablet

Fig. 60: Home page as viewed on a tablet

Fig. 61: Home page as viewed on a mobile device

61

Visual Design VISUAL DESIGN INSPIRATION 1

ACTION PLAN

Key words and color psychology to set tone, mood, and visual direction • red: physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, stimulations • blue: intellectual, communication, efficiency, trust, duty, logic, calm • grey: psychological neutrality • white: clarity, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency (“Psychological Properties Of Colours - Colour Affects,” n.d.)

62

Fig. 62-67: Mood board images from Adobe Stock photo; color variations for visual design inspiration 1

VISUAL DESIGN VARIATION 1A The creative strategy for “visual design variation 1A” focuses on a clean layout with a lot of white, minimal graphics.

The primary color scheme is patriotic, but each color also provides deeper meaning.

Main page navigation options will be on the top.

A feature box will highlight what the page/section is about, and secondary boxes contain further information below. For example, the home page will highlight the company mission. When the user clicks on “explore careers” then the feature box will desribe what that section of the website is about.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS

SIGN IN

SIGN UP

ENTREPRENEUR

Our Mission Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation.

Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY. PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk. Stumptown slow-carb whatever, craft beer poutine sed officia flannel laboris eu. Tempor knausgaard meditation, pitchfork meh ennui deep v hoodie sint.

EXPLORE CAREERS

JOB SEARCH

Kale chips schlitz esse fap. Aliquip gentrify sartorial, excepteur schlitz slow-carb tofu quinoa ennui narwhal four loko hammock sed. In adipisicing pitchfork, cold-pressed banjo nisi waistcoat celiac kale chips skateboard voluptate bitters gentrify.

Quis small batch fashion axe aute scenester placeat.

Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation. Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY.

EDUCATION PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk. Stumptown slow-carb whatever, craft beer poutine sed officia flannel laboris eu. Tempor knausgaard meditation, pitchfork meh ennui deep v hoodie sint.

Fig. 68: Visual design variation 1A-1

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Pop-up distillery try-hard, hoodie freegan semiotics incididunt sriracha deserunt poutine delectus disrupt brooklyn organic farm-to-table. Butcher gluten-free fashion axe, cronut veniam direct trade ea aute pork belly. Taxidermy raw denim jean shorts poutine, four loko in messenger bag fugiat.

63

SERVICE PROVIDERS

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS

SIGN IN

ENTREPRENEUR

CAREER EXPLORATION Welcome to career exploration. Our tools will help you search for careers and occupational profiles that matchyour interests. You will also be able to compare your profile to careers and occupational profiles to help determine what type(s) of jobs to search for. Save the information to help create an action plan to fill in the gaps for education, experience, or skills needed in order to qualify for the types of jobs you’re interested in pursuing.

64

SEARCH CAREERS

COMPARE MY CAREER

Search for careers and occupational profiles • Save career and occupational profiles • Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

Compare user profile to the occupational profile database • Save career comparision and name it • Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

Fig. 69: Visual design variation 1A-2

SIGN UP

VISUAL DESIGN VARIATION 1B The creative strategy for “visual design variation 1B” is the same as variation 1A except that the main page navigation is not on the top of the page. It acts more like a “start page” to direct new users to “get started” to create an account.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

EMPLOYERS

SIGN IN

SIGN UP

Welcome OUR MISSION Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation.

Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY. PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk.

CAREER EXPLORATION

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Kale chips schlitz esse fap.

Aliquip gentrify sartorial, excepteur schlitz slow-carb tofu quinoa ennui narwhal four loko hammock sed. In adipisicing pitchfork, cold-pressed banjo nisi waistcoat celiac kale chips skateboard voluptate bitters gentrify. Quis small batch fashion axe aute scenester placeat.

PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk. Stumptown slow-carb whatever, craft beer poutine sed officia flannel laboris eu. Tempor knausgaard meditation, pitchfork meh ennui deep v hoodie sint.

Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation. Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint.

Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY.

