Research on Digital.gov

18F's year of launches

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Over the past year, 18F has helped partner agencies launch innovative software products to improve the public’s experience with the federal government. From helping Get.gov simplify domain requests to working with Notify.gov to develop a new public benefits texting service, the six projects featured here focus on putting their users first. Learn more about how these launches emphasize the importance of user research and strong partnerships in delivering better government services.

Uncovering impactful solutions through user research

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 16:30:00 -0500

Get an overview of what user research and user testing are in a federal context. Learn what policies apply and what resources are available.

How the Open Data, Design, and Development team implemented state and offshore region navigation pages with hallway testing

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0500

User feedback is key to creating great digital products, but limited resources can hinder research efforts. Hallway testing provides a quick, useful solution. By conducting informal interviews, the Open Data, Design, and Development team at the Department of the Interior gathered insights to improve navigation to state and offshore region pages on the Natural Resources Revenue Data website. After testing prototypes, the best option was implemented, streamlining access white minimizing resource use. The team’s next steps include monitoring performance, evaluating the addition of maps on select pages, and continued hallway testing.

How multicultural research guides the USA.gov benefit finder

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Discover how USA.gov tailors its benefit finder experience for both English and Spanish-speaking users through culturally nuanced content. Through dual-track language research, a bilingual support team, and A/B testing, USA.gov ensures that more users receive relevant, empathetic, and user-friendly content. The USA.gov team also identified and addressed recruitment challenges to interatively improve its ongoing research processes.

User research and the Paperwork Reduction Act

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0500

User research is an important part of customer experience transformation. Different types of research require different approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Through seven case studies, the U.S. Digital Service shows how agencies conducted valuable user research that did not require PRA approval and successfully integrated findings into their projects. Their work illustrates how thoughtful user research transforms delivery of services and helps agencies build trust in government.

Developing an easier way to recruit user research participants

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0500

USA.gov and 10x recently partnered to develop a new user research recruitment page. The page launched in February 2024 and has attracted hundreds of sign-ups. It allows participants to assist in testing government websites for compensation, and helps teams find participants that match needed demographics. By simplifying the process and expanding recruitment of diverse populations, the initiative aims to support and streamline user research. It plans to add recruitment opportunities in additional languages and recruit more specific audiences for future studies.

Case study: Removing barriers to applying for a presidential pardon

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

At the Department of Justice, Access DOJ and the Office of the Pardon Attorney (PARDON) partnered to simplify and streamline the presidential pardon application process. By conducting usability testing and gathering feedback, they identified key issues with the existing application, such as its complexity and length. See how redesigning the forms to be more accessible and understandable led to a more efficient process for both applicants and staff.

Google Analytics 4: Transition strategies for federal websites

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how the Open Data, Design, and Development (ODDD) team at the Department of the Interior (DOI) transitioned from Google Analytics - Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4! Discover how the ODDD team coordinated with the Digital Analytics Program, developed explorations (instead of custom reports), and set up their own DOI agency property.

Reconsidering the consent form: the least user-friendly aspect of UX research

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Open Data, Design, and Development (ODDD) team has replaced signed consent forms with a more accessible user research agreement process, offering multiple opt-in points. This ensures informed consent and participant autonomy. Explore why and how the ODDD team implemented this comprehensive participant consent process in their user research.

How USAGov uses data to improve content

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Each month, USAGov’s content designers spend many hours ensuring that the content on USA.gov and USAGov en Español is up-to-date, accurate, and meets user needs. Learn how their team does holistic reviews of each topic section based on a rolling calendar with the goal of updating all content at least every 6 months.

Search.gov year in review: 2023 report

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 08:23:00 -0500

Learn what types of information people searched for on federal websites in 2023, see emerging trends the team is exploring to improve customers’ search experience in 2024, and check out three new updates. The data tab provides insightful summaries for 13 popular topic areas—and lists the public’s top 25 search terms, in their own words, for each.

Balancing priorities and values

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 19:07:00 -0500

This article summarizes four priorities and values that simply take time: consideration of the public’s time, privacy, accessibility and equity, and scope.

Speaking your language USAGov outreach approach to bilingual content

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 22:29:00 -0500

As a bilingual program, USAGov aims to give English and Spanish-language audiences the information they want in the cultural context they need. Here are a few main things the team learned when transcreating messaging through the USAGov and USAGov en Español outreach channels.

A website refresh in 3 months

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 12:16:00 -0500

A website redesign doesn’t have to be a big project. By approaching it as a process of iteration, we launched a refreshed site in the span of several weeks.

Personas: learn how to discover your audience, understand them, and pivot to address their needs

Fri, 19 May 2023 15:48:00 -0500

Advice from five federal experts on creating user personas.

Modernizing a federal government website with user-centered design

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 16:57:00 -0500

In this blog post, we break down our process for redesigning a federal government website (onrr.gov) into six detailed sections. This blog serves as a helpful guide for other agencies looking to do a major website redesign.

Call for participation: Government UX summit 2023

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 07:46:00 -0500

The UX Summit will be a one day virtual event on June 14, 2023. New and experienced UX practitioners are encouraged to participate.

Managing Stakeholder Feedback: Lessons from Experience

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 07:59:00 -0500

During the 2022 Plain Language Summit, Stephanie Morrison from the Department of Health and Human Services provided five tips for managing reviewers when asking for feedback.

The 18F Engineering Sandwich for Cloud-based Web Apps

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 13:20:00 -0500

The 18F Engineering Sandwich for Cloud-based Web Apps—18F Engineering is often thought of as a technology shop, but that’s too broad. There are very few technology choices we actually make at the project level, so, more often than not, we combine a limited set of technologies to make our applications. To explain this, we’ll use the metaphor of a sandwich shop.

Measuring and Justifying the Government Experience

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 15:21:00 -0500

Private sector organizations use revenue as the primary measurement to justify improving experiences. Many government services don’t have revenue as a lever, so how can we justify work to improve experience? The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) leveraged a few metrics on their team that fall into three categories: laws and regulations, improving the experience for users, and saving time for employees.

Content Design for beta.ADA.gov: Writing for Action and Flexibility

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 18:00:00 -0500

Call for Participation: 2022 Government UX Summit

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 15:47:00 -0500

Learn more about the User Experience Summit submission process, and submit your presentations for consideration!

Open-source Information Architecture Design: Using the Tools You Have To Conduct Card Sorting and Tree Testing

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 11:30:00 -0500

Learn how we used GitHub to conduct a card sort and tree testing to improve the information architecture for onrr.gov.

Keynote Speaker Recap: Would More Plain Language Have Saved Us From the Worst of the Pandemic?

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 13:02:00 -0500

A summary of Cynthia Baur’s keynote at the 2021 Plain Language Summit.

Webinar Recap: Key Takeaways on Simplifying Hazard Communications With Plain Language

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 12:35:00 -0500

An overview of the presentation by Danielle Nagele of NOAA at the 2021 Plain Language Summit. Learn how she and her team used feedback to decrease confusion and increase impact.

Webinar Recap: U.S. Web Design System September 2021 Monthly Call

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 13:34:00 -0500

For our September call, we focused on the future of the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS): Where does the design system go from USWDS 2.0? What did we learn from our 1.0 and 2.0 releases? Read key points and takeaways from this month’s presentation.

Building a Bureau-Wide Usability Collaboration Group: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Geological Survey

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 19:05:00 -0500

Learn about the U.S. Geological Survey’s Usability Collaboration Area in this short interview with the group’s organizer.

Involving End Users at All Stages To Create Actionable Science Products for Complex, Real-World Issues

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 10:15:00 -0500

How co-production methods increase the usefulness of scientific results, products, and tools

Join the Web Analytics

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 09:13:00 -0500

Make better decisions using web analytics and other optimization strategies.

How To Navigate Challenges to Successfully A/B Test Your Emails

Fri, 21 May 2021 11:44:00 -0500

The article will go over some best practices of implementing A/B testing on your emails.

Next for the U.S. Web Design System

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:13:00 -0500

What’s Next for the U.S. Web Design System—In 2020, we brought together researchers, designers, engineers, and policymakers to conduct research across dozens of federal agencies to help support emergency response efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we released a new and exciting report and strategy that outlines what’s next for the design system and our community.

