Poway Veterans Organization 2026–27
CSP 2026–27 capstone continuing the Poway Veterans Organization redesign with guided assistance, volunteer onboarding, an AI support chatbot, and accessibility-first improvements for veterans and community members.
Student capstone · In development. This project continues a student-built modernization concept for the Poway Veterans Organization. It is not an official PVO service, and veterans should use PVO’s official website and local emergency resources when they need direct or urgent assistance.
This capstone continues the PVO redesign work by bringing together three purpose-built experiences: a guided eligibility prescreener, faster volunteer onboarding, and an always-available support chatbot. The 2026–27 direction extends that foundation with accessibility-first improvements.
Experience: identify a need → understand options → prepare → connect → follow up
Project focus: veteran assistance, volunteer onboarding, guided answers, accessible reading tools, and clearer pathways to local support.
Core experience
Three proven concepts from the original PVO redesign, plus the accessibility work that carries the project forward in 2026–27.
A clear three-step pathway helps veterans check likely eligibility across rent, utilities, food, transportation, home repair, and emergency hardship before beginning a full request.
Volunteers see role types, time expectations, and real-world impact before signing up, with a dedicated pathway for groups and a form designed to take under two minutes.
An always-available assistant answers common questions in plain language, points users toward the right PVO resource, and hands off to a human when a request exceeds its scope.
The next stage focuses on read-aloud support, adjustable text, clearer contrast and site-wide reading controls so veterans with low vision or reading difficulties can use the experience more comfortably.
From problem to product direction
Veterans and volunteers may need to move between long pages, forms, eligibility details, document requirements, and local resources before they know what to do next. That friction can create confusion and incomplete submissions.
Keep the strongest ideas from the original redesign, then make the overall experience easier to read, easier to navigate, and more consistent across desktop and mobile — especially for users who benefit from accessibility controls.
Veteran support flow
The experience is designed around the next action a veteran or volunteer needs to take, rather than making users search through the site on their own.
The prescreener starts with the assistance category and checks likely eligibility across six common areas of support.
Dynamic checklists surface the documents needed for the selected category, along with response-time expectations and urgent local resources.
The chatbot answers repeat questions, links users to the prescreener, volunteer form, and community resources, and uses a human handoff when necessary.
Accessibility tools reduce reading and visibility barriers so the support pathway remains usable for a wider range of veterans and community members.
Prototype foundation
The original prescreener used smart eligibility logic that adapted to each veteran's situation and generated document requirements from the selected assistance category.
Google AI Search was used to surface current local resources so the experience could point veterans toward useful options beyond static page content.
Volunteer flows emphasized role fit, availability, group participation, and a low-friction sign-up experience built to preserve momentum.
The PVO chatbot concept was built around PVO programs, eligibility information, and local partners, with direct resource links and human escalation.
What we learned from the first PVO prototype
The team presented the Eligibility Prescreener, Volunteer Onboarding experience, and PVO Chatbot directly to PVO stakeholders. The response was positive about how much more accessible and organized the experience had become for veterans and volunteers.
Bill Bauerle · PVO
Sue McKibbin · PVO
Amber Kimberling
Nia Stefani
2026–27 roadmap
The original redesign identified accessibility, donations, and event support as the next major opportunities. The new capstone carries those ideas forward with accessibility as the immediate foundation.
Read-aloud support, adjustable font sizes, clearer display controls, and an accessibility-first experience aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA goals.
A faster giving flow with one-time and recurring options, preset amounts, and clearer information about how donations support PVO programs.
A dedicated event page for registration, sponsorship tiers, schedules, updates, leaderboard information, and a post-event recap.
Keep assistance, volunteer, chatbot, and community-resource pathways connected so users always know where to go next.
Team
One Scrum Master coordinates the 2026–27 continuation while two technologists/developers build and refine the user experience.
Scrum Master
Scrum Master / Developer
Technologists / Developers
Technologist / Developer
Technologist / Developer