PWS_Mobile Apps Testing and UX_Draft_Ver 1.0.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Health Administration National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD-SPECIFIC UX, DESIGN, TESTING, AND CONTENT DEVELOPMENT FOR

MOBILE APPS

Date: 02/03/2026

<VA-XX-XXXXXXXX>

PWS Version Number: 1.0

Mobile Application Testing

SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall perform the following:

1.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1.1.1 CONTRACTOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Contractor shall deliver a Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP) that lays out the Contractor’s approach, timeline, and tools to be used in execution of the contract. The CPMP should take the form of both a narrative and graphic format that displays the schedule, milestones, risks, and resource support. The CPMP shall also include how the Contractor shall coordinate and execute planned, routine, and ad hoc data collection reporting requests as identified within the PWS. The initial baseline CPMP shall be concurred upon and updated in accordance with Section B of the contract. The Contractor shall update and maintain the VA PM approved CPMP throughout the PoP.

Deliverable:

A. Contractor Project Management Plan

1.1.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide the COR with Monthly Progress Reports in electronic form in Microsoft Word and Project formats. The report shall include detailed instructions/explanations for each required data element, to ensure that data is accurate and consistent. These reports shall reflect data as of the last day of the preceding Month.

The Monthly Progress Reports shall cover all work completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, the Contractor shall provide an explanation including their plan and timeframe for resolving the issue. The report shall also include an itemized list of all Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deliverables and their current Section 508 conformance status. The Contractor shall monitor performance against the CPMP and report any deviations. It is expected that the Contractor will keep in communication with VA accordingly so that issues that arise are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues.

The Contractor shall attend weekly meetings to brief VA on the status of each task and deliverable defined within this PWS and to review ongoing needs across the mobile apps portfolio. The Contractor briefing shall include a detailed review of the current work breakdown structure and Gantt chart; the projected schedule; risk mitigation status; and the Contractor’s planned actions for recovering from any schedule slippage.

Deliverable:

A. Monthly Progress Report

1.1.3 TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING

The Contractor shall hold a technical kickoff meeting within 10 days after contract award. The Contractor shall present, for review and approval by the Government, the details of the intended approach, work plan, and overall project management approach. The Contractor shall specify dates, locations (can be virtual), agenda (shall be provided to all attendees at least five calendar days prior to the meeting), and meeting minutes (shall be provided to all attendees within three calendar days after the meeting). The Contractor shall invite the Contracting Officer (CO), Contract Specialist (CS), Contractor Officer’s Representative (COR), and VA PM.

1.2 MOBILE APPLICATION SOFTWARE TESTING AND CONTENT WRITING

The Contractor shall provide user experience testing, clinical content writing for mobile apps and public health education materials to support NCPTSD mobile apps for PTSD, and trauma-informed mobile app testing,.

1.2.1 TRAUMA-INFORMED MOBILE APPLICATION USER EXPERIENCE TESTING

The Contractor shall conduct comprehensive mobile application user experience (UX) testing specific to Veterans with lived experience of PTSD who have an interest in mobile health applications designed to improve PTSD symptoms or related functional outcomes.

UX testing shall include both focused testing (e.g., evaluation of specific features, workflows, content modules, or interaction patterns) and general testing (e.g., evaluation of end-to-end app use, longitudinal engagement, and overall user experience) using defined user personas relevant to PTSD (e.g., first-time user, skeptical user, early dropout user, long-term user, or user in acute distress).

The Contractor shall demonstrate the capability to begin UX testing work on day 1 with current and maintained access to a UX research panel of Veterans with PTSD, including the ability to support multiple concurrent UX studies across different mobile applications. The Contractor shall be responsible for participant informed engagement, scheduling, reimbursement, tracking, and documentation in accordance with applicable ethical, privacy, and safety considerations.

UX research activities shall include the design and administration of surveys, usability testing sessions, and qualitative interviews, conducted in accordance with established UX research and human-centered design principles. Given the clinical characteristics of the target population, UX interviews and research interactions shall be conducted by personnel with clinical expertise in PTSD, capable of recognizing and appropriately responding to distress, risk indicators, or high-risk disclosures that may arise during research activities.

The Contractor shall apply clinical judgment and trauma-informed practices to ensure UX research is conducted safely, ethically, and respectfully, minimizing the risk of symptom exacerbation while preserving the integrity and validity of user feedback.

The Contractor shall synthesize findings from UX studies into actionable, evidence-informed insights, and translate those insights into:

1. Mobile application design recommendations, including user interface (UI) elements, navigation structures, interaction flows, onboarding approaches, and engagement strategies appropriate for users with PTSD; and

2. Written clinical or educational content suitable for inclusion within PTSD-focused mobile applications, ensuring alignment with evidence-based treatment principles and consistency with NCPTSD clinical guidance.

The Contractor shall document UX findings, insights, and recommendations in written reports and briefings, clearly articulating both user experience implications and clinical considerations. UX testing outputs shall be suitable for informing iterative app development, content updates, and strategic design decisions across NCPTSD mobile applications.

