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    "title" : "Making the case for human-centered design: A Department of Justice case study |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Making the case for human-centered design: A Department of Justice case study",
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    {"title" :"Making the case for human-centered design: A Department of Justice case study","deck" : "Lessons learned from the launch of Access DOJ.","summary" : "The Access DOJ initiative shares nine lessons on making services more accessible, effective, and efficient.","date" : "2024-10-28T00:00:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"becky-slogeris" : "Becky Slogeris","kim-lopez" : "Kim Lopez"},"topics" : {
        
            "customer-experience" : "Customer experience",
            "design" : "Design",
            "human-centered-design" : "Human-centered design",
            "plain-language" : "Plain language",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
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      "filename" :"2024-10-28-making-the-case-for-human-centered-design-a-department-of-justice-case-study.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2024/10/2024-10-28-making-the-case-for-human-centered-design-a-department-of-justice-case-study.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2024/10/2024-10-28-making-the-case-for-human-centered-design-a-department-of-justice-case-study.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2024/10/2024-10-28-making-the-case-for-human-centered-design-a-department-of-justice-case-study.md","slug" : "making-the-case-for-human-centered-design-a-department-of-justice-case-study","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2024/10/28/making-the-case-for-human-centered-design-a-department-of-justice-case-study/","weight" : "1","content" :"\u003cp\u003eMillions of people interact with services provided, funded, or overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice every day. In turn, thousands of Justice Department staff work to improve those experiences.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo support and amplify this work, the Office for Access to Justice launched \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/atj/access-doj\"\u003eAccess DOJ\u003c/a\u003e in June 2024. This is a department-wide initiative using human-centered design to make services more accessible, effective, and efficient for the diverse communities the Justice Department serves.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBehind our high-profile launch event was over two years of behind-the-scenes work. While we leaned on our own expertise and guides like the \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/guides/hcd/\"\u003eHuman-centered design guide series\u003c/a\u003e on Digital.gov and \u003ca href=\"https://department.va.gov/veterans-experience/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/customer-experience-cookbook-508-4.23.24.pdf\"\u003eCustomer experience cookbook (PDF, 1,114 KB, 33 pages)\u003c/a\u003e from the Department of Veterans Affairs, there were many things we could only learn from doing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"nine-lessons-on-human-centered-design-at-the-justice-department\"\u003eNine lessons on human-centered design at the Justice Department\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere are nine lessons we learned along the way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-1-find-your-home\"\u003eLesson 1. Find your home\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccess DOJ found a natural home in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/atj\"\u003eOffice for Access to Justice\u003c/a\u003e, a standalone agency within the department that works to ensure access to the promises and protections of our civil and criminal legal systems for all communities. The office’s principles of \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/topics/accessibility/\"\u003eaccessibility\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/topics/innovation/\"\u003einnovation\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/topics/trust/\"\u003eintegrity\u003c/a\u003e are well-aligned with a design initiative aimed at closing justice gaps. Office leadership supported our vision from the beginning and continue to serve as invaluable thought partners and champions for the work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-2-find-your-people\"\u003eLesson 2. Find your people\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlong the way, our team connected with many Justice Department colleagues hoping to improve their services through user research. Some were already using design and other innovative methods, and all were hungry for connections and support. Every time we met someone new, we asked them a simple question: “Who else should we talk to?” These connections became our cheerleaders and early adopters. For example, two of the staff members behind the \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/our-work/doj-crt/\"\u003eCivil Rights Reporting Portal\u003c/a\u003e redesign later joined us as close advisors to guide and shape Access DOJ.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-3-dont-try-to-do-everything-at-once\"\u003eLesson 3. Don’t try to do everything at once\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpreading human-centered design methods and mindsets is a marathon, not a sprint. We started with two methods: \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/topics/plain-language/\"\u003eplain language\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/topics/usability/\"\u003eusability\u003c/a\u003e testing. These principles are easy for people to understand, have clear and tangible benefits, and are accessible to newcomers. Both methods also had organizational traction: the Justice Department has a plain language working group and the Civil Rights Division conducted usability testing with 18F to \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/2022/07/13/content-design-ada/\"\u003eimprove ADA.gov\u003c/a\u003e and build the \u003ca href=\"https://civilrights.justice.gov/\"\u003eCivil Rights Reporting Portal\u003c/a\u003e. With this approach, we are focused on socializing plain language and usability testing throughout the department, removing barriers to adoption, developing resources, and facilitating training. As the initiative grows, we plan to add more \u003ca href=\"https://guides.18f.gov/methods/\"\u003emethods\u003c/a\u003e to our offerings.