Security is Everyone's Responsibility: Delivering Secure, Usable Login for Government

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 10:28:00 -0500

How login.gov incorporated human centered design and continuous discovery into their product development process to improve the user experience.

A Dashboard for Privacy Offices

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Through work funded by 10x, a team from 18F investigated how technology can help busy privacy offices manage your PII, and make their work more accessible and understandable for the public.

Product lessons from the front lines of COVID-19 civic tech response

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Two Presidential Innovation Fellows share how we can build digital services quickly without compromising quality for the public in times of crisis.

2 Lessons Tech Leaders Can Learn From Unprecedented Health Research

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 18:00:00 -0500

Presidential Innovation Fellows believe that representation, communication, and data fuel a strong product launch. Here’s how we put them to work at the National Institutes of Health.

18F Research Guidelines

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 17:00:00 -0500

Covers the basic principles research: informing and getting consent, and managing personally identifiable information (PII)

Addressing Barriers to User-Centered Design

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 17:00:00 -0500

An overview of the most common barriers and how federal agencies might address them.

Managing Research Projects Remotely

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 17:00:00 -0500

Best practices for distributed teams.

The basics of human-centered design in government

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 17:00:00 -0500

How the Lab at OPM drives innovation through design education

Stakeholder and User Interview Checklist

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 16:00:00 -0500

Key interview moments and how to navigate them.

Usability Testing with Steve Krug

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 16:00:00 -0500

Get started making usability fixes to your website or product.

Agency Perspectives on Personas (Use, Development and Challenges)

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 10:00:00 -0400

Personas are tools your agency can use to learn about your end users and drive decisions. Personas are so useful because they serve as a communication tool for your team. You can keep these personas in mind to guide any work that your agency performs. Let’s delve a bit deeper into personas and review two

Department of Homeland Security: Usability Testing Kit

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 11:25:00 -0500

A resource with four approaches to help federal employees perform usability testing.

Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 15:00:00 -0500

A plain language guide which answers the most common questions to the PRA.

Human-Centered Design Guide Series

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A series of guides to help you understand and practice human-centered design.

Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.

Touchpoints

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Touchpoints offers a simple, flexible, and convenient way to start collecting customer feedback so you can focus on serving customers rather than managing surveys.

Spring 2024 Community Summit

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0500

Digital service experts across the federal government will share case studies and best practices on delivering a digital-first public experience.

USWDS Monthly Call - January 2024

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 14:00:00 -0500

This month the Design System team will talk about the development and rollout of their new accessibility tests for components.

USWDS Monthly Call - November 2023

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:00:00 -0500

The USWDS team will continue sharing our progress to improve ongoing research, publishing results and addressing recent findings.

USWDS Monthly Call - October 2023

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:00:00 -0500

This month, we’ll share progress and findings from our recent effort to improve our ongoing research practice.

2023 Government UX Summit

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0500

User experience (UX) experts across the federal government shared case studies and best practices during this virtual summit.

Working with the public to improve digital forms: A GSA case study

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 13:00:00 -0500

GSA’s Office of Evaluation Sciences shares how five offices worked with the public to improve digital forms.

Increasing public participation in user research

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 13:00:00 -0500

Join GSA’s 10x team as they share their report on creative incentives and tools for increased public participation in user research.

Improve Your Website With User Testing

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Get tips and lessons learned from the Environmental Protection Agency on how to conduct user testing to improve customer experience.

DHS Usability Testing Kit — So Easy, Anyone Can Do It

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 13:00:00 -0500

Join us for an overview of the Department of Homeland Security’s new Usability Testing Kit, including its four approaches to usability testing.

2022 Government UX Summit

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 11:00:00 -0500

A two-day summit—June 7 and June 8—with experts who will share their experiences as UX practitioners in the federal government.

Plain Language + Compassion Help People in Crisis

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Meet the content strategists who worked to transform FindTreatment.gov to connect people in crisis with the help that they need.

2021 Federal Plain Language Summit

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 10:00:00 -0500

On 9/21/21, PLAIN’s Fourth Federal PL Summit showcases federal employees’ plain language projects. Topics include COVID-19 agency responses, accessibility, user experience, and career enhancement.

2021 User Experience Summit

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 11:01:00 -0500

A 3-day remote summit covering User Experience (UX) management in the government.

How To Navigate Challenges To Successfully A/B Test Your Emails

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 14:30:00 -0500

In this talk, we will provide better understanding of how CFPB conducts email A/B testing, see examples of email A/B tests, and discuss lessons learned.

USWDS Monthly Call - November 2020

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 14:30:00 -0500

Join U.S. Web Design System Product Lead, Dan Williams, to hear about what’s next for the design system as we come to the end of 2020.

2020 Government UX Summit: July 28, 29, and 30

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 11:30:00 -0500

A remote event covering user experience (UX) methods, service design, and managing UX in the government.

Making Remote Work Work for Journey Mapping

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 13:30:00 -0500

Join us for a discussion about the value of journey mapping, and how to adapt the mapping process to make the most out of remote collaboration.

Federal Crowdsourcing Webinar Series, Episode 9: A Match Made in History

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:00:00 -0500

History Hub is a crowdsourcing platform that helps the public find historical records.

A Guide For Agencies Building CX Capacity

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 10:00:00 -0500

GSA’s customer experience team has released a federal buying guide to aid agencies with buying CX Services.

AI Tech Workshop: How to Utilize the Open Source Jupyter Project for your Research

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 14:00:00 -0500

We’ll show you how easy it can be to wrangle data and engage in technical discussions surrounding data, artificial intelligence, machine-learning models.

Survey Translation and the Inclusion of End Users in the Process

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 14:30:00 -0500

This talk will offer insights and tips on how to best design and translate surveys and other government materials aimed at reaching non-English speaking members of the public.

Call for Participation: Government UX Summit 2020

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0500

We’re looking for speakers to share their experiences as UX practitioners in government.

Improving the Experience of Federal Grant Reporting

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 15:00:00 -0500

The 10x Federal Grant Reporting project team at GSA is investigating opportunities to make the grant reporting process more efficient.

Tips for capturing the best data from user interviews

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 17:00:00 -0500

How to ensure the most useful information makes its way back to your team for further analysis

An Introduction to the A/B Testing Community of Practice

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 11:00:00 -0500

We know there are many ways to use A/B testing to inform decision making at your agency – this is a quick introduction on the many ways CFPB has used it to improve UX across their website.

Feedback-Driven Updates to the PRA Guide

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 23:00:00 -0500

This week, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), clarified the process for information collections associated with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). These changes include an easy to understand chart that lays out the steps for this sometimes hard to understand process, and are a direct result of the feedback they’ve been getting from the community.

Human-centered design for IT centralization

Mon, 20 May 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Are you working on an IT centralization project? Here is why taking the time to prioritize users is important and will result in services that work better for the people you serve.

Caroline Jarrett on How to Design a Better Form

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 15:00:00 -0500

We have a lot of forms in government, and many of them would benefit from better design. In this talk, Caroline Jarrett will explore a curriculum she’s working on about how to design forms.

18F Methods

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 17:25:00 -0500

A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.

DAP Learning Series: Understanding When to Use Sessions vs. Unique Pageviews

Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:00:00 -0500

In this webinar, Freddie Blicher, an analyst for the Digial Analytics Program, will discuss how to think about sessions and unique pageviews in reporting and content analysis.

Dalia El-Shimy on Mixed Methods Design Research

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 14:00:00 -0500

How should designers collect data and how can they use that data to inform their work? Dalia El-Shimy, UX Research Lead at Shopify’s Montreal Office, will share how her team uses mixed methods research in support of its design decisions.

Introduction to remote moderated usability testing, part 1: What and why

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 09:00:00 -0500

DAP Learning Series: Basics of A/B Testing Part 2

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 14:00:00 -0500

We’ve teamed up with our friends at CFPB to bring you a two-part series on A/B Testing.

DAP Learning Series: Basics of A/B Testing Part 1

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:00:00 -0500

We’ve teamed up with our friends at CFPB to bring you a two-part series on A/B Testing.