Pop-up distillery try-hard, hoodie freegan semiotics incididunt sriracha deserunt poutine delectus disrupt brooklyn organic farm-to-table. Butcher gluten-free fashion axe, cronut veniam direct trade ea aute pork belly. Taxidermy raw denim jean shorts poutine, four loko in messenger bag fugiat.

GET STARTED

Fig. 70: Visual design variation 1B

65

VISUAL DESIGN INSPIRATION 2

Key words and color psychology to set tone, mood, and visual direction • gold: represents some variation of charm, confidence, luxury, and treasure. It also has an element of friendliness, abundance, and prosperity.

• brown: sign of structure, security, and protection; it’s also very serious, and down to earth (“Color Psychology In Marketing: The Complete Guide [Free Download],” 2016; “Color Psychology,” n.d.)

66

Fig. 71-75: Mood board images from Adobe Stock photo; web screenshots from Aprés Group and Blue Star Families; and color variations for visual design inspiration 2

VISUAL DESIGN VARIATION 2A The creative strategy for “visual design variation 2A� uses job and career search imagery.

The colors are a blend from a duotone of gold and black which creates rich shades of brown and warm grey. The grey is no longer psychological neutral, but infused with a serious vibe that also stimulates mental activity.

Main page navigation options will be on the top like in variation 1. The feature box and secondary boxes are in the same layout as variation 1, but float over a background image.

There will be a challenge solving HTML type on photography in this format.

Fig. 76: Visual design variation 2A

67

VISUAL DESIGN VARIATION 2B “Visual design variation 2B” is a variation on 2A using the color scheme from “visual design variation 1.” The colors are brighter and more dynamic; less subdued. The layout stays the same.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

EXPLORE

ABOUT US

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS

SIGN IN

ENTREPRENEUR

Our Mission Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation.

Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY. PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk. Stumptown slow-carb whatever, craft beer poutine sed officia flannel laboris eu. Tempor knausgaard meditation, pitchfork meh ennui deep v hoodie sint.

68

EXPLORE CAREERS

JOB SEARCH

Kale chips schlitz esse fap. Aliquip gentrify sartorial, excepteur schlitz slow-carb tofu quinoa ennui narwhal four loko hammock sed. In adipisicing pitchfork, cold-pressed banjo nisi waistcoat celiac kale chips skateboard voluptate bitters gentrify.

Quis small batch fashion axe aute scenester placeat.

Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation. Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY.

EDUCATION

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk. Stumptown slow-carb whatever, craft beer poutine sed officia flannel laboris eu. Tempor knausgaard meditation, pitchfork meh ennui deep v hoodie sint.

Pop-up distillery try-hard, hoodie freegan semiotics incididunt sriracha deserunt poutine delectus disrupt brooklyn organic farm-to-table. Butcher gluten-free fashion axe, cronut veniam direct trade ea aute pork belly. Taxidermy raw denim jean shorts poutine, four loko in messenger bag fugiat.

Fig. 77: Visual design variation 2B

SIGN UP

VISUAL DESIGN INSPIRATION 3

Key words and color psychology to set tone, mood, and visual direction • purple posseses the energy and power of red, with the stability and reliability of blue • violet represents containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, and quality (“Color Psychology In Marketing: The Complete Guide [Free Download],” 2016; “Psychological Properties Of Colours - Colour Affects,” n.d.)

Fig. 78–83: Mood board images from Adobe Stock photo; web screenshots from Monster and TheMilSpo Project; and color variations for visual design inspiration 3

69

VISUAL DESIGN VARIATION 3A The creative strategy for “visual design variation 3A� uses military family imagery.

It reflects the vision of the company and supports the stability of the military family as a unit. The colors and design convey reliability as a source.

The color purple (or violet) is usually associated with military kids (red + blue = purple).

Main page navigation options are on the left.

Secondary users are afforded a separate log in on the right side of the page versus at the top, where primary users sign in or sign up.

There will be a challenge solving HTML type on photography in this format.

70

Fig. 84: Visual design variation 3A

VISUAL DESIGN VARIATION 3B “Visual design variation 3B” is a variation on 3A using the color scheme from “visual design variation 1.” The colors are brighter, more dynamic, and afford more clarity of image. The layout stays the same.

