Policies and Regulations

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.

Katherine Spivey

Katina Stapleton

Learn how to tell a story and figure out what role plain language plays in storytelling.

Bethany Blakey

Katherine Spivey

Words make digital experiences human-centered, and require just as much thought as the branding and code. As federal agencies strive to use human-centered design, they need to remember that words and design work together. See how interfaces rely on language, and how your writing can make or break an experience. Learn principles for UX writing that anyone who works on digital products can apply to their own work.

Katherine Spivey

Andy Welfle

Next for the U.S. Web Design System

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. — via U.S. Web Design System

Mar 11, 2021

Website standards

GSA officially released the ‘website standards’ referenced in Section 3(e) of 21st Century IDEA. The U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) is key to new website standards. — via General Services Administration

Jan 23, 2020

Tori Garten will explore the multi-tiered challenge of understanding and governing federal digital policy in a complex and ever-changing digital world.

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Tori Garten

Prototyping Engagement Workshops for the Future of Federal Data, Dashboards, and Storytelling

User-centered design is critical for meetings—from the front lines to C-suite. How might we host more hands-on learning sessions and experience exchanges to improve and customize the way the federal workforce communicates to diverse stakeholders?

Davar Ardalan

Nina Bianchi

Maria Dayton

Aug 21, 2019

New Guide

Introducing a Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act

A guide to navigating the PRA process with confidence.

Jun 18, 2019

A Design Challenge to Improve How School Data is Reported

Join ED for two days of sketching, prototyping, and building solutions to help states design family-friendly approaches that make school data more transparent and accessible.

Office of Educational Technology

Sep 26, 2018

Federal employees who have been involved in running a prize competition for their agencies at any point during fiscal years 2017 and 2018 should attend this information session on prize reporting.

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Jennifer Shieh

Shirley Han

Tammy White

How One Team is Making the Transition to Agile

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

Andrew J. Stauffer

Jun 26, 2018

New USAGov Program Aims to Help Agencies Market Within the Federal Government

The Outreach and Marketing team from USAGov helps agencies amplify their key messages through a variety of channels.

Claire Loxsom

Apr 02, 2018

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

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

Karla Blaine

Mar 07, 2018

Three Teams Using the Draft U.S. Web Design Standards Talk about Their Experiences

In the five months since we launched the Draft U.S. Web Design Standards, over a dozen government websites have begun to use it.

Melody Kramer

Apr 06, 2016

Modernizing Federal Information Policy

Today, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing for the first time in fifteen years revisions to the Federal Government’s governing document establishing policies for the management of Federal information resources: Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource.

Anne Rung

Tony Scott

Howard Shelanski

Oct 21, 2015

CIO Council Releases IT Policy Library

The CIO Council recently published an IT Policy Library database in order to provide agency innovators with a searchable, comprehensive collection of IT reporting and action requirements for federal agencies.

Kendrick Daniel

Jul 24, 2015

US, Canada, and Mexico Collaborate to Improve Open Government and Digital Services

Many forces are converging to strengthen the political, economic and commercial ties that bind the United States, Canada and Mexico. The GSA Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies (OCSIT) has anticipated this drive toward collaboration for decades, building a network of links among the three nations’ Chief Information Officers and other national technology and data experts.

Darlene Meskell

Mar 13, 2015

Policies and Regulations

News and Events on Policies and Regulations

2021 Federal Plain Language Summit

Using Plain Language To Tell Our Stories

Plain Language Webinar: Using Words to Build Better Digital Experiences

Next for the U.S. Web Design System

Website standards

How to Navigate the Complex World of Federal Digital Policy

Prototyping Engagement Workshops for the Future of Federal Data, Dashboards, and Storytelling

Introducing a Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act

A Design Challenge to Improve How School Data is Reported

What You Need to Know: Required Prize Reporting to Congress

How One Team is Making the Transition to Agile

New USAGov Program Aims to Help Agencies Market Within the Federal Government

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

Three Teams Using the Draft U.S. Web Design Standards Talk about Their Experiences

Modernizing Federal Information Policy

CIO Council Releases IT Policy Library

US, Canada, and Mexico Collaborate to Improve Open Government and Digital Services