{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "At Last: User Experience Performance Descriptions! |Digital.gov",
    "description": "At Last: User Experience Performance Descriptions!",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/03/17/at-last-user-experience-performance-descriptions/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"At Last: User Experience Performance Descriptions!","summary" : "To improve your digital systems with user experience (UX), you need people. And to get people in government, you need position descriptions. While DigitalGov has collected a wide variety of position descriptions,","date" : "2015-03-17T11:10:03-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"jonathan-rubin" : "Jonathan Rubin"},"topics" : {
        
            "design" : "Design",
            "research" : "Research",
            "usability" : "Usability",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-03-17-at-last-user-experience-performance-descriptions.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/03/2015-03-17-at-last-user-experience-performance-descriptions.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/03/2015-03-17-at-last-user-experience-performance-descriptions.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/03/2015-03-17-at-last-user-experience-performance-descriptions.md","slug" : "at-last-user-experience-performance-descriptions","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/03/17/at-last-user-experience-performance-descriptions/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/03/502-x-478-UX-RolesV2.jpg\"\n    alt=\"A Venn diagram based on Dan Saffer’s “Disciplines of User Experience, 2009,” shows the overlapping disciplines in User Experience.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo improve your digital systems with user experience (UX), you need people. And to get people in government, you need position descriptions. While DigitalGov has collected a \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/sample-position-descriptions-for-digital-government-jobs/\"\u003ewide variety of position descriptions\u003c/a\u003e, I thought I would create a post specifically on UX positions, and explain the difference between these jobs. Yes, there is overlap. But this is still an excellent place to get started.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am indebted to the helpful heroes at \u003cstrong\u003eUSAJOBS\u003c/strong\u003e for scouring through their vast job database to find these examples. And much thanks to our UX interns Stacey Sarris and Joel Virothaisakun for the heavy lifting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne final thing: this is meant as a starting point to this very wide and varied field. If you have examples to share or comments to improve this resource, \u003ca href=\"mailto:digitalgov@gsa.gov\"\u003eemail us\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1. Cognitive Research / Psychology\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe practice of researching people’s behavior and motivations and applying that understanding to user experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/ResearchPsychologist-Army.docx\"\u003eResearch Psychologist – Army\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 13 KB, 2 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/ResearchPsychologist-U.S.Census.docx\"\u003eResearch Psychologist – Census Bureau\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 8 KB, 2 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/ComputerScientist-NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology.docx\"\u003eComputer Scientist – National Institute of Standards and Technology\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 12 KB, 2 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2. Content / Plain Language\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContent writing is the art of developing meaningful content for websites. Content must be written so that the intended audiences can understand it, without extra effort, the first time they read it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/03/TechnicalEditorWriter-Dept.Energy.docx\"\u003eTechnical Editor / Writer – Department of Energy\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 7 KB, 2 pages, March 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3. Information Architecture\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInformation Architecture (IA) focuses on the structure of information and how it is organized, labeled and found. It includes websites, applications, databases and library systems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/InformationArchitect-LibraryofCongress.docx\"\u003eInformation Architect – Library of Congress\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 6 KB, 2 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4. User Experience Design\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUser experience design focuses on the various components and processes that are part of an overall project. This ensures that user needs are taken into account during every part of the design and implementation of a project.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/UsabilitySpecialist-VeteransAffairs2.docx\"\u003eUser Interface Designer – Veterans Affairs\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 7 KB, 3 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/UXDesigner-CFPB.docx\"\u003eUser Experience Designer – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 7 KB, 2 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/UXDesigner-PatentandTrademarkOffice1.docx\"\u003eUser Experience Designer – Patent and Trademark Office\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 7 KB, 2 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5. User Experience Research\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUser experience (UX) research is used to identify user needs, attitudes, motivations and behaviors. Methods include card sorts, usability studies, ethnographic studies, user interviews and focus groups.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/SeniorUsabilitySpecialist-FederalAviationAdministration.docx\"\u003eSenior Usability Specialist – Federal Aviation Administration\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 6 KB, 2 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/ProgramAnalystUsability-GSA1.docx\"\u003eProgram Analyst, Usability – General Services Administration\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 5 KB, 1 page, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/UsabilitySpecialist-HHS.docx\"\u003eUsability Specialist – Health and Human Services\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 8 KB, 3 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/UsabilitySpecialist-VeteransAffairs2.docx\"\u003eUsability Specialist – Veterans Affairs\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 7 KB, 3 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/EngineeringPsychologistUserExperienceUsabilitySr-U.S.PatentTrademarkOffice.docx\"\u003eEngineering Psychologist – Patent and Trademark Office\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 8 KB, 3 pages, Feb. 2015)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e6. Usability.gov Job Templates\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe good folks at Usability.gov also have collected some position descriptions in their \u003ca href=\"http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/resources/templates.html\"\u003etemplates section\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}