SIGN IN

SIGN UP

Mission, vision, and values EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

ENTREPRENEUR

Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation. Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY. PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk. Stumptown slow-carb whatever, craft beer poutine sed officia flannel laboris eu. Tempor knausgaard meditation, pitchfork meh ennui deep v hoodie sint.

Kale chips schlitz esse fap. Aliquip gentrify sartorial, excepteur schlitz slow-carb tofu quinoa ennui narwhal four loko hammock sed. In adipisicing pitchfork, cold-pressed banjo nisi waistcoat celiac kale chips skateboard voluptate bitters gentrify. Quis small batch fashion axe aute scenester placeat. Butcher gluten-free fashion axe, cronut veniam direct trade ea aute pork belly. Taxidermy raw denim jean shorts poutine, four loko in messenger bag fugiat. Sunt sed cliche narwhal, deserunt mixtape forage next level portland pitchfork vinyl nesciunt id yr.

Odio mumblecore keffiyeh, banjo mlkshk reprehenderit vice chillwave kombucha dolore gentrify. Mumblecore selfies stumptown slow-carb health goth crucifix, veniam helvetica. Odio tilde letterpress do shoreditch. Lumbersexual listicle nihil portland, cardigan heirloom sed intelligentsia freegan ea paleo. You probably haven't heard of them eu fanny pack roof party gastropub fixie. Velit tumblr man bun iPhone tofu, viral cold-pressed. Pop-up distillery try-hard, hoodie freegan semiotics incididunt sriracha deserunt poutine delectus disrupt brooklyn organic farm-to-table.

SERVICE PROVIDERS Kale chips schlitz esse fap.

Aliquip gentrify sartorial, excepteur schlitz slow-carb tofu quinoa ennui narwhal four loko hammock sed.

EMPLOYERS Kale chips schlitz esse fap.

Aliquip gentrify sartorial, excepteur schlitz slow-carb tofu quinoa ennui narwhal four loko hammock sed.

GET STARTED

Fig. 85: Visual design variation 3B

71

VISUAL DESIGN INSPIRATION 4 (FINAL) The creative strategy for “visual design variation final” takes all the best parts of variations 1–3. It will incorporate the use of icons (versus rough illustrated icons) and images placed in shapes like rectangles, boxes, and circles.

72

Fig. 86–88: Mood board image web screenshots from National Military Family Association and Blue Star Families; and color variations for visual design inspiration 4

VISUAL DESIGN VARIATION 4 (FINAL)

Fig. 89: Visual design variation 4 (final) mock up on lap top

Fig. 90: Visual design variation 4 (final) mock up on smartphone and tablet

73

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

WELCOME! Our Mission Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation. Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY.

CAREER EXPLORATION Kale chips schlitz esse fap.

Aliquip gentrify sartorial, excepteur schlitz slow-carb tofu quinoa ennui narwhal four loko hammock sed. In adipisicing pitchfork, coldpressed banjo nisi waistcoat celiac kale chips skateboard voluptate bitters gentrify.

Quis small batch fashion axe aute scenester placeat.

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

PBR&B waistcoat pug id, meditation gentrify quinoa tofu wolf blue bottle bushwick dolor. Eiusmod chicharrones waistcoat 3 wolf moon kinfolk.

Stumptown slow-carb whatever, craft beer poutine sed officia flannel laboris eu. Tempor knausgaard meditation, pitchfork meh ennui deep v hoodie sint.

Ullamco chartreuse pourover chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation. Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint.

Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY.

GET STARTED

74

Fig. 91: Visual design variation 4 (final) home screen

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Pop-up distillery try-hard, hoodie freegan semiotics incididunt sriracha deserunt poutine delectus disrupt brooklyn organic farm-totable. Butcher gluten-free fashion axe, cronut veniam direct trade ea aute pork belly. Taxidermy raw denim jean shorts poutine, four loko in messenger bag fugiat.

