Polaris IT Agent is an AI-powered IT support and self-service platform for SSC, originally conceived as ORBIT—an integrated IT helpdesk and service experience platform—before evolving into an intelligent AI layer designed to integrate with ServiceNow, inventory systems, and organizational knowledge sources to deliver personalized, scalable IT support experiences.

Polaris IT Agent was inspired by firsthand research and observations of the growing challenges facing IT support teams at Space Systems Command. Repetitive support tickets, fragmented systems, inconsistent processes, and limited self-service capabilities created friction for both customers and IT personnel. The project began as an effort to design a more connected and human-centered support experience, and later evolved into an AI-powered platform focused on reducing operational burden, empowering users through self-service, and enabling smarter, more scalable IT support.

As Product Lead and Lead Designer for Polaris IT Agent, I led product vision, UX strategy, AI experience design, and cross-functional collaboration in partnership with the University of Central Florida, mentoring two cohorts of senior Computer Science students to deliver mission-aligned AI prototype capabilities while bridging academic innovation with real-world operational needs at minimal cost.

Research & Discovery

The foundation of Polaris IT Agent began with a large-scale UX research initiative originally conducted under the ORBIT program. The research focused on understanding the end-to-end IT support experience across SSC.

Research Activities

• User interviews with military and civilian personnel

• Competitive analysis of enterprise helpdesk platforms

• Secondary industry research

• Workflow and service blueprint mapping

• Experience pattern analysis

• Persona development

Key Findings

Pain Points

Research revealed that customers did not simply want automation—they wanted:

• Faster resolution

• Personalized support

• Better visibility into issues

• Human-centered communication

• Self-service learning opportunities

A recurring insight from interviews was that users often preferred researching issues themselves before contacting support.  

At the same time, IT teams lacked:

• Integrated tooling

• Standardized processes

• Reliable metrics

• Centralized knowledge systems

• Efficient resource allocation workflows

Mapping the Current State & Identifying Gaps and Opportunities

Service Blueprint

Journey Maps of Key Personas

Filling the Opportunity Gap

The product evolved when SSC adopted ServiceNow as its enterprise ITSM solution. Rather than building a competing helpdesk system, we identified an opportunity to create a complementary AI-powered support layer focused on personalized IT customer experiences—leveraging ServiceNow, inventory systems, systems of record, organizational knowledge sources, and operational data to deliver smarter self-service support, contextual recommendations, and scalable AI-assisted workflows. Research findings directly influenced the product direction and AI strategy.

Designing the AI Experience

A major challenge was designing AI interactions that felt:

• Helpful but trustworthy

• Intelligent but transparent

• Efficient without removing human oversight

I led the design of:

• AI recommendation flows

• Escalation logic

• Confidence and validation patterns

• Context-driven recommendation workflows

• Knowledge sourcing structures

• Guided troubleshooting experiences

The recommendation system architecture was intentionally designed around explainability and human validation—not black-box automation.  

We focused heavily on:

• User confidence

• Clear next steps

• Guided resolution flows

• Seamless escalation paths

• Reducing friction in troubleshooting

Collaboration with UCF & NSIN

The project was developed in collaboration with the University of Central Florida’s Computer Science Department through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) Capstone Program.

Over two cohorts, we collaborated with senior CS students to prototype and expand:

• AI support chat capabilities

• User onboarding workflows

• Knowledge Base Manager

• Recommendation engines

• RAG ingestion pipeline

This partnership accelerated experimentation while allowing us to validate emerging AI workflows in a mission-focused environment.

Outcomes & Impact

2024 Space Force GenAI Challenge Winner

Polaris IT Agent won the 2024 Space Force GenAI Challenge for its mission-focused application of generative AI in operational support environments.

Strategic Product Evolution

The project successfully evolved from:

Traditional IT portal → AI-powered support ecosystem

Established the Foundation for Polaris

The work laid the groundwork for the larger Polaris ecosystem of personalized AI agents for Guardians.

Built a Human-Centered AI Framework

The product established principles around:

• Human validation

• Trustworthy AI

• Personalized experiences

• Explainable recommendations

• AI-assisted—not AI-replaced—support workflows

Reflection

Polaris IT Agent fundamentally changed how I think about designing AI-powered products.

The most important lesson was that successful AI experiences are not about replacing people—they are about reducing friction, improving decision-making, and enabling users to operate more effectively within complex systems.

This project also reinforced the importance of:

• Designing for operational trust

• Building AI around validated knowledge

• Integrating AI into existing workflows instead of disrupting them unnecessarily

• Treating AI as part of a larger ecosystem experience, not a standalone feature

Polaris IT Agent continues to inform how I approach AI product strategy, agentic systems, and human-centered AI design today.