Introducing Accessibility for Teams

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 16:38:00 -0500

A quick-start guide for embedding accessibility and inclusive design into a team’s workflow.

How One Team is Making the Transition to Agile

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 11:36:00 -0500

A hybrid approach of waterfall and agile practices is helping the USGS make the transition to agile.

Redesigning an Intranet Site: Final Stages, Launch, and Lessons Learned

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 12:00:00 -0500

Helpful lessons from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) on the redesign of an intranet.

Making Customer Satisfaction Data Actionable at the Peace Corps

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 09:30:00 -0400

Learn how measuring customer experience helped inform and guide website development at Peace Corps.

3 Ways to Manage Research Projects Remotely

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 16:28:00 -0400

Being a remote team doesn’t mean you should forgo any of your research rituals. It means finding different ways to do them.

Finding Usability Testers: Tips from an Army Recruiter

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 14:50:00 -0400

An Army recruiter shares how her training in the Army has helped in her approach to usability testing, and gives a peek inside how usability testing works for USAJOBS.gov at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The Data Briefing: How to Build a Chatbot in a Weekend

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 15:40:00 -0400

As chatbots have become more popular, some online sites will let you create a chatbot with little or no programming.

A Conversation With ITIF About the State of Federal Government Websites

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 11:00:00 -0400

Since it’s been nearly six months since their report was released, we wanted to check in with ITIF and see what they’ve learned, what they’ve heard from agencies and what their future plans are to build on this research.

Code.gov User Interviews — What We Learned

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 02:00:20 -0400

This post was originally published by Code.gov on Medium. It’s been a year since the federal government published the Federal Source Code Policy, which created the foundation for Code.gov. In honor of the policy’s anniversary, we checked in with our users to learn more about them, their needs, and the challenges they face. Our users

Walter Reed’s 3-D Printing Innovations Help Warfighters Get Back to Life

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 10:02:21 -0400

This is part of an ongoing series highlighting the innovations and research happening at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Wounded warriors who dream of returning to playing hockey, climbing mountains or simply brushing their teeth with ease can look to 3-D printing innovations at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to

Shedding Light on Underserved Users through Research

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 02:29:33 -0400

How user interviews helped spotlight the needs of a previously forgotten group. We may not like to admit it, but, most web services or sites have users that (for whatever reason) just aren’t well understood—and in turn, not well served. Conducting user interviews and making sure you get good participation from those groups can help

The Cutting EDGE: New Virtual Training Prepares First Responders for Active Shooter Incidents

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:14:24 -0400

Amidst the chaos of an active shooter event, preparedness is key to a seamless, swift and effective response—and a new video game funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory just might do the trick.

Have You Critiqued Your Critique Process?

Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:00:00 -0400

DEMO Whenever I hear someone complain about the process of a design critique, I’m always a bit surprised. Blame it on the fact

Vets.gov: A Modern Software Development Environment in Government

Mon, 03 Jul 2017 15:36:05 -0400

When people think of government software, they often think of COBOL and PowerBuilder 5, with manual software deploys every three to six months on a fixed number of machines in a government-run data center. This perception is sometimes justified, but sometimes entirely wrong. Regardless, the perception makes many developers reluctant to work for the government

Improving Customer Experience with Digital Personas

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 10:55:09 -0400

Keeping the customer’s needs front and center is important when developing new digital tools. We recently developed a set of user personas as part of our work to establish a more robust—and data informed—understanding of the individuals that engage digitally with the National Archives (NARA). User personas are fictional, but realistic representations of key audience

OIP Seeks Your Participation in the Development of the National FOIA Portal

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 02:05:13 -0400

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce its collaboration with GSA’s 18F team on the development of a National FOIA Portal. This is the next step in a long line of OIP initiatives working towards a National FOIA Portal going back to 2010 with the launch of FOIA.gov. Most recently, the FOIA

Engineering the Chaski Relay: A Touchscreen Game at the National Museum of the American Indian

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 11:00:22 -0400

The interactive team at the National Museum of the American Indian saw the chaski story as as a candidate for interactivity and gamification, and an opportunity to bring additional engagement to the museum gallery. With a more focused idea and funding from the Electronic Software Association, the team set out on prototyping and development.

A Complete Redesign with You in Mind

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 01:00:36 -0400

We’re excited to launch a complete redesign of USDA.gov featuring stronger visual storytelling components, a more modern user-experience with easy to find services and resources, and to top it off, a completely mobile-friendly design. Through careful planning, thoughtful design, and a primary focus on user experience and usability, we’ve taken the best of government and industry

NASA’s Journey With the U.S. Web Design Standards

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:17:05 -0400

The U.S. Web Design Standards were created by the government, for the government. They’re currently implemented on hundreds of government sites, with an audience of more than 26 million monthly users.

New ITIF Report Inspires a Closer Look at Website Performance and Security—Here Is Where to Begin

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 11:02:04 -0400

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) recently published a report, Benchmarking U.S. Government Websites, that looks at the performance, security, and accessibility of the top 297 government websites.

Presenting Online Data to Wide-Ranging User Communities

Mon, 20 Mar 2017 11:00:21 -0400

Presenting data online that will serve a wide range of users can be challenging. It requires an understanding of the target users’ needs, interests, and familiarity with the use of data handling tools. This challenge can be especially daunting for government websites that present data for use by the general public. The audience for such

DigitalGov Readers and Subscribers: We Want to Talk to You (Again)

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 01:19:51 -0400

We at DigitalGov want to hear more about you – your job, your role, the challenges you face — all of it — as you work to deliver more secure, effective, and reliable digital services for the public.

Accessibility for teams

Wed, 01 Feb 2017 09:00:00 -0500

A ‘quick-start’ guide for embedding accessibility and inclusive design practices into your team’s workflow

DigitalGov University in Review: 2016 Training Trends

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 12:00:02 -0400

Thanks to your participation, DigitalGov University (DGU), the events platform for DigitalGov, hosted over 90 events with 6,648 attendees from over 100 agencies across federal, tribal, state, and local governments.

Lessons Learned: Evaluating Video Content

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 12:00:23 -0400

If you were to perform research on the value proposition of training videos, you would notice that opinions are split on their efficacy. Despite all the tools that are out there that can help you evaluate video quality, views, and drop-off, there are some things that should be considered in the analysis of your organization’s

Webinar Recap: Social Media + External Affairs = Outreach Success

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 14:00:46 -0400

Summary: How to leverage your resources to reach Spanish-dominant Hispanics online. A recent DigitalGov University (DGU) webinar provided an introduction to the intersection of two teams with different audiences reaching consensus on goals to maximize insight and outreach effectiveness. Social Media Outreach Goals What does social media outreach success look like? Success is when agencies

Hualapai Public Safety Meet Old and New Challenges Through Technology

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 11:00:06 -0400

How can a place be remote and virtually unpopulated, yet constantly full of thousands of people and teeming with activity? It certainly seems impossible, but that is exactly the situation at Grand Canyon West (GCW), home of the Hualapai indigenous Indian Tribe and the famous Skywalk.

Writing for the Web Is Easy. Writing for Users Is Not.