SIGN IN

SIGN UP

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

SIGN IN

SIGN UP

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CREATE AN ACCOUNT Register now. It’s quick and it’s free!

FIRST

MIDDLE

EMAIL

PASSWORD

CITY

STATE

LAST

USE GOOGLE SIGN IN ZIP CODE

Select a state COUNTRY

PHONE

ALT PHONE

United States YEARS MARRIED TO SERVICE MEMBER 20+

YEARS

0

MONTHS

Sponsor (Service Member Information) FIRST

MIDDLE

LAST

PAY GRADE

BRANCH

Select service member’s rank

Select service member’s branch of service

TIME IN SERVICE 18

YEARS

0

MONTHS

REGISTER By clicking on submit, or sign in with Google, your information will be sent to an external site to verify your military spouse status.

Fig. 92: Visual design variation 4 (final) “Create an Account” page

74

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

SIGN IN Thank you. Your registration has been verified.

Please sign in.

EMAIL

PASSWORD

SIGN IN

76

Fig. 93: Visual design variation 4 (final) “Sign in” page

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

EMPLOYERS //

SIGN IN

SIGN UP

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

HELLO SHIRLEY!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

MY MILSPO CAREERS // SHIRLEY LITTLE Please fill in your background information manually, or sync your LinkedIn profile by clicking on the logo below.

UPLOAD PROFILE PHOTO

EDUCATION & TRAINING

EDIT

Eastern New Mexico University B.S. Family Consumer Science 1992 ADD MORE EDUCATION OR TRAINING

+

EXPERIENCE

EDIT

National Military Family Association Event Programmer (volunteer) National Military Family Association June 2014–Present (2 years and 2 months) San Diego, CA Scholarship Chair (volunteer) Navy Spouses’ Club, Virginia Beach June 2011 – May 2012 (12 months) Virginia Beach, VA Village Mayor (volunteer) Naval Air Station, Jacksonville August 2009 – September 2010 (1 year and 1 month) Jacksonville, FL Nutritionist 2 State of New Mexico WIC Program January 1994 – December 2005 (12 years) Carlsbad, NM ADD MORE EXPERIENCE

SAVE

Fig. 94: Visual design variation 4 (final) “Fill in profile” page

+

NEXT

77

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

SAVED LISTS & DOCUMENTS

Transitioning, volunteer, and undecided military spouse

EDUCATION & TRAINING

EDIT

Eastern New Mexico University B.S. Family Consumer Science 1992

EXPERIENCE National Military Family Association Event Programmer (volunteer) National Military Family Association June 2014–Present (2 years and 2 months) San Diego, CA

Village Mayor (volunteer) Naval Air Station, Jacksonville August 2009 – September 2010 (1 year and 1 month) Jacksonville, FL Nutritionist 2 State of New Mexico WIC Program January 1994 – December 2005 (12 years) Carlsbad, NM

78

Fig. 95: Visual design variation 4 (final) “User profile” page

HELLO SHIRLEY!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

MY MILSPO CAREERS // SHIRLEY LITTLE

Scholarship Chair (volunteer) Navy Spouses’ Club, Virginia Beach June 2011 – May 2012 (12 months) Virginia Beach, VA

EMPLOYERS //

EDIT

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

SIGN IN

SIGN UP

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CAREER EXPLORATION

Welcome to career exploration. Our tools will help you search for careers and occupational profiles that matchyour interests. You will also be able to compare your profile to careers and occupational profiles to help determine what type(s) of jobs to search for.

Save the information to help create an action plan to fill in the gaps for education, experience, or skills needed in order to qualify for the types of jobs you’re interested in pursuing.

SEARCH CAREERS

COMPARE MY CAREER

Search for careers and occupational profiles • Save career and occupational profiles • Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

Compare user profile to the occupational profile database • Save career comparision and name it • Select and save skills, training, education, and experience to career path check list

Fig. 96: Visual design variation 4 (final) “Career Exploration” landing page

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SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CAREER EXPLORATION Tell us what industry and occupation(s) most interest you. These may be ones you are already a part of, or ones you are in interested in learning about. Also, please give a brief summary of what you would like to accomplish within this industry and occupation(s), as well as the objectives you hope to achieve.

