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Lead Product Designer·Product Strategy, Design, Research·Dec 2024 - Jul 2025
Shipping fast in a complex environment
How I led the design team process and co-drove the roadmap to help a government startup ship faster, especially on politically-driven initiatives lacking clear specs.
Visit France VAETypeProduct Design
ScopeProduct Strategy, Design, Research
PeriodDec 2024 - Jul 2025
Companybeta.gouv.fr
6-Month Mission
Five high-impact initiatives
Initiative 1
VAE Collective MVP
5 weeks
End-to-end employer journey for collective certification programs.
Key Deliverables
- Discovery with HR managers and training centers
- Complete employer journey prototype
- B2B pitch deck for commercial outreach
- Promotional video with screencast
- Functional MVP ready for deployment
Initiative 2
Product Operations
5 weeks
Restructuring team workflows for faster delivery.
Key Deliverables
- Diagnosis of siloed team operations
- New org model with 1-month seasons
- Cross-team prioritization matrix
- Discovery/delivery workflow separation
- Weekly PO/designer sync rituals
Initiative 3
User Research
4 weeks
Building a knowledge base from candidate interviews.
Key Deliverables
- Centralized user knowledge base
- 10 moderated interviews (2 waves)
- Test protocols and interview guides
- Prioritization tables for feedback
- 2 synthesis reports for product team
Initiative 4
Design Thinking Workshops
3 weeks
Co-creation with field practitioners.
Key Deliverables
- 2-day workshop with accompaniment structures
- Problem framing to solution sketching
- Crazy-8 ideation sessions
- Notification system audit
- Email categorization and optimization
Initiative 5
AI Experimentation
2 weeks
Rapid prototyping of AI-powered orientation tools.
Key Deliverables
- User archetype identification
- 10+ AI concept explorations
- Positioning chatbot prototype
- Skills radar visualization
- 2 functional prototypes deployed
Context
France VAE is the national public service for Validation of Acquired Experience. The platform enables citizens without diplomas to have their professional experience officially recognized to obtain certifications.
The challenge
Structure discovery and roadmap planning to accelerate decision-making, while delivering critical features for a service serving 100K+ candidates, often from politically-driven requests lacking mature specs.
My scope
Leading design team process, co-driving the roadmap with the Lead PM, structuring discovery to help the delivery team ship faster. A transversal role covering the entire product cycle.
Initiative 1
MVP VAE Collective
Employer journey
The problem
Companies wanting to support their employees in a collective VAE process had no dedicated tool. HR teams juggled emails, spreadsheets and phone calls to coordinate cohorts of 10 to 90 candidates.
What I did
Discovery (2 weeks)
- Interviews with HR managers and training center directors
- Mapping the existing employer journey (off-platform)
- Identifying friction points: candidate tracking, coordinator coordination, progress visibility
Design (3 weeks)
- Complete employer journey prototype: cohort declaration, employee invitation, progress tracking, validator coordination
- B2B pitch deck for commercial outreach
- Promotional video (screencast, scenario, script, editing, voiceover) presenting the complete journey
Deliverables
- Functional MVP ready for deployment
- Commercial kit for the field team
- Journey documentation for support
ROI visualization for enterprise buyers, translating user value into business language
Structured B2B offer ready for deployment. The sales team has a clear journey and tools to approach companies.
Initiative 2
Structuring product team operations
The problem
The product team operated in fits and starts. Priorities changed frequently, teams worked in silos, and the distinction between exploration and execution remained unclear.
What I did
Team organization after: unified contributors with clear roles and shared rituals
Faster decisions, stronger alignment. Teams have a clear framework to arbitrate between initiatives.
Initiative 3
User Research
Candidate dashboard
The problem
Product decisions were made without consolidated user data. Field feedback existed but remained scattered in individual notes.
What I did
Prioritization matrix categorizing feedback: quick wins, technical bugs, UX issues, feature requests
Operational user knowledge base. Product decisions now rely on structured qualitative data.
Initiative 4
Design Thinking Workshops
With field practitioners
The problem
The product team lacked direct contact with accompaniment providers, key actors in the VAE journey. Design decisions were made with partial understanding of the business context.
What I did
Preparation (1 week)
- Identifying influential accompaniment structures
- 2-day program construction
- Logistics coordination
Facilitation (2 days)
- Structured debate on a business issue
- Priority theme identification workshops
- Ideation sessions on platform problems
- Solution concept co-creation with sketches
Complementary internal workshops
- Crazy-8 with internal team
- Workshops on notification system evolution
- Audit and categorization of all user emails
Six Thinking Hats method: structured divergence before convergence
Co-creation of grounded solutions. Accompaniment providers became active design partners.
Initiative 5
AI Experimentation
Candidate orientation
55% of candidates don't know if VAE suits them. Many choose certifications by default. The initiative explored how AI could help candidates identify if VAE fits their profile and match their skills with certifications.
What I did
Initiative deprioritized but functional prototypes delivered in 1 week. Demonstrated ability to rapidly explore innovative paths without blocking other work.
UI & Delivery
Shipping features
Beyond process and research, concrete deliverables shipped to production.
Homepage redesign
Complete redesign of the France VAE homepage to improve clarity, accessibility and conversion. The new design emphasizes the value proposition and simplifies the entry points for different user profiles.
Before
After
Certification search engine
Redesign of the certification search engine to help candidates find the right certification based on their professional experience. Improved filters, clearer results presentation, and better guidance through the 16,000+ available certifications.
Platform presentation video for the Minister of Labor
My final milestone at France VAE: complete design and production of a presentation video showcasing the entire candidate journey on the platform, presented to the Minister of Labor's cabinet.
Testimonial
Learnings
What I learned
Designing for citizens, not users
In public service, success is not measured by conversion but by access, understanding, and empowerment. Classic metrics don't apply.
Navigating institutional constraints
Public procurement, regulation, institutional vocabulary: every design decision accounts for an ecosystem of actors with different logics.
Structure before production
In high uncertainty context, investing in process generates more impact than delivering extra screens.
Prototype to de-risk
AI prototypes tested hypotheses in 1 week rather than 2 months of specification. Even deprioritized, they informed product decisions.
Interested in working together?