Planetary Data System: Web Modernization

The Planetary Data System (PDS) is NASA's public archive for data collected from planetary science missions. It preserves and provides accessible data formats for scientists, educators, and general public. I supported modernization efforts by creating design products that addressed critical questions at various stages of the project.

Role

Senior Product Designer

Services

Requirements Discovery Personas Journeymapping Prototyping Usability Testing

Client

NASA

Date

2021 - 2025

Problem

With over 3,860 terabytes of data and 37 years of evolving formats, the PDS eventually became a fractured experience with discovery and navigation challenges. It is composed of 8 organizations, each of which developed solutions to their design problems, unique or not. A federal mandate required the PDS to modernize and abide by a NASA-wide Design System.

PDS Discipline Homepages

Process

Working alongside a senior designer, I analyzed an existing survey to learn about the most salient PDS issues. We then connected with users from the global community for interviewing. Our interviews allowed us to learn about the needs of the PDS community.

Personas

We needed a way to create a shared vision over who we were designing for. I was able to categorize user groups by their PDS work and goals. In total, we identified six distinct user personas. This allowed the design team to create a shared vision around the customers of the PDS.

User Stories

I documented existing and proposed PDS features in our user research database. Additionally, I formatted them to be consistent with the user story format as well as tagging each relevant persona. This list was updated weekly.


Personas (left), User Stories Document (right)

Journeymapping

After getting a good sense of who we were building for and what they needed to do, I set out to illustrate different workflow paths. The idea was to facilitate a shared understanding of how our stories could be supported in UI and workflow. I created low-fidelity designs for the highest-priority user stories. These included:


  • Submitting data and proposals

  • Discovering data sets

  • Accessing mission documentation

  • Finding tools

Data Search Journey

Prototyping

Our work coincided with a federal mandate to modernize NASA online presence. We were tasked with adhering to design guidelines in the Horizon Design System (HDS). We faced some challenges in that the design system had not been created to accommodate the unique needs of the PDS, and was therefore adapted. These assets were then create high fidelity mockups, which enabled clickable prototypes, both for showcasing the work and for usability testing.


Sidenote: A live prototype can be explored in the space below; I created this as a showcase for the Director of NASA's Planetary Science Division.

Live Prototype (full screen encouraged)

Usability Testing

We conducted two rounds of usability testing and recruited a total of 33 participants. Our subject pool included planetary scientists, students, researchers, and engineers. This step was crucial in uncovering usability issues early and validating our design solutions.

Results

The modernized PDS was introduced in October 2024 with measurable improvements to site usability, content discoverability, and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the effort had internal buy-in due to the participatory nature of the entire design process. Being able to create design products that served as boundary objects in a group of interdisciplinary stakeholders allowed the team to facilitate a shared vision of the product.