Join the U.S. Web Design System team for a lesson on customizing and extending the design system.
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2024
Design
Understand how and why design impacts user experience.
More News and Events on Design
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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
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
Learn about the USWDS component lifecycle, and how you can suggest a new component.
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2024
Maximizing impact of federal websites: Integrating metrics with annual goals and policies
The Open Data, Design, and Development (ODDD) team discusses how OMB’s recent memo, Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience (M-23-22), inspired them to reassess their metrics plan to harmonize with policies governing federal public websites.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Customer experience and human-centered design
Customer experience is the application of design within a business context to craft the human experience.
This month the Design System team will talk about the development and rollout of their new accessibility tests for components.
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2024
Making GSA’s public art collection more accessible
GSA’s Fine Arts team recently leveraged modern product development practices to launch the new collection website.
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.
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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
A website refresh in 3 months
A website redesign doesn’t have to be a big project. By approaching it as a process of iteration, we launched a refreshed site in the span of several weeks.— via 18F
Making the case for sentence case on USAGov’s websites
What is the best case style to use for titles and headings? For the new USAGov websites, we discuss the decision to use sentence case on USAGov products.— via USA.gov
Get to know Search.gov
Search.gov’s goal is to deliver a high-quality, government-wide search engine that allows agencies to customize search experiences for the public, regardless of website type or organization. Learn about standard offerings, as well as three major enhancements.— via USA.gov
Reflections on a year in government from 11 U.S. Digital Corps fellows
To celebrate their first year in government, 11 U.S. Digital Corps Fellows reflect on what they have learned.
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
Annual Summit
2023 Government UX Summit
User experience (UX) experts across the federal government shared case studies and best practices during this virtual summit.
2023
Making the big move - Special report: Search in support of federal web modernization
For the past several years Search.gov has reported each year on the top public needs based on the search terms they used. This special report will take a different approach. It still offers a high level view of the public experience of seeking services and information from the government. But it also tells the story of change, and how these changes affect search and findability.— via Search.gov
User Experience
Incorporating user experience practices into data-driven development of a biomedical software tool
Join the National Cancer Institute and a university-based researcher to discuss interpreting complex data.
2023
Judiciary Launches New Federal Ticket Processing Website
Individuals can now pay tickets for minor federal violations more easily, using a redesigned website for the Judiciary’s Central Violations Bureau. The website, officially launched in early May, leverages new technologies and best design practices to improve usability and accessibility across devices, including smart phones.— via Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
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
