Phase 4: Rebuilding the System (2025-Present)

Systems Thinking · Product Strategy · Service Design · Information Architecture · MVP Development
Confidential Product Overview | 2026

From Resource Directory to Navigation Infrastructure

The original SAS prototype was built around a simple assumption: if survivors could access all relevant resources in one place, finding support would become easier. The platform organized information around categories such as legal aid, medical support, crisis services, NGOs, and mental health resources.

As research continued, it became clear that access was not the primary barrier. Users were not struggling because resources were unavailable. They were struggling because they did not know how to navigate them.

Expanding the Research

Following the thesis, I continued researching the problem through 200+ interviews, NYC street interviews, conversations with survivors, advocacy organizations, therapists, legal professionals, university administrators, and community leaders across both India and the United States.

Although the systems differed across regions, the same questions appeared repeatedly:

Where do I begin?
What happens if I take this step?
Which organization should I contact?
Can I trust this resource?
What should I do next?

The challenge was no longer resource discovery. It was decision-making

Understanding the Ecosystem

As the research expanded beyond individual users, I began examining the broader support ecosystem itself.

Initial ecosystem mapping identified more than 4,500 organizations, agencies, helplines, legal aid providers, healthcare services, and advocacy groups operating across the United States. At the same time, searches related to sexual assault support generated millions of results across government, healthcare, legal, and community platforms.

The problem was not a lack of information.

It was understanding which information was relevant, trustworthy, and actionable.

This insight fundamentally altered the project's direction.

Reframing the Product

The original platform assumed users understood the support ecosystem and needed access to resources.

The new framework assumes the opposite.

Users often arrive overwhelmed, uncertain, and unfamiliar with the systems surrounding them. Rather than organizing information around services, SENA began organizing itself around user situations, decision pathways, urgency, and likely next actions.

This transformed SENA from a resource directory into a navigation infrastructure.

Rebuilding the Information Architecture

As the project evolved, the architecture was rebuilt around:

User intent
Decision pathways
Geographic context
Risk level
Emotional state
Support goals

Rather than presenting every available option, the system focuses on helping users understand which option is most relevant in that moment.

Defining the MVP

One of the biggest challenges in transitioning from thesis to startup was determining what role SENA should play within the ecosystem.

Continued research revealed that SENA should not attempt to replace therapists, legal aid providers, advocacy organizations, or healthcare systems. Instead, its value lay in helping users navigate them.

This led to a much more focused product strategy centered around a single objective:

Helping users move from uncertainty to action.

Every feature, flow, and interaction was evaluated against that goal.

27+ concepts explored → 3 core systems retained

Privacy as a Product Requirement

Two themes surfaced consistently throughout research: privacy and context.

Many users expressed concerns about being seen using a platform associated with assault, reporting, or crisis support. Privacy, therefore, became a foundational design requirement, leading to explorations around stealth-mode interfaces, alternative visual systems, discreet interactions, and privacy-first onboarding.

At the same time, support systems varied significantly across cities, states, and countries. This led to the development of a location-aware framework that can adapt recommendations, pathways, and resources based on geographic context.

Stealth Mode

Resources Interface

From Research to Product

As SENA transitioned into active development, my role expanded beyond UX design to encompass product strategy, information architecture, MVP definition, feature prioritization, stakeholder alignment, technical planning, and engineering handoff.

Today, SENA is actively being translated from research and systems design into a functional product experience.

What began as an undergraduate thesis has evolved into an incorporated startup focused on helping people navigate some of the most complex support systems they may ever encounter.