INDUSTRY Architecture and Engineering OCCUPATION(S) – list on separate lines

CAREER GOAL SUMMARY

CAREER OBJECTIVES

SEARCH

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COMPARE

Fig. 97: Visual design variation 4 (final) “User profile” page

HELLO SHIRLEY!

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

HELLO SHIRLEY!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP SAVED LISTS & DOCUMENTS

CAREER SEARCH RESULTS For the typical interior designer SAVE TO LIST

EDUCATION & TRAINING

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College/University Bachelor’s degree with focus on interior design

EXPERIENCE Work experience in related occupation: none On-the-job training: none Interior designers make interior spaces functional, safe, and beautiful by determining space requirements and selecting decorative items, such as colors, lighting, and materials. They read blueprints and must be aware of building codes and inspection regulations, as well as universal accessibility standards. [1]

SAVE SEARCH

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OTHER SIMILAR OCCUPATIONS Art Directors Craft and Fine Artists Fashion Designers Floral Designers Graphic Designers Industrial Designers Multimedia Artists and Animators Learn more about inteiror designers and other art and design occupations in the Occupational Outloot Handbook published by the Bureau of labor statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.

COMPARE TO PROFILE

START OVER

[1] Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition, Interior Designers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/interior-designers.htm (visited July 02, 2016).

Fig. 98: Visual design variation 4 (final) “Career search results” page

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SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

ENTREPRENEURSHIP SAVED LISTS & DOCUMENTS

CAREER COMPARISON RESULTS Shirley’s career summary

Interior designer’s typical career summary SAVE TO LIST

EDUCATION & TRAINING

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Eastern New Mexico University B.S. Family Consumer Science 1992

College/University Bachelor’s degree with focus on interior design

EXPERIENCE

EXPERIENCE

National Military Family Association Event Programmer (volunteer) National Military Family Association June 2014–Present (2 years and 2 months) San Diego, CA

Work experience in related occupation: none

Scholarship Chair (volunteer) Navy Spouses’ Club, Virginia Beach June 2011 – May 2012 (12 months) Virginia Beach, VA Village Mayor (volunteer) Naval Air Station, Jacksonville August 2009 – September 2010 (1 year and 1 month) Jacksonville, FL

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On-the-job training: none Interior designers make interior spaces functional, safe, and beautiful by determining space requirements and selecting decorative items, such as colors, lighting, and materials. They read blueprints and must be aware of building codes and inspection regulations, as well as universal accessibility standards. [1]

Nutritionist 2 State of New Mexico WIC Program January 1994 – December 2005 (12 years) Carlsbad, NM

SAVE SEARCH

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Fig. 99: Visual design variation 4 (final) “Career comparison results” page

HELLO SHIRLEY!

START OVER

SERVICE PROVIDERS //

EXPLORE

EDUCATION

JOB SEARCH

EMPLOYERS //

HELLO SHIRLEY!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

MY SAVED LISTS & DOCUMENTS Saved search results, check lists, and documents

CAREERS

JOBS

EDUCATION

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Search Results

Search Results

Search Results

Search Results

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Interior Designer

Profile Comparisons –

Interior Designer

Check list

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Start new search

Profile Comparisons +

Start new search

Check list

+

Start new search

Profile Comparisons +

Start new search

Check list

+

Start new search

Profile Comparisons +

Start new search

Check list

College/University Bachelor’s degree with focus on interior design Interior design work experience

Fig. 100: Visual design variation 4 (final) “Saved lists and documents” page

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EXPLORE

EDUCATION

EMPLOYERS //

JOB SEARCH

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP

WELCOME! Our Mission Ullamco chartreuse pour-over chia, bitters officia odio migas ad letterpress butcher four dollarsar toast exercitation. Thundercats culpa officia sartorial asymmetrical, plaid sint. Reprehenderit dolore +1, deserunt everyday carry pabst kombucha put a bird on it tumblr lumbersexual tousled DIY. SERVICE PROVIDERS