1.2.2 EVIDENCE-BASED CLINICAL CONTENT WRITING FOR MOBILE

APPLICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide content writing support services for mobile apps and public health education materials to support NCPTSD mobile apps for PTSD, based on the best available scientific evidence, current VA norms and standards for the clinical care of Veterans with PTSD, expert knowledge of VA care for PTSD, current clinical guidelines for the treatment of PTSD, and familiarity with common terms and expressions used by Veterans. NCPTSD mobile apps for PTSD need to be kept up to date with, for example, the newest treatment, educational materials, and available clinical science. The Contractor shall be responsible for writing up-to date content to be used in publicly released mobile apps for mental health and supporting handouts and patient education materials.

The contractor shall write public health education materials capable of being included in NCPTSD mobile apps, such as brief psychoeducational topics specific to PTSD treatment and recovery (see PTSD Coach, PTSD Family Coach apps for examples).

The contractor shall provide written outlines and wireframes for detailed tools and other app features requested by NCPTSD. The contractor shall create flyers and other web-based promotional materials to support appropriate implementation of VA mobile apps across VA treatment settings. The contractor shall be required to demonstrate familiarity with the best available scientific evidence for treatment of PTSD while also writing content that can be quickly and easily read and is optimized for delivery on a mobile device or tablet. The contractor shall be able to write content that is accessible to the widest possible range of reading levels, with brief content that is accessible to reading levels of 6th grade and below and more detailed content accessible to those with slightly higher reading levels. The contractor shall be responsible for writing content to be used in publicly-released mobile applications for mental health and supporting handouts and patient education materials.

Quality control of delivered mobile app testing shall be led and performed by the Contractor. All readily available specifications and documentation will be provided to the Contractor for use in testing, but the Contractor should be able to implement these deliverables without any further documentation. An issue tracking system administered by NCPTSD shall be used to track quality control issues and monitor progress. Use of NCPTSD GitHub is required for source code and audio/visual asset delivery and issue tracking.

The Contractor shall report on all active and planned mobile app testing projects in the Monthly Progress Report and during weekly mobile app briefings.

Deliverable:

A. Weekly Content Report

1.2.3 TRAUMA-INFORMED MOBILE APPLICATION TESTING

The Contractor shall provide testing of NCPTSD mobile apps for PTSD to improve user experience and provide clinical judgement to ensure safety, suggest additional content to improve the apps and keep the content up to date. The amount and type of testing will vary widely on a per-project basis at NCPTSD’s discretion, with testing ranging from focused testing of a specific app section or feature to comprehensive user experience testing or complete testing of a mobile app. Due to the clinical nature of the target population and the potential impact of design and content decisions on PTSD symptoms, testing under this task requires specialized clinical expertise in PTSD and experience evaluating mental health mobile applications, beyond general software testing capabilities. NCPTSD anticipates the Contractor shall test one mobile app at a given time, but may be required to test two apps concurrently. The Contractor shall coordinate with NCPTSD for testing timelines for the apps. The Contractor shall report on all active and planned mobile app testing projects in the Monthly Progress Report and during weekly mobile app briefings.

Quality control of delivered mobile app testing shall be led and performed by the Contractor. All readily available specifications and documentation will be provided to the Contractor for use in testing, but the Contractor should be able to implement these tasks without any further documentation. The Contractor shall download required mobile apps to be tested from VA’s repository (currently hosted TestFlight or Play Store). An issue tracking system administered by NCPTSD, currently GitHub, shall be used to track quality control issues and monitor progress. The Contractor shall test NCPTSD native mobile apps for PTSD.

Testing shall include:

1. Device and context-aware testing for users with PTSD. Testing of mobile apps on multiple Android and iOS devices to ensure the app works as intended and displays correctly on the device screen. The Contractor shall also clinically evaluate how app characteristics (user interface, screen size, readability, input methods, notifications, and system behaviors) may affect users with PTSD, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, or suicide risk, particularly under conditions of stress, distraction, or emotional distress. For device testing, the Contractor shall test the mobile apps using actual devices (i.e., not simulators), particularly devices that are most widely used in the general population, including multiple Android screen sizes (phones and tablets) and multiple iOS screen sizes (phones and tablets). At a minimum, the Contractor shall test using two Android phone devices with different screen sizes, one Android tablet device, two iOS phone devices with different screen sizes, and one iOS tablet device.

2. Clinically informed validation of requirements and resilience. Ensuring mobile app content and features match NCPTSD technical specifications, with additional evaluation of whether the implementation supports clinically appropriate use by individuals with PTSD, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, or suicide risk.

The Contractor shall compare technical specifications against their implementation in a mobile app, ensuring that (a) all content matches between the specifications and the app and (b) the app is resilient to complex, real-world user interactions, including repeated use, partial completion of activities, avoidance behaviors, or abrupt exits that may occur when users experience distress, without crashing, stalling, or losing data.

3. Evaluation of alignment with evidence-based PTSD care. Reviewing all educational, therapeutic, and supportive material for consistency with current PTSD treatment guidelines (e.g., VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines) and the most up-to-date scientific literature on PTSD education, treatment, and clinical care. This review shall incorporate clinical judgment to assess whether content is accurate, balanced, non-misleading, and appropriate for self-directed use by Veterans with PTSD.

