User Experience

User experience involves every interaction a user has with an agency.

Websites and digital services provide better results when they are designed and delivered with the user in mind. In the current digital landscape, it is critical to adopt a user-centered approach to understand and respond to the individual needs of users. By evaluating the user experience on federal websites and digital services, agencies can increase customer satisfaction, build public trust, and reduce burden on the public.

21st Century IDEA & M-23-22

21st Century IDEA & M-23-22

User experience: Essential knowledge

User Experience events

The U.S. Web Design System team will share the product and engineering principles they’re using to guide the development of the design system.
2024
Annual Gathering

Spring 2024 Community Summit

Digital service experts across the federal government will share case studies and best practices on delivering a digital-first public experience.
2024
Next steps in the U.S. Web Design System’s inclusive usability research

USWDS Monthly Call - November 2023

The USWDS team will continue sharing our progress to improve ongoing research, publishing results and addressing recent findings.
Watch Video
2023
Conducting user research with people with disabilities

USWDS Monthly Call - October 2023

This month, we’ll share progress and findings from our recent effort to improve our ongoing research practice.
Watch Video
2023
USWDS mission and vision

USWDS Monthly Call - September 2023

We’ll explore what it means to pursue mission-centered design and decision-making.
Watch Video
2023

User Experience news

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

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.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

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Sep 03, 2024

How multicultural research guides the USA.gov benefit finder

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.— via USA.gov

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Aug 27, 2024

User research and the Paperwork Reduction Act

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.— via U.S. Digital Service

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Aug 20, 2024

Resources on User Experience

Tools and Services

  • U.S. Web Design System

    A toolkit of principles, guidance, and code that helps agency digital teams build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the American public.

More News and Events on User Experience

449 posts

The U.S. Web Design System team will share the product and engineering principles they’re using to guide the development of the design system.
2024

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

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.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

doi-revenuedata logo
Sep 03, 2024

How multicultural research guides the USA.gov benefit finder

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.— via USA.gov

usagov logo
Aug 27, 2024

User research and the Paperwork Reduction Act

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.— via U.S. Digital Service

usds logo
Aug 20, 2024

Developing an easier way to recruit user research participants

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.— via USA.gov

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Aug 06, 2024

Progress towards delivering a digital-first public experience

Each year, more than 400 million individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and local governments get information and services from about 430 federal agencies and sub-agencies. The Biden-Harris administration is driving a bold vision for how government agencies serve their customers digitally with OMB’s ten-year roadmap for a modern digital experience. Agencies have already made significant strides. Learn about recent successes by the IRS, CDC, NASA, and FEMA, and how OMB will continue to collaborate with agencies to ensure ongoing improvement in digital government services.— via The White House

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Apr 17, 2024
Annual Gathering

Spring 2024 Community Summit

Digital service experts across the federal government will share case studies and best practices on delivering a digital-first public experience.
2024

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

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Mar 13, 2024

Getting the word out about voter registration: Vote.gov’s first social media takeover with USAGov

Last fall, vote.gov and the USAGov program partnered for their first-ever social media takeover on National Voter Registration Day. The campaign, which encouraged the public to register to vote, reached 36,000 people across USAGov’s platforms and generated over 2,000 engagements. The partnership raised awareness for vote.gov, boosted vote.gov’s website traffic, and laid the groundwork for the future collaborations and resource-sharing between the two entities. This collaboration between vote.gov and USAGov offers a model for social media takeovers and partnerships between federal agencies and teams.— via USA.gov

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Feb 06, 2024
Next steps in the U.S. Web Design System’s inclusive usability research

USWDS Monthly Call - November 2023

The USWDS team will continue sharing our progress to improve ongoing research, publishing results and addressing recent findings.
Watch Video
2023