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 11:00:25 -0400

We all do it. Whether on Twitter, Facebook, or the comment section on a news article, it’s easy to get our writing on the internet. Many of us have personal websites or contribute to blogs. We work at organizations with content management systems that allow us to publish pages with a single button click. The

Three Small Steps You Can Take to Reboot Agile in Your Organization

Mon, 31 Oct 2016 11:00:10 -0400

This past summer, 18F held an agile workshop for the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. An agency with roots going back to World War II, NTIS is facing a future that requires a strategic realignment towards open data and services. This strategic alignment will also require that NTIS

Federally Funded Research Results Are Becoming More Open and Accessible

Fri, 28 Oct 2016 01:00:53 -0400

Summary: Significant strides in improving public access to scholarly publications and digital data help usher in an era of open science. This week marks the 8th annual Open Access Week, when individuals and organizations around the world celebrate the value of opening up online access to the results of scholarly research. It is an opportune

The Data Briefing: Help Predict the Future of Federal Government Data

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:00:55 -0400

In December, I plan to write two postings detailing a scenario analysis for the next ten years of the Federal government’s data technologies. Governments are on the cusp of amazing technological advances propelled by artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, and the Internet of Things. Also, governments will face new challenges such as the recent global cyber

DigitalGov Readers and Subscribers: We Want to Talk to You

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 15:00:21 -0400

As you know, over the last few years DigitalGov has surfaced the innovative advancements many are making across the government space while providing a platform for learning best practices and coming together as a community. Over the course of the next few weeks, a small team from

The Data Briefing: Twenty Years of USAJOBS

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 13:00:42 -0400

I recently sat down with Michelle Earley, Program Manager, to discuss the new changes for the 20th anniversary of USAJOBS. 1) What are the three big lessons learned from 20 years of building and managing USAJOBS? I think one of the greatest benefits of being an Agile program is that we are constantly learning. In

Crowdsourcing at the Law Library of Congress

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 10:00:42 -0400

The Law Library acquired a large collection from William S. Hein & Co., Inc. to make all volumes of several collections (like the Federal Register) available in open access to researchers. Preparing these files by adding metadata for easy searching takes a lot of work, so this summer we asked law students and library students from

Creating Wall-Sized Interaction at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 01:00:59 -0400

As any experienced retailer will tell you, the customer experience begins at the store entrance. Note the friendly Walmart greeter, the approachable minimalism of an Apple Store, and the calculated whimsy of Anthropologie. Store designers understand that a customer’s decision to make a purchase is often made within seconds of entering. The same holds true

Voices of Veterans: Introducing Personas to Better Understand Our Customers

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 11:00:46 -0400

Understanding our Veterans and their unique needs and experiences is at the heart of creating a more Veteran-centered VA. By listening to their voices and the stories they share, we can design services and experiences that meet the needs of Veterans. Taking a step towards a deeper understanding of our Veterans, in the fall of

The New Vote.gov: Leaner, Faster and Multi-Lingual

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:00:27 -0400

One year ago this week, we launched vote.gov (also known as vote.usa.gov). It’s a concise and simple site with a single mission: direct citizens through the voter registration process as quickly as possible. It was created by a joint team of USA.gov staffers and Presidential Innovation Fellows, all of whom work within the General Services

How Do You Redesign a ‘Dinosaur’? Redesigning an Intranet Site: the Beginning Stages

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 10:00:56 -0400

Many content managers in the digital world understand the irrepressible desire to improve, fix, edit, add, and move things around. Indeed, it’s our job to nurture this ongoing process to create, update, test, update again. And, repeat! But, what about those sites or pages that seem to never crawl up to the ‘high-priority’ list and

Analytics Success Series: USAJOBS

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:00:46 -0400

USAJOBS’ Analytics Success: using analytics to create accurate testing strategies. Accurate testing strategies are crucial to ensure quality products. Hi-fidelity approaches ensure QA efforts are testing in a true-to-life manner, similar to real-world users. Inaccurate, lo-fidelity testing can miss situational bugs that become showstoppers in production. USAJOBS is leveraging the Digital Analytics Program (DAP) to

No Longer an Idea of the Future, Artificial Intelligence Is Here and You Are Probably Already Using It

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 11:00:12 -0400

It might surprise some of you to know that artificial intelligence (AI) is already in use and a routine part of our daily lives, but we leverage this technology when we use our smartphones or other devices to ask Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Now, or Amazon’s Alexa a question to get the facts or data we

Sharing The Story of Innovation

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 11:00:55 -0400

Our goal for a more veteran-centered and innovative VA is shared. Our approach to innovation is collaborative. Our approach to innovation is driven by listening, understanding and responding to the experiences and stories of the Veterans we serve. We were huddled on squeaky chairs in the social room of a transitional housing facility in Los

Creative Usability Test Methods—or My Brief Career as a Robot Voice

Wed, 31 Aug 2016 12:00:42 -0400

When you want to do a usability test, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone and get creative to get the job done. That’s just what happened to us. We’re well practiced at usability testing at USAGov—in person, remote, hallway tests, first-click tests—all of these things we manage without blinking an eye.

Smithsonian Learning Lab: Designing for the Classroom

Mon, 29 Aug 2016 10:00:53 -0400

The Smithsonian’s mission statement is wonderfully simple: “The increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The “increasing” is arguably the straightforward part – the Smithsonian has amassed a collection of over 138 million objects and specimens, and the Institution’s curators and scientists obsessively add to the world’s knowledge base, publishing papers, creating exhibitions, and sharing their expertise.

NASA Pulls Together National Data to Sleuth Out Air Traffic Improvement Mysteries

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 12:00:04 -0400

For the first time ever, air traffic researchers can view and analyze archived flight data collected and merged from all air traffic facilities across the U.S., with fast update rates ranging from one second to 12 seconds for every flight’s position. Previously, researchers only had access to national flight data that was similar to internet

What Happens When the Whole Team Joins User Interviews

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 14:00:00 -0400

The CALC team is an agile team of four — six if you count the Scrummaster and the Product Owner — building a simple means to load price data into the original CALC tool. They’re an Agile team, which means everybody pitches in on everything to some degree, and here, in their own words, is

Build Empathy With Stakeholder Interviews, Part 2: Conversation

Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:00:13 -0400

How to run user-interviews and synthesize and integrate the results into the teams shared understanding

95%: Describing the National Archives’ Holdings

Wed, 20 Jul 2016 01:00:32 -0400

The National Archives Catalog has reached a milestone: we now have 95% of our holdings completely described at the series level in our online catalog. This is a monumental achievement. Why? Because the National Archives holds over 14 billion pages of records, and we are adding hundreds of millions of pages to that total every

Build Empathy With Stakeholder Interviews, Part 1: Preparation

Fri, 01 Jul 2016 10:00:26 -0400

What stakeholder interviews are, why they’re valuable, and how to prepare for them.

The User-Centered Redesign of IdentityTheft.gov

Wed, 01 Jun 2016 14:30:14 -0400

I first came across the redesigned IdentityTheft.gov on Reddit, of all places. Someone had posted a link to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) newly redesigned site and wrote: I hope this never happens to any of you as the entire thing can be really stressful. The identitytheft.gov website is a true breath of fresh air…You

Kids.Gov Reenvisioned

Mon, 23 May 2016 10:00:16 -0400

At USAGov, we always put our customers first. In the wake of our rebranding efforts, our desire to create a positive user experience across the organization has pushed us to turn a scrutinous eye toward Kids.gov; a site focused on providing information and resources to parents, teachers, and kids.

Redesigning We the People

Mon, 02 May 2016 11:32:09 -0400

Summary: Improving the way you engage with the White House through our online petitions platform In July 2015, we announced a big change in the way we would answer petitions on We the People. We committed to responding to you within a 60-day timeframe, whenever possible. We assembled a team of people dedicated to getting your policy questions and

How Agile’s Being Done in Government

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:30:44 -0400

The concepts of agile may not be new, but there is a renewed push across government to embrace this customer-feedback driven methodology, in everything from software development to project management. A government community has even sprung up to help feds learn from one another what it takes to incorporate agile into more efficient and effective

DigitalGov Podcast: Behind the Scenes of the Social and Behavioral Science Team

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 10:00:15 -0400

The Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) uses theories, research, and methods from the social and behavioral sciences to address and solve challenges faced by the public.

Bringing Agile Inside

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 13:00:58 -0400

We hear a lot about agile software development being used in work with customers and end users. User stories are developed, coders and programmers turn them into prototypes, then testing is done to make sure the features work and do what is expected. But, agile is more than a way to develop software; it’s a

Case Study: OCSIT’s Email Customer Survey Process

Fri, 29 Jan 2016 10:00:34 -0400

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.

The Content Corner: Is Pair Writing Right for You?

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 10:00:35 -0400

Fresh from last week’s article about workflows and their importance in the content creation process, I stumbled upon a new twist in content production known as pair writing. Many of you familiar with agile methodologies or software programming in general should know the term pair programming. Pair writing hopes to take some of the same

Government Product Managers Play a Key Role in UX

Fri, 27 Nov 2015 11:00:19 -0400

Government product managers sit at the intersection of three circles—business, design and technology. We play a key role in user experience (UX), because we are tasked with understanding users to build a product that is desirable and viable. This product could be a paper or online form, a website or a mobile app. Product management

National Customer Service Week Is Over, but Our Work Is Not!

