News and Updates

Innovative work, news, and ideas from people and teams in government

OPM Alert App

Did that snowstorm (or thunderstorm as the case may be) affect DC feds’ operating status? Now you’ll know even faster with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management‘s newest mobile app OPM Alert. The app features: Real

Jun 13, 2013

Responsive Design Overview, Resources and Tools

Responsive Web design refers to a fluidly constructed Web page layout that scales from handheld device displays to large, high-resolution computer displays using flexible typography, flexible images, fluid grids, and CSS3 media queries. For years, most Web teams designed for the desktop. Branding, navigation, work flows – the overall look & feel of online applications

Jun 11, 2013

YouTube Releases New Features

YouTube recently upgraded to the new One Channel design. The new design emphasizes responsive layouts for mobile devices, tablets, desktops and laptops, and TVs. A single banner on a white background replaces a customizable background and color scheme. YouTube recommends using a single 2560 x 1440 px image that fits

Jun 07, 2013

Chief Digital Officer: Roles and Responsibilities

In my previous blog post, I asked if your agency needs a Chief Digital Officer and before you answer maybe you’d want to know what exactly would a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) do at your Agency? According to Tim Bourgeois of ChiefDigitalOfficer.net , the biggest asset a CDO brings

Jun 06, 2013

Energy’s Alternative Fuel Locator Mobile Site

Drivers can find the closest alternative fueling sites anytime, anywhere with the Alternative Fuel Locator. The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has created this mobile website that allows users to locate alternative fueling stations. Using Google map technology and data from the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), the site

Jun 06, 2013

Four Steps to Achieve Good SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the active practice of improving aspects of your website so that commercial search engines (such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo) can find and display your Web pages in the results when they’re relevant to a searcher’s query. Users generally

May 31, 2013

Twitter’s Two Step Verification Process

To enhance security, Twitter now offers two-step verification. The release of the new feature follows several high-profile account breaches – including a false tweet sent from the Associated Press’s Twitter account in April. If you chose to enable the two-step verification feature, Twitter sends a text message with a unique code to a cell phone that must be

May 31, 2013

Apple’s iOS Terms of Service & Developer Program License Agreement

The Apple iTunes App store is the only marketplace for downloading apps for the Apple platform. In order to put apps in the iTunes store, agencies or their contractors have signed agreements with Apple to use Apple Software to produce mobile apps that can later

May 30, 2013

Does Your Agency Need A Chief Digital Officer?

Russell Reynolds Associates, the senior-level executive search firm, says that the last 2 years have seen the rise of the Chief Digital Officer (CDO), a senior executive who sits at the right hand of the CEO. According to the consulting firm Gartner, 25% of organizations will have a Chief

May 30, 2013

Social Security’s Mobile Website

The Social Security Administration recently announced their new optimized mobile website which is compatible with Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and Windows devices. The mobile website offers a user-friendly, tabular, icon-driven navigation, which makes it very easy to find information anytime, anywhere.

May 30, 2013

Government Websites and Keyword Search Strategy

Having a keyword search strategy is critical for government agencies to: Gain awareness, Secure a strong online presence and Help the public obtain the information they need. Since the public relies heavily on Government-related information for research, and a myriad of other tasks, each government

May 29, 2013

Functionality and Usability Testing Resources

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

May 25, 2013

NASCIO Launches Mobile Apps Catalog

The federal government’s Mobile Code Catalog has company! This month, NASCIO released a new State Mobile Apps Catalog, a collection of over 160 state and territory native mobile apps that users can browse and download for smart phones and tablets. The apps are searchable by state/territory,

May 24, 2013