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-4-show-dont-tell\"\u003eLesson 4. Show, don’t tell\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs soon as possible, do the work. We invested early in \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/atj/access-doj/case-studies\"\u003etwo demonstration projects\u003c/a\u003e that we can point to when we need examples of what customer experience looks like in the Justice Department . In one project, we worked with the Office of the Pardon Attorney to \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/atj/access-doj/case-studies/removing-barriers-applying-presidential-pardon\"\u003eredesign and simplify the application for a presidential pardon\u003c/a\u003e. This collaboration showed how design can reduce burden for both the public and staff. It also modeled our chosen methods of usability testing and plain language. Finally, the demonstration projects gave us a chance to refine our approach before going live with the Access DOJ initiative.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-5-bring-in-reinforcements\"\u003eLesson 5. Bring in reinforcements\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe started our customer experience work at the Justice Department as a team of two people: one a full-time employee and the other through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.presidentialinnovationfellows.gov/\"\u003ePresidential Innovation Fellows\u003c/a\u003e program. We needed a quick and easy way to get more resources and support. We ended up partnering with a team of designers and strategists at the \u003ca href=\"https://lab.opm.gov/\"\u003eLab at OPM\u003c/a\u003e. The Lab provided support as we shaped the overall strategy and design of the initiative, facilitated our demonstration projects, and crafted our external messaging. Later, we were able to recruit a senior customer experience strategist to our team to increase our capacity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-6-lean-into-what-makes-you-unique\"\u003eLesson 6. Lean into what makes you unique\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe call our unique approach “Designing for Access to Justice.” It brings an access to justice lens to traditional human-centered design. Here are some examples of our approach in practice:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStart each project by analyzing the justice gaps that exist by asking what barriers exist to equal justice under law, and for whom?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLook to the state and local levels for inspiration.\n** What innovation is happening in state courts? What are local jurisdictions doing to increase access?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEngage legal aid providers to surface common challenges faced by people without lawyers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReview existing access to justice and legal design research.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBring in subject matter experts from criminal and civil policy teams.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the second U.S. Trustee Program project, we worked with legal aid providers who regularly assist low-income communities with the bankruptcy process. This includes people without access to reliable phone service, internet, or computers. Their perspectives were critical to understanding \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/atj/access-doj/case-studies/increasing-access-required-bankruptcy-meetings\"\u003eexperiences with virtual bankruptcy meetings\u003c/a\u003e and opportunities to increase access, especially for people without legal representation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"quote-block \"\u003e\n    \u003cblockquote\u003e\n      \u003cspan class=\"quote-block__quotation-mark\"\u003e“\u003c/span\u003e\n      When government forms and processes are only accessible to lawyers or those who can afford them, everyone suffers and the justice gap widens. We remain committed to ensuring that every American can truly access the legal system, services, and benefits of this nation.\n      \u003cspan class=\"quote-block__quotation-mark\"\u003e”\u003c/span\u003e\u003ccite\u003e— Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, 2022 Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Report\u003c/cite\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n  \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-7-center-impact\"\u003eLesson 7. Center impact\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/topics/customer-experience/\"\u003ecustomer experience\u003c/a\u003e efforts is to improve the public’s interactions with government services. We built evaluation into our process to ensure that we consistently move toward making Justice Department services more accessible, efficient, and effective for the people we serve. This includes analyzing readability statistics to ensure our content is accessible and using the \u003ca href=\"https://www.performance.gov/cx/life-experiences/recovering-from-a-disaster/outputs/2/\"\u003eholistic burden assessment process\u003c/a\u003e developed by the team focused on the public’s experience when \u003ca href=\"https://www.performance.gov/cx/life-experiences/recovering-from-a-disaster/\"\u003erecovering from a disaster\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-8-connect-to-existing-priorities\"\u003eLesson 8. Connect to existing priorities\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe looked for opportunities to incorporate human-centered design methods and mindsets into the Office for Access to Justice’s existing priorities. For example, we proposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/atj/executive-summary-legal-aid-interagency-roundtable-2022-report\"\u003epeople-centered simplification\u003c/a\u003e as the focus of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/atj/file/1577431/dl\"\u003e2022 Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Report (PDF, 1,790 KB, 61 pages)\u003c/a\u003e. This introduced the concept of administrative burden and showed how human-centered design could increase access to justice through simplified forms, processes, and language.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"lesson-9-ask-for-help\"\u003eLesson 9. Ask for help\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are many generous and talented people who are eager to help improve federal government services and outcomes. We received help from leaders with the Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, VA, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Agriculture, U.S. Digital Service, and many other groups. We worked with colleagues from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the customer experience team in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the roundtable report and subsequent efforts. Other Presidential Innovation Fellows also provided invaluable connections and insights.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSpecial thanks to the rest of the Access DOJ team (Jay DuBois and Jenny Nelson), Office for Access to Justice staff and leadership, the Lab at OPM, our project partners at the Justice Department, and everyone who has connected with us along the way.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n"}
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