4. Clinical safety, risk awareness, and confidentiality. Ensuring clinical safety, including the appropriateness of app content, interactions, and feedback for Veterans with PTSD, with particular attention to identifying and mitigating features that could increase distress, reinforce avoidance, or pose risk to users experiencing acute symptoms or crisis. Testing shall also ensure appropriate handling of sensitive information and confidentiality in accordance with applicable privacy and security standards.

5. Trauma-informed design and platform consistency. Ensuring consistency with Apple iOS human interface guidelines, Android design guidelines, and recently released NCPTSD mobile apps, while evaluating whether design patterns, visual elements, language, and interaction styles are trauma-informed and suitable for individuals with PTSD, including users with heightened sensitivity to cognitive load, visual complexity, or emotionally evocative content.

6. Clinically informed user experience optimization. Optimizing user experience using a trauma-informed and clinically grounded approach, which at a minimum shall include reviewing wireframes, app sequences, and interaction flows to identify potential dead-ends, confusing navigation, or interaction patterns that may be particularly challenging for users with PTSD. This includes identifying views that cannot be easily navigated out of, user-entered information that cannot be changed or edited, or workflows that may contribute to frustration or disengagement. The Contractor shall offer clinically informed recommendations for simplifying user interaction elements, proposing alternative flows, and identifying additional clinical or educational content that could assist Veterans in safely and effectively using the app.

7. Accessibility testing. Testing for Section 508 accessibility compliance, with additional consideration of accessibility needs relevant to users with PTSD, including readability, clarity of instructions, predictable navigation, and support for users who may experience concentration difficulties, heightened startle response, or sensory sensitivity.

8. Research testing. Conducting comprehensive testing of research versions of apps by visiting and recording all screens within the app and checking that data transmitted from research versions of apps (i.e., timestamps, buttons tapped, user-entered data) match testing records (i.e., data transmitted in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format should match testing records of which app screens were visited, dates and times for when each screen was visited, and any data entered by the tester while testing the app).

The amount and type of testing will vary widely on a per-project basis at NCPTSD’s discretion, with testing ranging from focused testing of a specific app section or feature to comprehensive user experience testing or complete testing of a mobile app. The contractor shall also be responsible for developing a timeline for testing across apps and coordinating all testing timelines with NCPTSD.

Mobile application testing under this task is not limited to functional or technical validation, but includes clinically informed evaluation of user experience, content, and interaction patterns for individuals with PTSD. Testing activities shall assess how design choices, content presentation, user flows, and interactive features may affect users with PTSD, including potential impacts on symptom exacerbation, distress tolerance, engagement, and clinical appropriateness.

Testing shall be performed by personnel with formal clinical training and professional experience related to PTSD, including demonstrated knowledge of evidence-based PTSD treatments, clinical risk factors, and the lived experiences of individuals with PTSD. The Contractor shall apply this expertise to evaluate app behavior and content through the lens of clinical safety, therapeutic alignment, and real-world use by Veterans with PTSD.

The Contractor’s testing role aligns with modern digital health development practices, including clinically informed user experience evaluation, content validation, and risk-aware usability testing, rather than traditional software quality assurance alone.

Testing shall integrate principles commonly applied in health technology development, such as human-centered design, clinical content governance, and safety-focused usability assessment.

The Contractor shall evaluate how users with PTSD may realistically engage with the app under conditions of emotional distress, avoidance, hyperarousal, or cognitive load.

Testing shall assess whether app flows, language, notifications, exercises, and feedback mechanisms are appropriate for users with PTSD and do not inadvertently increase distress, promote maladaptive coping, or conflict with established clinical practices.

The Contractor shall evaluate the clinical rigor, accuracy, and objectivity of all educational and therapeutic content within the app, ensuring consistency with current PTSD treatment guidelines and peer-reviewed scientific literature. This includes assessing whether content appropriately distinguishes between evidence-based practices, emerging approaches, and non-therapeutic informational material.

Testing documentation and reports shall reflect clinical judgment, not solely technical findings. Recommendations shall include clinically informed rationale for proposed changes, including potential impacts on user safety, engagement, therapeutic intent, and alignment with PTSD treatment principles.

Testing approaches that rely exclusively on automated testing, generic usability heuristics, or non-clinical quality assurance methods are insufficient to meet the requirements of this task without accompanying clinically informed evaluation by qualified personnel.

The Contractor shall provide a Weekly Testing Report that summarizes the testing performed during the week and the progress made on the issues reported in the issue tracking system. In addition, any recommended user experience improvements and suggested clinical content shall be included in the Weekly Testing Report.

Final deliverables of each testing project shall include the delivery of all testing documentation and reports as described above. Before any work begins on a testing project, the Contractor shall produce time estimates of the number of hours that will be needed for the work to be performed and shall obtain the approval of NCPTSD for the expenditure of hours.

Deliverable:

A. Testing Documentation and Reports B. Weekly Testing Report