Federal Crowdsourcing Webinar Series, Episode 11: Mobile Testing Program Makes Content More Accessible

Once simply a smart feature, mobile-friendly sites have evolved into must-have components of every organization’s digital presence, and now mobile accounts, for more than half of all web activity.

More importantly, it’s the law: With the passage of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (21st Century IDEA) of 2018, public-facing government websites and digital services must be functional and usable on any mobile device.

So how do you know if your application is functioning properly on different mobile devices? You take it to the testers.

The CrowdSource Mobile Testing Program is a network of federal employees who voluntarily test agency website displays across devices, operating systems, and mobile browsers. The results they provide can immediately be applied to make federally hosted information more available and accessible to citizens on the go.

On the other side of the coin, participating in mobile test cycles helps educate federal employees on mobile technologies.

See how this crowdsourcing approach has provided a broad set of helpful data and recommendations, helping agencies at significant cost avoidance to the government.

Presenter:

David Fern is an information technology (IT) specialist in the Social Security Administration’s Office of IT Enterprise Business Support. A long-time advocate for mobile experience, David is a co-leader of the Federal MobileGov Community of Practice and the CrowdSource Mobile Testing Program, working closely with more than 300 volunteers and counterparts across over 30 government agencies. His biweekly Mobile Trends Tickers email is a widely distributed resource on all-things mobile.

Related Links:

• Federal CrowdSource Mobile Testing Program
• Making a Mobile Friendly Website Using the ADAPT Model (video)
• 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act

More About the Federal Crowdsourcing Webinar Series

Airing monthly, this series illuminates how U.S. agencies are reaching beyond their typical channels to source talent and enthusiasm to multiply the ideas and perspectives being brought to a particular issue. Don’t miss these previous episodes:

• Episode 10: precisionFDA, with Elaine Johansen, Emily Boja and Holly Stephens
• Episode 9: History Hub, with Kelly Osborn and Darren Cole, NARA
• Episode 8: NASA@WORK, with Carissa Callini and Jeff DOI, NASA
• Episode 7: Crowdsourcing for Code, with Amin Mehr, Code.gov
• Episode 6: FedRAMP Ideation, with Betsy Steele, GSA
• Episode 5: History by the People, with Lauren Algee, Library of Congress
• Episode 4: Open Opportunities, with Lisa Nelson, USAJOBS, OPM
• Episode 3: The Opportunity Project, with Drew Zachary and Lorena Molina-Irizarry, U.S. Census Bureau
• Episode 2: Challenges and Prize Competitions, with Jarah Meador, GSA, and Jessie Buerlein, HHS
• Episode 1: Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science, with John McLaughlin, NOAA, and Sophia B. Liu, USGS

This talk is hosted by Challenge.gov. Managed by GSA, Challenge.gov serves as both the official listing of prize competitions across government, as well as a centralized platform for federal agencies to market their problem-solving events. The program also designs resources and training, which have helped more than 102 federal agencies run over 1,100 prize competitions with public participation since 2010.