/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/authors/rflagg/ Recent content on Digital.gov Hugo en-us /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2024/02/09/timeless-top-10-best-practices-for-great-government-websites/ Fri, 09 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2024/02/09/timeless-top-10-best-practices-for-great-government-websites/ While the field of federal web management continues to evolve, the core best practices have remained essentially unchanged for two decades. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/an-introduction-to-privacy/ Fri, 08 Dec 2023 06:46:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/an-introduction-to-privacy/ Introductory guidance on implementing privacy protections for users of federal websites. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/an-introduction-to-analytics/ Fri, 24 Nov 2023 14:50:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/an-introduction-to-analytics/ Learn how to set performance goals, and identify specific KPIs and targets to measure and meet them, using web analytics. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2023/03/24/who-is-your-website-manager/ Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:29:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2023/03/24/who-is-your-website-manager/ The importance of HR and accountability to improving digital service delivery at federal agencies. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2023/02/23/digital-governance-at-gsa/ Thu, 23 Feb 2023 17:31:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2023/02/23/digital-governance-at-gsa/ A peek into GSA’s internal processes for managing their websites and improving digital experience. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2020/08/04/measure-performance-to-make-continuous-improvements/ Tue, 04 Aug 2020 12:00:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2020/08/04/measure-performance-to-make-continuous-improvements/ This week, we’re exploring what it means to measure performance, and we’re taking a look at how listening to customers is the best way to continuously improve websites and digital services. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/an-introduction-to-accessibility/ Fri, 27 Oct 2023 15:06:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/an-introduction-to-accessibility/ An overview of how to design and deliver accessible digital products and services in the federal government /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/customer-experience-toolkit/ Thu, 07 Jan 2016 05:52:31 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/customer-experience-toolkit/ This Toolkit is intended to help government agencies improve how we deliver services and information to the public. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/checklist-of-requirements-for-federal-digital-services/ Thu, 09 Jan 2014 01:20:11 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/checklist-of-requirements-for-federal-digital-services/ Links to relevant laws, policies, and regulations for federal agencies. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/required-web-content-and-links/ Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:37:26 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/required-web-content-and-links/ Various policies require you to have certain content—or provide links to content—from specific places on your website. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2020/05/27/whos-on-your-digital-dream-team/ Wed, 27 May 2020 23:00:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2020/05/27/whos-on-your-digital-dream-team/ This week, we’re exploring what it means to establish effective governance, and looking at ways to clarify and fill the roles of all the players on your team. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2019/11/12/meet-your-federal-web-council/ Tue, 12 Nov 2019 13:30:00 -0500 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2019/11/12/meet-your-federal-web-council/ When something important needs to be coordinated across the federal web space, the Federal Web Council is the vehicle for getting it done. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2018/01/30/updated-it-accessibility-standards/ Tue, 30 Jan 2018 09:32:00 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2018/01/30/updated-it-accessibility-standards/ Effective January 18, 2018, the revised 508 standards modernize the federal government’s IT accessibility standards and bring us into alignment with governments around the world. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/03/18/creating-a-culture-of-engagement-webinar-recap/ Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:00:57 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/03/18/creating-a-culture-of-engagement-webinar-recap/ Employee engagement, evidenced by displays of dedication, persistence, effort and overall attachment to organization and mission, is a key factor in business success, but it can be a struggle for government organizations. Organizational leaders seeking to cultivate a culture of engagement need tangible examples of how to successfully move the needle in a positive direction. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/29/case-study-ocsits-email-customer-survey-process/ Fri, 29 Jan 2016 10:00:34 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/29/case-study-ocsits-email-customer-survey-process/ To help us gauge the effectiveness of the programs we offer to other government agencies, we launched our first Government Customer Experience Index (GCXi) survey in 2013. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/government-customer-service-policies-requirements-1993-to-present/ Thu, 07 Jan 2016 05:41:53 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/government-customer-service-policies-requirements-1993-to-present/ A list of government customer service policies and requirements. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/05/digging-into-the-data-of-our-customer-survey/ Tue, 05 Jan 2016 09:00:06 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/05/digging-into-the-data-of-our-customer-survey/ As a follow-up to the recent post about our annual customer satisfaction survey, we wanted to dig into the data and share some of the overall results to give you some more insights into how we’re using your feedback to improve our programs and services. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/30/cx-community-year-one/ Wed, 30 Dec 2015 10:00:47 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/30/cx-community-year-one/ Customer experience, or CX, is everywhere these days. If you’re wondering how customer experience differs from customer service, customer service usually involves a single interaction, such as a phone call to your cable company, while the customer experience encompasses the entire relationship. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/28/ocsits-2015-customer-survey-what-we-learned/ Mon, 28 Dec 2015 10:00:13 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/28/ocsits-2015-customer-survey-what-we-learned/ Three years ago, GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies (OCSIT) set out to design a system to consistently measure customer satisfaction across our office. We were inspired by the Digital Government Strategy, which tasks agencies to adopt a customer-centric approach to service delivery. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/09/connecting-with-the-social-and-behavioral-sciences-team/ Wed, 09 Dec 2015 01:40:55 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/09/connecting-with-the-social-and-behavioral-sciences-team/ The new Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) aims to make government programs more effective and efficient. Amira Choueiki from the SBST joined us to explain what the SBST does, and to discuss some of the projects they’ve worked on. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/07/cx-data-in-action-series-case-study-1/ Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:10:18 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/12/07/cx-data-in-action-series-case-study-1/ It’s not new that agencies are inundated with data, but what data should you collect to improve your agency’s programs and enhance the customer experience? The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration’s (EBSA) has been perfecting their process to collect actionable data for the past 14 years. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/11/20/ux-vs-cx-whats-the-dif-part-2/ Fri, 20 Nov 2015 11:10:26 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/11/20/ux-vs-cx-whats-the-dif-part-2/ In honor of World Usability Day, which happened on November 12, we’d like to demystify two extremely important and oft-confusing acronyms—CX and UX. Customer Experience (CX) and User Experience (UX), while related, focus on different aspects of service delivery. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/09/11/how-will-you-celebrate-customer-service-week/ Fri, 11 Sep 2015 11:00:45 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/09/11/how-will-you-celebrate-customer-service-week/ In 1992, Congress passed Public Law No: 102-481, which proclaimed the first full week in October as National Customer Service Week. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/31/new-kid-in-town-the-customer-experience-community/ Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:00:20 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/31/new-kid-in-town-the-customer-experience-community/ Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals prioritize activities that all agencies must tackle each year. An important CAP Goal for 2015 addresses customer service and compels federal agencies to improve the quality of service the public receives from the federal government. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/22/how-the-nationals-customer-experience-principles-can-be-a-home-run-for-agencies/ Wed, 22 Jul 2015 10:00:32 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/22/how-the-nationals-customer-experience-principles-can-be-a-home-run-for-agencies/ In June, the new Customer Experience Community of Practice (CX-COP) hosted Jonathan Stahl, Executive Director of Ballpark Operations and Guest Experience of the Washington Nationals, to share best practices on how to deliver a great customer experience. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/05/29/a-conversation-with-omb-on-customer-service/ Fri, 29 May 2015 11:10:49 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/05/29/a-conversation-with-omb-on-customer-service/ We recently sat down with Lisa Danzig, who’s leading work at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the FY15 Cross Agency Priority (CAP) goal on Customer Service (CS). The CS CAP goal aims to help agencies deliver world-class customer service to citizens that’s on par with leading private /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/plain-language-web-writing-tips/ Fri, 06 Mar 2015 02:58:29 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/plain-language-web-writing-tips/ Help your readers complete their tasks with these Plain Language writing tips. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/12/18/10-years-of-digital-government-a-retrospective/ Thu, 18 Dec 2014 03:09:04 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/12/18/10-years-of-digital-government-a-retrospective/ In December of 2004, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the first Policies for Federal Public Websites. Over the past decade, we’ve seen technology completely transform how government delivers information and services to the public. On this 10-year anniversary, we’re taking a walk down memory lane to recap some of the pivotal moments /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/10/09/customer-service-week-2014/ Thu, 09 Oct 2014 10:00:53 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/10/09/customer-service-week-2014/ They say that customer experience (CX) is the new marketing. People will tell their friends about their experience with your agency, and social media makes it easy to broadcast whether the experience was easy and enjoyable, or terrible. In 1992, Congress proclaimed the first full week in /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/09/26/member-spotlight-hannah-rubin-library-of-congress/ Fri, 26 Sep 2014 10:00:17 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/09/26/member-spotlight-hannah-rubin-library-of-congress/ Meet Hannah Rubin, who works in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) at the Library of Congress. She’s the focus of this month’s Member Spotlight. