Human centered design

Justice department to publish final rule to strengthen web and mobile app access for people with disabilities

On April 8, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications for people with disabilities. This final rule clarifies the obligations of state and local governments to make their websites and mobile applications accessible. Learn more about this rule and why the Attorney General believes it will “break down barriers that have kept people with disabilities from fully participating in American Life.”— via Department of Justice

Apr 08, 2024

Calling All Americans! The federal government is seeking your input

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) wants your thoughts on how federal agencies can more broadly and meaningfully engage with you and your communities. Share your ideas by May 17, 2024 to help build a more inclusive, responsive, transparent, and accountable government.— via Performance.gov

Apr 04, 2024

18F practices in action (spoiler: this stuff works)

How well do 18F software development practices work? The 18F team reflected on a recent project for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) .gov registry to gauge the effectiveness of six recommendations aligned with what they actually did.— via 18F

Apr 03, 2024

The Open Data, Design, and Development (ODDD) team has replaced signed consent forms with a more accessible user research agreement process, offering multiple opt-in points. This ensures informed consent and participant autonomy. Explore why and how the ODDD team implemented this comprehensive participant consent process in their user research.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

Apr 03, 2024

How USAGov uses data to improve content

Each month, USAGov’s content designers spend many hours ensuring that the content on USA.gov and USAGov en Español is up-to-date, accurate, and meets user needs. Learn how their team does holistic reviews of each topic section based on a rolling calendar with the goal of updating all content at least every 6 months.— via USA.gov

Apr 01, 2024

Join the U.S. Web Design System team for a lesson on customizing and extending the design system.

Watch Video

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.

Watch Video

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

Why the American People Deserve a Digital Government

OMB released new policy guidance for government that includes a variety of actions and standards to help federal agencies design, develop, and deliver modern websites and digital services. Memo M-23-22, Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience, will make it seamless for the public to obtain government information and services online, and help agencies fully implement the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (21st Century IDEA).— via The White House

Sep 22, 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

Modernizing a federal government website with user-centered design

In this blog post, we break down our process for redesigning a federal government website (onrr.gov) into six detailed sections. This blog serves as a helpful guide for other agencies looking to do a major website redesign.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue

Mar 30, 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