The problem
At the Veterans Success Center I answer the same question all day in different forms: which benefit do I have, and what do I do next? The answer depends on who you are and where you are in school, and the official steps are spread across the university, the VA, and the state.
I wasted benefits early on because I did not know what to ask. Pathfinder is the tool I wish someone had handed me at a tabling event.
How it works
Three questions: where you are in your CSUSB journey, whether you are a veteran or a dependent, and what you need. The result is a checklist with numbered steps, the forms required, who to contact, a QR code to take it with you, and one action button.
It is designed for two places: a student scanning a code on their phone, and an iPad kiosk at an event.
Three taps
Nobody finishes a ten-question quiz at a tabling event
Link, do not restate
Official steps stay on the official sites, so the app cannot go stale
No personal data
Anonymous routing only. No logins, nothing to breach
Where it stands
The flow came out of a whiteboard session with VSC staff, and the mockup walks all three student tracks end to end. The wording and steps are still draft until staff review confirms them.
Next is that review, then a production build with the content kept as data so staff can edit it without touching code, then a field test at a real event.
