🟥 Problem

U.S. Air Force flight instructors were using a fragmented, manual evaluation process that significantly delayed pilot performance reporting.

Instructors recorded evaluations on paper during or after flights, then manually re-entered the data into Excel spreadsheets back in the office. This created a dual-entry workflow that was inefficient, error-prone, and delayed performance feedback by up to two weeks.

The system was not aligned with operational realities and created unnecessary administrative burden on highly trained personnel.

🟨 Objective

Redesign the evaluation workflow into a fast, reliable, and field-ready digital system that could function in real flight conditions without disrupting instructor workflow.

🟩 Approach

I began by analyzing the existing workflow and identifying breakdown points in the evaluation process.

To ensure adoption and usability in a high-stakes environment, I conducted:

• Field interviews with flight instructors and training personnel

• Workflow analysis of evaluation-to-report pipelines

• User persona development focused on operational constraints

• Journey mapping to identify friction points across environments

Early design concepts were rapidly prototyped and tested with users to validate usability under realistic conditions.

Once validated, I developed a high-fidelity interactive prototype and tested it in simulated flight conditions, ensuring the system could function in real operational environments with minimal cognitive load and disruption.

🟦 Solution

The final design was a mobile-enabled digital evaluation system that allowed instructors to complete assessments during flight.

Key capabilities included:

• Real-time evaluation entry during missions

• Automated synchronization to office systems upon landing

• Elimination of duplicate data entry

• Simplified, structured evaluation workflow optimized for field use

🟪 Results

• Reduced evaluation processing time from two weeks to under two hours

• Eliminated redundant manual data entry

• Improved data accuracy and consistency

• Reduced instructor administrative workload significantly

• Increased speed of pilot performance feedback loops

🟧 Impact

This project demonstrated how workflow redesign in mission-critical environments can dramatically improve operational efficiency without increasing system complexity or training burden.