Mobile Apps

User experience (UX) experts across the federal government will share case studies and best practices during this virtual summit.

Hosted by Digital.gov and the User Experience Community of Practice

Code.gov Better Know an Engineer: Rayvn Manuel

Code.gov Better Know an Engineer: Rayvn Manuel—We’re back with another installment of Better Know an Engineer. We are pleased to feature a friend of Code.gov and all-around amazing person, Rayvn Manuel; senior application developer and DevOps engineer at the Smithsonian Insitute's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). — via Code.gov

Aug 13, 2020

Mobile

Building Trust with Users Through Open Communication and Feedback

A look at how FEMA responds to user needs and bugs in their app development.

R. ‘Fitz’ Fitzhenry

Jun 13, 2019

Deep Dive: Using Data Technology + Innovation for Lyme Disease

A 14-week sprint delivered digital tools that used federal open data to address Lyme and tick-borne diseases.

Kristen Honey, PhD

Gil Alterovitz, PhD

Ed Simcox

Mar 18, 2019

Using Augmented Reality to Teach Kids about Currency

The U.S. Currency Education Program used research, prototyping, and user-feedback to develop a mobile app to teach young students about money.

Ayjah Thomas

Mar 05, 2019

Deep Dive: How a Health Tech Sprint Pioneered an AI Ecosystem

Seven teams created digital tools that help in finding experimental therapies for patients, and for clinical trials to recruit new patients.

Gil Alterovitz, PhD

Davar Ardalan

Kristen Honey, PhD

Feb 27, 2019

USDA FoodKeeper App Update Expands Content Offerings

The USDA’s multilingual FoodKeeper app has been updated to include three options for receiving food recall updates and expands storage timelines to over 500 products. This post was originally published on the USDA blog. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced new updates to its popular FoodKeeper application that will provide users with new access to

Christopher Bernstein

Sep 07, 2017

The Data Briefing: How to Best Prepare Federal Government Datasets for Chatbots

Forbes magazine recently ran an article showcasing six handy mobile apps that were built using federal government open data. The apps range from the Alternative Fueling Station Locator to ZocDoc (a doctor locator). What I especially like about the Forbes article is that the author describes the federal government data sets behind each app. There

Bill Brantley

May 10, 2017

The Smithsonian’s IPOP Exhibition Framework: Lessons for a Human-Centered Content Approach

The Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Policy and Analysis has another tool to consider for your UX toolbox: IPOP. Though created specifically for museums and physical exhibitions, IPOP is useful for anyone wanting to widen appeal and engagement.

Benjamin Bloom

Dec 08, 2016

New Trademark App Open Source Code on GitHub

Improving the way the government delivers information technology (IT) solutions to its customers isn’t just a goal, it’s our mission. We at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office know that by publishing our open source code, the public can help us come up with new and better IT solutions. In advance of the new Federal

David Chiles

Nov 18, 2016

FEMA’S Syndicated Content: Digital Assists in Moments of Disaster

I recently interviewed Daniel Kuhns, Web Manager at FEMA, about the site widgets and the FEMA app his organization has been developing. The widgets currently available include: FEMA App, Preparedness, Severe Weather, Private Sector, Kids Fire Safety, and Are you a Disaster Survivor. The FEMA App offers

Christen Geiler

Nov 17, 2016

Are Chatbots the Next mHealth Frontier?

In April, Facebook made it possible for organizations to use chatbots to send and receive messages from users of Facebook Messenger. That’s a big deal. Facebook Messenger is now used by 900 million people every month. As the name implies, it’s a messaging platform that people use to send short messages to each other through

Lindy Dreyer

Torey Vanek

Nov 17, 2016

“For Those Who Serve” App Collection Provides Mobile Resources for Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, several VA mobile apps are featured this week in the Apple App Store. In the “For Those Who Serve” collection of resources, Veterans can find the latest military news, essential health and wellness information, and other valuable tools for everyday life. The highlighted VA apps are designed to help Veterans manage their

Melissa Heintz

Nov 10, 2016

Trends on Tuesdays: Mobile Phone Camera Upgrades Offer Interesting Opportunities for Government Agencies

Professional photographer and early “iPhonography” pioneer, Chase Jarvis coined the phrase, “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” The recent jumps in mobile phone photo technology presents interesting opportunities for government agencies to consider as mobile phone cameras are starting to rival and surpass professional gear. When Google and Apple both announced their

Will Sullivan

Nov 01, 2016

Progressive Web Applications, Part 2: Pros, Cons, and Looking Ahead

A few weeks ago, Progressive Web Applications, Part 1: the New Pack Mule of the Internet introduced PWAs and the technologies behind them. We shared that article to the MobileGov Community of Practice and asked about the pros and cons of this approach to winning mobile moments. What Are Some Benefits of PWAs? PWAs bring

David Fern

Oct 13, 2016

Creating Wall-Sized Interaction at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

As any experienced retailer will tell you, the customer experience begins at the store entrance. Note the friendly Walmart greeter, the approachable minimalism of an Apple Store, and the calculated whimsy of Anthropologie. Store designers understand that a customer’s decision to make a purchase is often made within seconds of entering. The same holds true

Benjamin Bloom

Sep 30, 2016

NASA: Open Gov Plan 2016 Outline

Here is the outline for our 2016 Open Government Plan. Let us know what you think.

Beth Beck

Sep 29, 2016

Progressive Web Applications, Part 1: the New Pack Mule of the Internet

A mule is the hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a horse. This new species is stronger and better equipped than the species from which it comes. Overall, mules tend to be healthier, more sound, and live longer than horses. They are favored over horses in mountainous terrain because the mule has a reputation for being more surefooted than their equine cousins.

David Fern

Sep 20, 2016

Trends on Tuesday: Pokemon Go-es Away Slowly

According to a recent report in Bloomberg, the wildly popular augmented reality game we reported on a few weeks ago—and the focus of a piece about government agencies using it to engage citizens—appears to have hit a ceiling and is slowly losing active fans in August.

Will Sullivan

Aug 30, 2016

The Data Briefing: Microservices and Serverless Apps — A New Direction for Federal Government Mobile Apps?

Continuing from last week’s column on DevOps and containers, I will explain two other hot trends in IT — microservices and serverless apps. For those who want official federal government guidance, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft special publication on microservices, application containers, and system virtual machines (PDF, 660