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 10:00:56 -0400

Get your customer personas right, and you will improve the customer experience (CX) for the rest of your audience. That’s advice Rick Parrish from Forrester Research gave in response to an audience question during the September 29 DigitalGov University webinar on the state of CX in the federal government. Your key customers are those that are most important to the organization, and often most

Optimizing Social at Peace Corps: Not a Zero-Sum Game

Fri, 02 Oct 2015 10:00:12 -0400

At the Peace Corps, we continually try to find new ways to test, measure and optimize our marketing and communications initiatives. Recently, we embarked on a project to design a framework to test and optimize content on the social media platforms we use to engage our stakeholders. This process required us to reboot our expectations in terms of

Mobile Content: Less is More

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:00:57 -0400

With 14 test cycles under our belt, the Federal CrowdSource Mobile Testing Program has heard one recurring theme from our testers—”there’s too much information!” While both desktop monitor and smartphone screen sizes are growing, there is still no comparison. At our desks, many of us are using a 24 inch (or even bigger) monitor. How big is your

Journey Mapping the Customer Experience: A USA.gov Case Study

Wed, 12 Aug 2015 10:00:21 -0400

Journey maps are a visual representation of a customer’s end to end journey with your product or service. They are a powerful tool for exploring key interactions and experiences with your organization, programs, and/or services. Journey maps describe a customer’s entire journey, even the parts that occur before and after contact with your organization. They

Taking a Data-Driven Approach to Digital Marketing at the Peace Corps

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 10:00:47 -0400

What exactly does being “data-driven” mean for digital marketing and communications practitioners in the federal government? It is easy to be awed by the new shiny platforms and services that promise to change how things are done in government. Fundamentally, though, it is thinking about analytics not just from a descriptive mindset but one of

2015 Customer Service Trends: a Mid-Year Update

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 10:00:36 -0400

Earlier this year, we published 15 Government Customer Service Trends for 2015. We’re halfway through the year now—how are these trends holding up? 1. Centralized Customer Offices A few agencies have created centralized customer offices, while others question the need for a single organization that focuses on the customer. As the public’s overall satisfaction with

NOAA’s CrowdMag App: Citizen Science on the Go

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 10:00:40 -0400

The rise in mobile device usage has created a rise in expectations: the public wants new and innovative interactions with all organizations, including government. Incorporating social media in mobile websites and native apps is one way federal agencies have increased public interaction. Six agencies have leveraged native app functionality for crowdsourcing purposes. The National Oceanic

The Emulator Dilemma: Can Mobile Device Testing Be Completed Without Mobile Devices?

Tue, 09 Jun 2015 11:10:14 -0400

Government agencies have created a variety of apps to meet the needs of the public. As you join in on the mobile-first trend and begin developing your shiny new mobile application, you will need to test it.

Getting to Know Your Users: Tips and Tricks from Veterans Affairs

Fri, 29 May 2015 10:00:22 -0400

Design research isn’t rocket science. But for many of us in the federal government, it can seem daunting and unfamiliar. We’re here to to help demystify the process of design research for those of you ready to wade into the waters. We’ve both done our fair share of design researching at the Department of Veterans

The Content Corner: Connecting With Customers at Labor

Mon, 18 May 2015 10:00:35 -0400

Here at DigitalGov, customer service is a focal theme during the month of May, and by some type of cosmic chance, I was invited to share my insights on content strategy and content creation at a Customer Service Community of Practice event at the Department of Labor. The event focused on topics I commonly discuss here

Government Services Through a Life Events Approach

Fri, 15 May 2015 13:30:54 -0400

The federal government is increasingly focused on designing and delivering citizen-centered services with enhanced experiences that deliver value to customers. These ideals are established in the Presidential Management Agenda Customer Service Cross-Agency Priority Goal, the Digital Government Strategy, and various open government activities. Designing services to be responsive to be life events that drive public

Customer Experience Roundup 2015

Mon, 11 May 2015 14:01:57 -0400

Customer experience touches all of the work we do. From Web to mobile to contact centers and social media, we need to not only be aware of our customers’ experiences but also respond quickly and make changes that will enhance their experiences.

USA.gov in Beta: Tell Us What You Think

Mon, 04 May 2015 14:30:34 -0400

Thirteen years in digital is an eon, and on the eve of its 13th birthday, we at USA.gov found ourselves reckoning with a mid-life crisis. In the thirteen years since Firstgov.gov was launched (and ten years for FirstGov en Español), the sheer volume and sophistication

Creating a Veterans-Centered Experience Through ExploreVA

Fri, 01 May 2015 10:00:29 -0400

Good customer service includes user-centered design. For one digital team at the Department of Veterans Affairs, creating a veterans-centered experience started with one word: explore. The ExploreVA website provides a single location for veterans and their families to research the benefits that they may be entitled to receive. Benefits include health care, education, employment, and

Trends on Tuesday: The Total Market Approach

Tue, 21 Apr 2015 10:00:13 -0400

Your audience is not homogenous. No matter the agency, target audiences are not only diverse, they are diverse on a multitude of factors. Recently, evolving trends in multicultural marketing have gained attention as organizations adjust their marketing and outreach strategies to meet 21st century realities.

The Content Corner: Finding Your Voice

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 10:00:55 -0400

No, this is not another post about podcasting but about a different voice entirely. It is the words you use, the conversation that you are having with your users.

Focus Groups: Are They Right for You?

Fri, 17 Apr 2015 11:10:32 -0400

The short answer is: it depends on your goals. If you Google “focus group,” you will have a host of positive and negative feedback, but the truth is that it depends on what your needs are. What Is a Focus Group? Focus groups are an inexpensive way

Using Personas to Better Understand Customers: USA.gov Case Study

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 11:49:07 -0400

Personas are fictional characters that describe an organization’s customer behaviors, emotions, attributes, motivations, and goals. They are an important tool to share customer insights and understanding across an organization. Personas also serve as a check to make sure your organization’s actions meet the needs of the majority of customers, including visitors to your website, contact

CareerOneStop’s Newest Online Resources: Targeted to User Needs

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 10:17:09 -0400

When the Employment and Training Administration’s CareerOneStop team embarked on a redesign of the site’s online career, training, and job resources, they didn’t dive right into the technical work. Instead, they embraced a user-centered approach that focused on the user experience (UX). Focusing on UX means taking a step back

Usability Design for Kids: Things Federal Workers Should Know

Tue, 24 Mar 2015 10:00:50 -0400

I used to teach 8th grade science in inner city Denver in the 1990s. After that, I supported special education students and their teachers in North Carolina. Around that time (mid-late 1990s), the Internet wasn’t really designed for kids –most of the electronic materials I

Getting Started with Usability Testing

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 02:10:54 -0400

At the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), our new open data policy will begin making more Agency-funded data broadly accessible to the public. It completely changes the way we do business, and it also means that in the coming years, the amount of data we

At Last: User Experience Performance Descriptions!

Tue, 17 Mar 2015 11:10:03 -0400

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,

GoodGovUX Addresses UX of IT Contracts

Fri, 13 Mar 2015 10:00:27 -0400

How do you define user experience (UX)? That was the question posed to more than 100 people at the GoodGovUX event at the Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia, on February 24th. Attendees learned how government can improve the user experience of digital products, from

The Usability ‘Aha!’ Moment: How to Turn Cynics into Converts

Fri, 06 Mar 2015 11:19:33 -0400

User Experience (UX) is the comprehensive experience a person has when using a product or application, and usability is the ease of use (or lack thereof) when using it. Many of us have discovered the vast advantages of evaluating usability on our own; however, getting others to jump on board is often a different story.