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/08/27/member-spotlight-jill-james-dept-of-education/ Wed, 27 Aug 2014 10:00:43 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/08/27/member-spotlight-jill-james-dept-of-education/ Welcome to the first edition of a new series of articles spotlighting members of our Government Web Manager Community. This month, we introduce Jill James, who’s the Senior Web Editor/Director for the Department of Education, in their Communications and Outreach /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/30/is-it-tweet-worthy/ Mon, 30 Jun 2014 01:00:27 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/30/is-it-tweet-worthy/ The Web now contains over 1.51 billion pages of content, according to WorldWideWebSize.com. That’s a lot of reading material, and a lot of content competing with yours for attention. People won’t waste time (even a few seconds) on an article that doesn’t matter to them in some way—not when there are so many other interesting /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/sample-position-descriptions-for-digital-government-jobs/ Tue, 24 Jun 2014 09:50:15 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/sample-position-descriptions-for-digital-government-jobs/ Use and customize these sample position descriptions to hire your own digital gov team. Position descriptions, as defined by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), include an official series, title, and grade based on the results of a classification determination. Accessibility Web Development and Accessibility Specialist (Word document, 22 KB, 1 page, September 2012) Analytics /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/05/19/sign-up-for-digitalgov-citizen-services-summit-friday-may-30/ Mon, 19 May 2014 03:03:16 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/05/19/sign-up-for-digitalgov-citizen-services-summit-friday-may-30/ We won’t build the government of the 21st century by drawing within the lines. We don’t have to tell you the hard work of building a digital government doesn’t exist in a vacuum or a bubble. Show us social media without mobile, Web without data and user experience without APIs. You can’t? That’s right—in reality, /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/guidelines-for-improving-digital-services/ Fri, 04 Apr 2014 03:12:19 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/guidelines-for-improving-digital-services/ The Digital Services Advisory Group and the Federal Web Managers Council have developed the following guidelines to meet the 6.1 milestone of the Digital Government Strategy. These recommendations apply to all digital services, including Web, mobile, apps, APIs, and online forms. Guidelines Guideline 1: Digital Strategy Integrate your digital presence into your agency’s overall business, communications, and customer experience strategy Guideline 2: Governance, /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/01/27/how-to-win-digital-like-a-grammy/ Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:32:08 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/01/27/how-to-win-digital-like-a-grammy/ Digital Marketing Evangelist and analytics expert Avinash Kaushik recently published a fascinating article on Six Visual Solutions To Complex Digital Marketing/Analytics Challenges. The article is especially relevant to government organizations, because it talks about the importance of dynamic vs. static content. Government agencies tend /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/paperwork-reduction-act-fast-track-process/ Thu, 09 Jan 2014 03:01:38 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/paperwork-reduction-act-fast-track-process/ Protect Your Customer’s Privacy Federal agencies must follow various laws and regulations, including the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and the Privacy Act, when collecting information from the public. You should also be familiar with SORN (Systems of Records Notice), as well as rules around personally identifiable information, and laws that relate to your specific method of feedback collection /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/12/12/9-reasons-your-agency-should-have-a-cms/ Thu, 12 Dec 2013 15:02:56 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/12/12/9-reasons-your-agency-should-have-a-cms/ Why Invest in a Content Management System? Does it take too long to update and post digital content? Do you lack consistent branding across your website(s)? Is outdated, redundant content leading to a poor customer experience? Does your agency website show up too far down in search results? Are you /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/10/30/content-management-systems-toolkit/ Wed, 30 Oct 2013 08:45:15 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/10/30/content-management-systems-toolkit/ Improving the federal government’s ability to deliver digital information anytime, anywhere, on any device via open content is a key goal of the Digital Government Strategy. A content management system (CMS) can help your agency move to an open content model, making it easier for people to find, share, use, and re-use your information. /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/04/19/how-canada-is-revolutionizing-digital-governance/ Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:26:59 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/04/19/how-canada-is-revolutionizing-digital-governance/ The Canadian government is changing how we think of traditional Web management. They built a platform of standards-compliant (HTML5, WCAG and WAI-ARIA), accessible and secure components that its agencies (and even provincial and municipalities) can use to build and maintain their sites. They are also focused