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Fig. 101: Visual design variation 4 (final) tablet view “Home” page

Fig. 102–103: Visual design variation 4 (final) smartphone view “Home” and “Sign in” pages

Responsive Site Development [roughs] HOME PAGE index.html

Fig. 109: “Home” page view in Chrome

Fig. 104–108: “Home” page views on Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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SIGN UP (CREATE AN ACCOUNT) PAGE signup.html

Fig. 110: “Create an account” page view in Chrome

Fig. 111–115: “Create an account” page views and selection menus on Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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Fig. 116–117: “Create an account” vertical and horizontal page views on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari

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SIGN IN PAGE signin.html

Fig. 118–120: “Sign in” page in Firefox, vertical and horizontal page views on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari, and Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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CREATE (EDIT) PROFILE PAGE create-profile.html

Fig. 121–124: “Create a profile” vertical and horizontal page views on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari and Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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USER PROFILE PAGE user-profile.html

Fig. 125-128: “User Profile” page in Safari, vertical page view on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari, and Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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EXPORE [CAREERS] PAGE explore.html

Fig. 129-132: “Expore” page in Chrome, vertical page view on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari, and Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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SEARCH CAREERS PAGE career-search.html

Fig. 133-136: “Search Careers” page in Chrome, vertical page view on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari, and Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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CAREER SEARCH RESULTS PAGE career-search-results.html

Fig. 137-140: “Career Search Results” page in Chrome, vertical page view on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari, and Apple iPhone, Mobile Safari

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CAREER COMPARISON SEARCH RESULTS PAGE career-compare-results.html

Fig. 141-142: “Career Comparison Search Results” page in Firefox, horizonall page view on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari

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Note: fix section headers so they line up above the correct section versus stacked before the sections.

Fig. 143-145: “Career Comparison Search Results� horizonall page view (bottom of results) and view on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari

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SAVED LISTS & DOCUMENTS PAGE saved-lists-docs.html

Fig. 146-147: “Saved Lists & Documents” page in Firefox and horizonal page view on Apple iPad, Mobile Safari

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Note: fix sections to create accordion (collapsible) view for items that are not available/null

Fig. 148-152: “Saved Lists & Documents� page vertical page view on Apple iPad and iPhone, Mobile Safari

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Responsive Site Development [final] HOME

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/index.html

Fig. 154-155: View of the “Home” page on a tablet and mobile phone

Fig. 153: Full view of the “Home” page on a computer Web browser

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SIGN UP (CREATE AN ACCOUNT)

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/signup.html

Fig. 156: Full view of the “Sign up” (create an account) page on a computer Web browser

Image and icon treatment changed from the rough to the final. For the home page, the primary image became the military family unit. The icons were also made a little smaller, and the navigation bar at the top is no longer reversed out in navy blue. The white makes the page more clean, vibrant, and the images become the hero.

An outstanding issue with the navigation bar is figuring out how to line up the sign up button with the sign in dropdown menu. A minor issue is the hamburger icon dropping lower on small/xs screen widths that I haven’t figured out how to fix.

Fig. 157-158: View of the “Sign up” (create an account) page on a tablet and mobile phone

Form labels and inputs are nested in individual divided columns and rows. Issues arose with lining up the rows, particularly when the Google branded sign-in image was inserted. The dropdown menu lists were hand coded in html, and could have been implemented more quickly if I had more time to learn how to create a jQuery. I did have some help with dataset country and state lists from Github.com.

There’s an outstanding issue with the columns bunching close together when re-sizing a desktop browser screen just before hitting the break point where the elements begin to stack.

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SIGN IN

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/signin.html

Fig. 159: Full view of the “Sign in” (create an account) page on a computer Web browser

The sign in page was made lighter with a light gray bordered box and white background.

The “G+ Sign in with Google” bar was downloaded from Google for developers [https:// developers.google.com/identity/branding-guidelines].

The left side bar image fills the width of the screen on mobile (xs) devices.