Persona Development Case Study: NCI and Spanish Language Outreach

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 10:00:16 -0400

Government websites need to address the needs of diverse audiences. Although translations are a first step towards engaging non-English speaking audiences, the intended audience may be alienated if information is not presented in a culturally relevant way. The

ForeignAssistance.gov’s Redesign: Using Agile Methodology to Keep Users in Mind

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 10:00:43 -0400

Content is one of the most important things about your site. After all, it is what keeps your users engaged and keeps them coming back to your site. Depending on the type of website your agency manages, you should always think of ways to best deliver your content to your end users. If the content

Institutionalizing User Experience: Building Usability into Your Organization

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 10:00:30 -0400

So, you have some systems or tools your customers or employees access. Maybe you want to put together a robust capability to conduct usability testing. How do you start formalizing user experience (UX) into your organization? Brad Ludlow at GSA tossed this topic out on the User Experience community listserv, and I’ve encapsulated the superb discussion that

Top Task Usability: Design for Your Users

Fri, 06 Feb 2015 10:10:11 -0400

Being able to design a website that users love is not too far away from being able to read their minds. While designers can’t read minds, that doesn’t stop them from using their website’s top tasks to make it seem like they can. A website’s top tasks include 5-10 tasks (depending on the scope of the

7 Ways to Ignite User-Centered Design at Your Agency

Tue, 27 Jan 2015 10:00:54 -0400

So you’ve done a couple of usability studies, and a few people are starting to “see the light.” Now you’d like to take it to the next level and help your organization embrace user-centered design (UCD) as the philosophy that drives all your digital projects. But what is best way to do this? How can

15 Government Customer Service Trends for 2015

Mon, 12 Jan 2015 10:00:52 -0400

With public expectations at an all-time high, and trust in government nearing all-time lows, agencies need to step up their game. Veterans, seniors, students, taxpayers—all Americans—deserve the best service from their government. Here are our predictions for how the federal government will improve customer service in the coming year: 1. Many agencies will create a

Personas 101

Fri, 09 Jan 2015 10:00:50 -0400

Personas are a tool that organizations can use to learn more about their users. They are used to learn as much as you can about end users in order to better the product or service you provide.

Past, Present, Future: Usability Testing at the National Library of Medicine

Fri, 02 Jan 2015 11:00:28 -0400

Usability testing has provided our organization many important insights to improve our Web presence. Since the early 2000s, the National Library of Medicine (NLM)’s Web teams have actively sought and used usability testing tools; we have run “full service” usability testing almost yearly for various Web properties

Using Focus Groups to Make Better Videos

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 11:00:11 -0400

There’s what you expect your audience to think, and then there’s what your audience is actually thinking. Sometimes, these can be entirely different. But, you won’t know unless you test it. For the release of the 2014 Consumer Action Handbook (CAH), the Federal Citizen Information Center’s marketing team piloted a series of videos. The videos

Making Prototypes with Tools You Already Have

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 10:00:35 -0400

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. For me, the necessity resulted from long product development cycles paired with short windows for user testing and little room for iteration. The “invention” was the discovery of a powerful set of tools for prototyping that are available on just about

Can You Crowdsource Your User Experience Research?

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:00:34 -0400

In one sense, almost any type of user research is crowdsourced—you’re talking to people and using that information to improve your system. But in a true sense, crowdsourcing is more than just collecting information, it’s collaborating on it. We want to have real conversations, not one-time emailed suggestions without followups. So here’s a few tidbits

From Taste-Testers to Explorers: Developing Personas for Open Opportunities

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 09:00:00 -0500

Being customer-focused means doing the gumshoe work of research and rounds of analysis to find gold by understanding user goals. For the task-based innovation network, Open Opportunities for DigitalGov, that meant developing personas in order to overcome our own biases and learn about the different motivations of our participants. In this article, we’ll talk about

Results: 2014 Federal User Experience Survey

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 10:00:29 -0400

The Federal User Experience (UX) Survey helpsus to learn how we can best improve the effectiveness, ease-of-use, and value of federal digital systems by connecting their teams to their customers.

User Experience Impossible: The Line Between Accessibility and Usability

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 10:00:39 -0400

Bob goes to a popular federal government site, using his assistive technology, and starts reading a teaser for an article. Just below the teaser, there’s an embedded video on the page. He presses the tab key, trying to navigate to a link for the full article, but suddenly he’s trapped—he can’t tab past the video.

World Usability Day 2014 theme: Engagement

Thu, 13 Nov 2014 09:00:09 -0400

There are many buzzwords thrown around in the digital government universe, but the most impactful ideas are rooted in one action: engagement. Whether it is a tweet, a mobile app, or a community of practitioners, every digital program or service requires interaction between an organization and its customer. Engagement is also the foundation of all

4 Tips on Great Survey Design

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 10:00:40 -0400

Whether they pop up while perusing an e-commerce site or land in your inbox after your bumpy flight in from Chicago, surveys are used in many different industries to gauge customer satisfaction and glean insight into user motivations. They are a useful tool in the kit of a user experience designer or anyone

Secrets to a Dynamite Public Sector Analytics Program

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:00:37 -0400

Uncovering meaningful analytics from months or years of Web metrics is daunting, at best. So how do you make great Web improvements using metrics? Whether you’re just getting started in Web analytics or you want to take your program to the next level, you should focus on

User Acceptance Testing Versus Usability Testing…What’s the Dif?

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:00:50 -0400

Building off the great discussion started around Customer Experience, we’re looking at the difference between User Acceptance Testing and Usability Testing.

Member Spotlight – Hannah Rubin, Library of Congress

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 10:00:17 -0400

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.

Finding Participants for User Experience Studies

Mon, 08 Sep 2014 10:30:35 -0400

How do you find participants for your usability studies? I spoke recently with the User Experience Community of Practice about how we recruit participants for usability and cognitive studies at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Hopefully I can give you some new ideas about recruiting volunteers to fuel your user research. At BLS, we

National Cancer Institute Launches New User Experience Lab

Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:00:47 -0400

Why does a Cancer institute need a User Experience lab? Simply put: To learn about their customers—people living with cancer and those who care about them—and build the best possible products with them in mind. “Cancer has a journey and we wanted to create a

System Usability Scale (SUS): Improving Products Since 1986

Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:15:49 -0400

Trying to measure usability can be a head scratcher. How easy something is to use depends on where you are, who you are, and a number of other factors. Luckily in the world of usability, there exists a post-test survey known as the System Usability Scale, introduced in 1986 by an engineer named John Brooke,

API Usability Case Study: openFDA

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 09:32:53 -0400

The API Usability Program brings together developers from agency APIs and the private sector to evaluate how the API can be improved to be more user friendly. Sean Herron of 18F, who was a key member of the openFDA developer team, shared with us some of the major insights gained from this latest API usability session.

Redesigning with Customer Feedback: Child Support Enforcement Usability Case Study

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 01:00:49 -0400

The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement at the Administration for Children and Families had a visually appealing website after an agency-wide redesign of program websites. The problem: Key stakeholders complained they could no longer easily find needed information. Their feedback prompted us to facilitate a UX-minded focus group to recommend improvements that met both users’ business needs and the redesign goals.

How to Choose a User Experience Technique

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 10:00:17 -0400

The good news: Your boss is interested in User Experience! The news: She wants you to do something about it… NOW. Well, don’t be alarmed; you can start by figuring out two simple things.

Photo Carousels on Mobile Websites: Use With Caution!

Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:00:58 -0400

You might recognize them by the user controls, if provided, that allow you to move from one newsy item to the next. They go by various names, including: carousel, slider, slideshow, banner, and gallery. Many government homepages have them. In a recent email exchange on

Heat Mapping Case Study: Epa.gov Homepage

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 11:00:17 -0400

Most people relate the term “heat map” with something they see during the weather forecast on the nightly news, those colorful maps that vividly illustrate how hot it’s going to be during an impending heat wave. The word “heat map” may not usually however, conjure up images of a widely used Web usability tool; but for those

The Power of Email Marketing

Mon, 11 Aug 2014 10:00:14 -0400

If you aren’t currently including email marketing in your digital outreach efforts, you’re missing out.

