User Centered Design

18F at ten

We’re celebrating all the ways we continue to realize our founding vision: bringing technologists into government, launching shared digital services, and helping partner agencies build user-centered technology.— via 18F

Mar 19, 2024

Search.gov year in review: 2023 report

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.— via Search.gov

Mar 15, 2024

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

Equity in action: GSA’s study on remote identity-proofing technologies

The Biden-Harris President’s Management Agenda (PMA) emphasizes an effective, equitable and accountable government. As part of this effort, the General Services Administration (GSA) is conducting a study on the equity of remote identity proofing. The study aims to assess and improve the accessibility and equity of remote identity verification technologies such as facial matching systems. Learn more about the context, purpose, and progress of the study, and how it supports GSA’s goal of enhancing digital government services and prioritizing equitable design practices.— via Performance.gov

Mar 13, 2024

Customer experience: beyond surveys

Want to measure customer experience? Surveys aren’t the only way! Consider these guiding questions to help your team select an approach based on what you want to learn.— via 18F

Mar 05, 2024

Learn about the USWDS component lifecycle, and how you can suggest a new component.

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Designing with empathy

Discover the transformative power of empathy in design with USAGov’s benefit finder. From simplifying applications to a mobile-first approach, the revamped tool not only functions efficiently in two different languages and cultural contexts, but demonstrates the consideration for users in challenging situations. Explore how empathy turned a government service into a compassionate lifeline, creating a product that genuinely understands and meets people where they are.— via USA.gov

Jan 25, 2024

Have you conducted user research and are now wondering which artifacts or outputs you can share and with whom? 18F provides tips on determining your target audiences, using discretion for sensitive data, and ensuring that such work complies with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).— via 18F

Dec 05, 2023

How a Small Team Modernized a Federal Website to Improve CX

The recent redesign of the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) website stands as an example for agencies seeking to enhance their online platforms. ONRR’s Open Data, Design, and Development (ODDD) team played a pivotal role in this website transformation by embracing open data, user-centered design, accessibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement.— via Performance.gov

Jul 11, 2023

Join the National Cancer Institute and a university-based researcher to discuss interpreting complex data.

The 18F design chapter

Designing technology-enabled public services requires deep expertise in how different elements of the experience come together (or don’t!). The 18F design chapter comprises four discipline-specific cohorts — service design, user experience (UX) design, product design, and content strategy — each of which has a primary focus, with corresponding tools, methods, and techniques.— via 18F

May 02, 2023

The U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) and onrr.gov

The U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) includes five design principles that facilitate human-centered design. In this post, we look at the work our team does to make sure we’re meeting each principle.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

Feb 22, 2023

What Agile Looks Like at the Office of Natural Resources Revenue

What Agile Looks Like at the Office of Natural Resources Revenue—Agile at the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) started with 18F. They reflect on where they are today, five years later.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

Jul 14, 2022

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

Content Design for beta.ADA.gov: Writing for Action and Flexibility—18F worked with a team at the Department of Justice to redesign ADA.gov. They helped them launch beta.ada.gov, and designed new content for some of the most sought-after ADA topics.— via 18F

Jul 13, 2022

Join Digital.gov’s Web Managers Community as they host a discussion with panelists from the Lab at OPM, National Institutes of Health, Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, and Presidential Innovation Fellows. The panel will discuss how to align culture and digital strategy to build better digital services.

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

Jean Fox

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

Building a User-Centered Data Strategy

Building a User-Centered Data Strategy—Developing a data strategy is challenging, but 18F can help agencies with the process of creating an effective one. Our principles of user-centered design, agile, and iterative delivery can increase an agency’s chance for success in using data more effectively.— via 18F

Apr 01, 2021

Privacy

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