Fig. 150-161: View of the “Sign in” page on a tablet and mobile phone

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CREATE PROFILE

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/create-profile.html

Fig. 162: Full view of the “Create profile” page on a computer Web browser

When the user signs in for the first time, he/she is brought to the create profile page.

There’s an option to click on “Linked In” to auto sync profile photo, education, training, and experience.

Fig. 163-164: View of the “Create profile” page on a tablet and mobile phone

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USER PROFILE

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/user-profile.html

Fig. 165: Full view of the “User profile” page, with persona Shirley Little, on a computer Web browser

Clicking on save button on create profile brings the user to the user’s profile page. Clicking on edit will bring the user back to the create profile page to make changes.

On smaller screens and tablets, the layout stacks and the section bars narrow. On mobile devices, the section bars fit a proportionate percentage of the screen.

Fig. 166-167: View of the “User profile” page on a tablet and mobile phone

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EXPLORE

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/explore.html

Fig. 168: Full view of the “Career exploration” page on a computer Web browser

Fig. 169-170: View of the “Career exploration” page on a tablet and mobile phone

The section bars on the explore page are also buttons. They blink when clicked on.

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CAREER SEARCH

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/career-search.html

Fig. 171: Full view of the “Career search” page on a computer Web browser

The section title and copy on the career search page was made narrower to proportionately match the search parameters. On a Web browser, this means a lot of white space, but on tablets and mobile devices, it fits nicely. Most of this site’s users will likely use the site on a tablet or mobile device.

Fig. 172-173: View of the “Career search” page on a tablet and mobile phone

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CAREER SEARCH RESULTS

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/career-search-results.html

Fig. 174: Full view of the “Career search results” page on a computer Web browser

Fig. 175-176: View of the “Career search results” page on a tablet and mobile phone

Much like the user profile and career search page, the search results fit a narrower screen width. On a desktop, it only takes up half the page, to make room for comparison results should the user choose to compare their profile to the results.

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CAREER COMPARISON SEARCH RESULTS

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/career-compare-results.html

Fig. 177: Full view of the “Career comparison search results” page on a computer Web browser

When the user chooses to compare their profile to the results, the user profile is on the left, and the search results appear to the right. On a mobile device in portrait view, the results are stacked with user profile summary at the top then results below. The buttons also stack at the bottom as shown on the mobile device screen shot.

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Fig. 178-179: View of the “Career comparison search results” page on a tablet and mobile phone

SAVED LISTS & DOCUMENTS

milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com/saved-lists-docs.html

Fig. 180: Full view of the “Saved lists & documents” page on a computer Web browser

When the user adds item to a list and/or clicks save search, those items appear on this page.

As the user completes a task, he/she has the option to put a check mark by completed tasks. An outstanding issue with this page is coding to make items transform -- appear, disappear, reappear, or crossed off with a strike through line.

Fig. 180-181: View of the “Saved lists & documents” page on a tablet and mobile phone

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Appendix URLs

CITATIONS

MilSpo Careers online prototype milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com

Color Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.colorpsychology.org/

Short video walk through on vimeo https://vimeo.com/179701037

Color Psychology In Marketing: The Complete Guide [Free Download]. (2016, April 18). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://coschedule.com/blog/colorpsychology-marketing/#meanings Freepik.com. (2015, February 13). Silhouettes of man and woman [Digital image]. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/silhouettes-ofman-and-woman_766045.htm#term=man and woman silhouette&page=1&position=1 Freepik.com. (2015, December 30). Super Woman multitasking illustration [Digital image]. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.freepik.com/freevector/super-woman-multitasking-illustration_832526. htm#term=female employment&page=1&position=3 Maury, R., M.S., & Stone, B., Ph.D. (2014). Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF): Military Spouse Employment Report. 1-96. doi:10.15845/njsr.v4i0.264.s38 Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy). (2015). 2014 Demographics: Profile of the Military Community. 1-227. doi:10.1007/springerreference_69880 Psychological Properties Of Colours - Colour Affects. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.colouraffects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours

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Thank you! milspocareers.cheryledenfield.com

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