Improving Content, Increasing Participation: A NARA Usability Case Study

Fri, 18 Jul 2014 10:00:49 -0400

Over the years, the staff intranet at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had become increasingly difficult to use. Old, irrelevant content routinely bubbled to the top of search results, and essential employee tools were hard to find. NARA staff agreed that the site was due for an upgrade: fixing NARA@work was voted a

Using Top Tasks to be Top-Notch: Federal Reserve Board Usability Case Study

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 13:51:51 -0400

In 2012, the Federal Reserve Board used the Top-task methodology to redesign our intranet, called Inside the Board, which had not been significantly updated since it was launched in 1995. After determining the top tasks the audience needs to accomplish on a website, you can run usability tests to gain knowledge and improve the site. The project

Using Analytics to Create Change: USA.gov Usability Case Study

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 13:00:38 -0400

While many people tout the death of the home page, it’s still an important piece of the user experience on USA.gov. In 2013, 30 percent of all sessions on USA.gov included the home page—that’s 8.67 million sessions. The numbers for GobiernoUSA.gov are even higher—79 percent of all sessions included the home page. According to Jakob Nielsen, “A

Talking Usability with Kids over Milk and Cookies

Wed, 11 Jun 2014 10:00:51 -0400

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently created a new Web page made especially for students, so who better to give it a test run than children attending “Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day”? We took advantage of this event held on April 24, 2014, at

Consumer Action Handbook – Usability Case Study

Fri, 06 Jun 2014 10:00:32 -0400

The Consumer Action Handbook is a guide to making smarter decisions with your money. It’s print and online formats, available in English and Spanish, include a compilation of buying tips from across government agencies, updates on the latest scams, and a robust consumer contact directory.

How to Make a Mobile Paper Prototype

Thu, 22 May 2014 13:00:44 -0400

What if a single piece of paper could make your mobile app work 20 percent better? It’s hard to imagine something as unimpressive as paper influencing our 21st century smartphones, but it’s true. Well before we get into the design and coding phases, we can show customers

The Road to Better Websites Gets Easier with Usability Walkthroughs

Wed, 21 May 2014 10:00:45 -0400

The road to more user-friendly government websites does not have to be long and scary. In fact, there is a growing network of people and resources to guide you along the way. My office in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been fortunate enough to benefit from some of this support, most recently

Trends on Tuesday: Larger Screen Smartphones See Accelerated Shipments

Tue, 20 May 2014 01:15:08 -0400

Smaller doesn’t mean more popular when it comes to smartphone screen size. According to mobile analyst Canalys, shipments for phones with screens larger than 5″ represented a third of total shipments worldwide in Q1 this year. Devices with a screen size larger than 5″ are more popularly known as “phablets” (not quite tablets, not quite phones). Government agencies

Packaging Up API Usability Testing for Agency Reuse

Tue, 20 May 2014 01:00:12 -0400

Over the past year, a GSA collaboration has seen a project that offers API Usability Testing to federal agencies go from the pilot stage to a regular, robust series. Already, 13 agencies and programs have participated, and several more participate with every monthly session

Make Gov APIs Better with User Experience

Fri, 09 May 2014 10:00:29 -0400

APIs and User Experience go together like gummi bears and ice cream. An API is a product just like a car, a website or a ballpoint pen. It’s designed to help someone do something. Products

GSA Acquisition Portal – Usability Case Study

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 10:00:24 -0400

Incorporating usability testing throughout the entire design process, especially before launch, allows you catch glitches and/or make design changes prior to anyone seeing it live. When more than minor adjustments need to be made to your site, it’s much better to have completed them before the public sees it. For Christina Mullins, a Contracting Officer

NOAA National Ocean Service – Usability Case Study

Mon, 14 Apr 2014 10:00:04 -0400

For a small shop with a small staff, limited time, and a small budget, redesigning a website (and testing that redesign for usability) can be daunting. At least it seemed so to us when we redesigned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Ocean Service website in November of 2013. We met the challenge

FDA Consumer Graphics – Usability Case Study

Wed, 09 Apr 2014 10:00:33 -0400

User testing isn’t just for websites—it’s for any product that has an audience. Which is everything, really. And that includes print materials, signage and infographics as well. Focusing on the User Experience is especially vital for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is committed to effectively communicating about products that affect the public

Heatmapping Tools Show What’s “Hot” on Your Pages

Fri, 04 Apr 2014 10:00:37 -0400

Most analytics tools can tell you how many times a link on your page is clicked on, but they can’t help you draw conclusions about a page with just a mere list of top links. A tool called a heatmap turns data into a data visualization, so you can more easily see how people are

Measuring User Experience: A Few Tips

Wed, 26 Mar 2014 10:00:24 -0400

With a calculated process, the right tools, and a staff willing to make it work, you can measure user experience (UX) on your websites and implement usability changes that show results. In a recent DigitalGov University webinar entitled “Measuring User Experience”, UX supporters and practitioners heard from Achaia Walton, Senior Digital Analyst at the Department

Trends on Tuesday: Testing Key to Quality Mobile Products

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 10:00:34 -0400

Building quality mobile products is the greatest challenge for succeeding in the mobile space according to an infographic by SmartBear. One key to developing quality mobile products is testing, as “nearly 50% of consumers will delete an app if they encounter just a single bug.” As a result the following processes are used to ensure

Creating Awesome Web Analytics Reports and Presentations

Tue, 04 Mar 2014 11:33:08 -0400

Collecting visitor, engagement, and traffic data for your digital channels is nothing new. By this time, you have a lot of data about your website. How do you use and present that data to make meaningful recommendations?

IRS Offers Updated ‘IRS2Go’ App

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:01:19 -0400

There’s no way to sugar-coat it. It’s that time again. Tax time. And just in (tax)time, the Internal Revenue Service has updated its handy IRS2Go Mobile App for iPhone/iTouch and Android phones. The 2014 version of the app offers a more elegant and streamlined visual experience — and a

10 Tips for Better Hallway Usability Testing

Wed, 19 Feb 2014 01:01:25 -0400

Hallway testing is a usability test set-up in a high foot traffic area, utilizing bystanders to test your product. Your participants will be people who happen to be walking down the hall and are able to afford 5-10 minutes of their day.

What Happened at Our User Experience Summit (with slides!)

Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:42:10 -0400

We were hoping for 30, but we got more than 100 user experience professionals and novices on Jan 28, 2014, for our User Experience (UX) Summit at the General Services Administration.

The Test Case: Write It Once, Test Many Times

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 11:38:54 -0400

What if Thomas Edison Didn’t Use Test Cases? “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ~Thomas A. Edison Software testing is like a science experiment. The Tester must plan: methods, steps, and paths through the Application Under Test (AUT) to completely exercise the

DigitalGov User Experience Resources

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 04:26:11 -0400

DigitalGov’s user experience resources provide tools for federal employees on how to make products and services more user-friendly, save money via user research, and create successful experiences.

Using the do and don'ts table

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 04:26:11 -0400

What to do and what not to do, that is the question

Mobile Product Compatibility and Functional Testing 101

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:55:56 -0400

As covered in the Mobile Product Testing Guidelines article, there are various approaches to mobile testing. This article is a resource of the Federal CrowdSource Mobile Testing Program and focuses on two common test types are compatibility testing and functional testing. Compatibility Testing The Wikipedia article on compatibility testing states the “Compatibility testing, part of software

Which Devices Should I Test With?

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 11:14:52 -0400

Developing a test device selection plan that is updated on a regular basis will help your organization whittle down the list of devices to a manageable number.

With Measurable Usability Goals – We All Score

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:07:47 -0400

Setting measurable usability goals will help your team to assess the performance of your site throughout development. Whether your assessment is at the beginning of the process, throughout iterative wireframe testing, after release, or all of the above,

PEW Report: Trends in Digital News

Fri, 18 Oct 2013 12:29:47 -0400

A report by the PEW Research Center, 12 trends for shaping digital news, looks at how the internet and digital devices are changing news consumption habits. While half of all Americans still prefer to get their news from

Usability testers unite! Join our Community

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 08:53:11 -0400

I’m the kind of guy who loves tests. Not SATs, or BMI tests, but usability tests: connecting target customers with a government website and watching how they interact with it. Our DigitalGov User Experience Program (formerly known as First Fridays) has taught dozens of agencies how to conduct

StudentAid.gov’s 1st Year: What We’ve Learned and Where We’re Going

Fri, 13 Sep 2013 18:39:05 -0400

Guest post by Brenda Wensil, Chief Customer Experience Officer for Federal Student Aid. Established in late 2010, FSA’s Customer Experience Office is responsible for identifying, measuring and reporting customer expectations and satisfaction with the financial aid services and products offered at Federal Student Aid. In my last post,

Looking at User Experience through Two Lenses

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 08:31:17 -0400

Usability and accessibility are slightly different lenses to assess user experience. It is possible to be strong in one area and weak in the other. Using either approach alone could result in an inaccurate view of your site’s user experience. Evaluating your website with both usability and accessibility in mind gives all users the best

Mobile Product Testing Guidelines and Resources

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 13:45:01 -0400

You have started developing your mobile product, but you may be wondering what and how to test. As with any form of software development, mobile testing should be done intermittently throughout all development stages. This article was developed as part of the Mobile Application Development Program to provide agencies with some general testing strategies, types,

Improving Email Open Rates

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 07:40:08 -0400

Guest post by Ellen Langhans, healthfinder.gov Program Manager in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Department of Health and Human Services, with contribution from Tim Hudak, Web Analytics Specialist in the Office of

Mobile Product Security and Privacy Testing Resources

Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:01:32 -0400

Security testing is used to ensure that a mobile product does not pose a threat to agency IT systems and databases. In addition, privacy testing ensures that an app does not put the user’s personally identifiable information into a compromisable position. This article was developed as part of the Mobile Application Development Program. See our

Mobile Product Performance Testing

Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:21:06 -0400

Performance testing is used to verify that an app or web page will display quickly to the user and will continue to function as the number of users increases to peak loads. Performance is an important consideration for mobile applications because the connection speed of users is often slower and more variable for mobile users than desktop users. Surveys

Mobile Product Accessibility Testing Resources

Wed, 31 Jul 2013 10:34:45 -0400

Accessibility testing is a subset of usability testing and is the inclusive practice of making websites and mobile applications usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. You do this by testing mobile websites and/or applications on all leading browsers, mobile devices and screen readers. This article was developed as part of the Mobile Application

Business.USA.gov – Usability Case Study

Tue, 02 Jul 2013 11:14:32 -0400

When redesigning a site, it’s easy to place menu items, text and other content wherever you can make them fit. It’s harder to take a step back and ask the strategic question: Is this the best place for this? A good rule of thumb is to never make any changes randomly—base your decisions on user

Fueleconomy.gov – Usability Case Study

Tue, 02 Jul 2013 11:08:48 -0400

Many technical websites have a hard time explaining information to the general public. This happens because users don’t understand the industry-specific or scientific terms. Fortunately, solutions to these problems are fairly easy—changing menu and navigation item text, or adding a line of explanatory text on key pages or complex graphics. The DigitalGov User Experience Program

Making Multimedia Section 508-Compliant and Accessible

Wed, 26 Jun 2013 14:18:22 -0400

If you plan for accessibility when creating and posting media, you can create a rich, interactive community where users can get important government information from your agency’s official website or blog and dialogue with government.

Army.mil – Usability Case Study

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:11:35 -0400

If you want to make a website more efficient and user friendly, then it’s not enough just to have your most valuable information on the site. People are busy—they want to find what they’re looking for, and they want it fast. You don’t always need to redesign an entire site to make things easier to

Functionality and Usability Testing Resources

Sat, 25 May 2013 16:28:41 -0400

Functionality testing verifies that the functions of a product or service is working as intended. Each function is tested by providing appropriate input, verifying the output and comparing the actual results with the expected results. Usability testing measures the ease of use and intuitiveness of a product or service by asking users to perform a

ATF.gov – Usability Case Study

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:21:56 -0400

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has some really valuable information for the public that a lot of people search for on ATF.gov. It’s important that the information is easily and quickly accessible. Government agencies reach a wide audience with their information, so making sure everyone can understand your content is important. The DigitalGov User

Usability Testing + Gov APIs = Best

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:37:18 -0400

Good APIs can transform intimidating data sets into something that people can use. Good government APIs can create a better connection between government and citizens. The Digital Government Strategy has spurred Federal adoption of APIs, and the Digital Services Innovation Center and DATA.GOV teams are supporting these efforts by releasing a swath of guidance and

How to Do Usability Testing with Kids

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:02:56 -0400

What do kids know about Web design? As we found out, quite a lot. Recently our DigitalGov User Experience Program teamed up with the Kids.gov team to get some big time feedback from some pint-sized testers.

Regulations.gov – Usability Case Study

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:29:33 -0400

More and more people use search as their primary means of finding what they are looking for. When users get confused by the search results, or can’t immediately find what they are looking for, they’re going to get frustrated. They may even leave the site for good. The DigitalGov User Experience Program helped test Regulations.gov on October 5, 2012, to

SaferBus Mobile App – Usability Case Study

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:51:29 -0400

When designing a site, remember that your terms and icons are like signposts that show people where your links and pages lead. Make sure that you use words and pictures that are easily understood or people will have trouble using your site. Small changes like underlining links or adding arrows to indicate expandable information can

Contractor Vehicle Navigator – Usability Case Study

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:39:15 -0400

When users interact with a website to find information, it is important that we help them find their way by using plain language, clear terminology and visible help text. On December 7, 2012, the DigitalGov User Experience Program helped test the U.S. General Services Administration’s Contract Vehicle Navigator website. This Navigator site helps contracting officers find

Commerce Departmental Library – Usability Case Study

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:37:08 -0400

A website with too much information on the homepage, or any page, will overwhelm users in less than a second. They will be unable to find a starting point to accomplish what they came there to do. If users are not able to locate the information they need and/or are unable to get past the

SAM.gov – Usability Case Study

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:04:42 -0400

One of the most vital parts of any website is its starting point. When a visitor arrives on the main page of your site, they should be able to quickly tell what the main tasks are and how to perform them. Visual cues and plain language are the best ways to accomplish this. The SAM.gov

IRS – Usability Case Study

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:05:59 -0400

Acronyms and jargon are fine when you want to communicate quickly to an internal audiences or to like-minded readers. Once the scope of your audience widens, however, these elements can make your pages harder to understand. The IRS recognized that its pages about tax planning for retirement were reaching an audience beyond tax professionals, and

Weather.gov – Usability Case Study

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:43:22 -0400

After conducting a usability test and listening to customer feedback, the Weather.gov team and the DigitalGov User Experience Program identified these three issues as both important and quickly solvable. Problem 1: Terminology and Labels Confusing The terminology and labels used were either too technical or too abstract for users to understand—a far cry from the plain

NSF.gov – Usability Case Study

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:57:16 -0400

Many government websites are informational in nature – you don’t sign up for things or buy anything. Instead, you look for something – a name, a ruling, some contact information. Informational sites – and scientific sites in particular – can be a challenge to design. With so much information, how do you make the important

GSA Intranet (Insite) – Usability Case Study

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:21:03 -0400

Not all usability changes are dramatic. Sometimes a few small tweaks can make a site significantly easier to navigate, or make important but hidden content pop off the page. The DigitalGov User Experience Program helped test Insite, GSA’s intranet, on September 21, 2011. GSA took the feedback from their usability test and made some changes to the

FedRAMP – Usability Case Study

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:16:23 -0400

Websites allow newer government programs to establish a visual identity that introduces them to users and conveys the importance of their work. On April 18, 2012, the DigitalGov User Experience Program helped test GSA’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) site, which at that point was less than six months old. Three immediate needs were

Office of Natural Resources Revenue – Usability Case Study

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:01:22 -0400

After watching a DigitalGov User Experience Program testing session, ONRR stakeholders and the testing team identified three major issues that could be quickly fixed to make the site more usable for its audience.

AIDS.gov Responsive Design

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:41:20 -0400

Mobile Gov Experiences are agency stories about creating anytime, anywhere, any device government services and info. This entry is a story shared by AIDS.gov. AIDS.gov implemented an innovative model for responsive design by combining the former AIDS.gov and m.aids.gov to a fluid site accessible on computers, smartphones and tablets. View the