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.
Related Policy
21st Century IDEA & M-23-22
User experience: essential knowledge
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How to apply user experience principles and methodologies to deliver results
Learn from case studies and best practices from federal UX practitioners to drive innovation through inclusion.
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An introduction to design
Understand how and why design impacts user experience.
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DHS usability testing kit
Use the kit’s guidelines and templates to test the usability of your services and solutions.
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U.S. Web Design System: Design principles
Align on common goals and drive better user experiences on government websites.
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18F Methods: Human-centered design tools
Use this collection of tools to put human-centered design into practice. They are focused on digital services, but can also be adapted to non-technical projects.
User Experience events
USWDS Monthly Call - November 2023
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
USWDS Monthly Call - October 2023
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
USWDS Monthly Call - September 2023
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
Cultivating a dynamic career in UX
Hosted by Digital.gov and the User Experience Community of Practice
User Experience news
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
Making GSA’s public art collection more accessible
Delivering on 21st Century IDEA: A case study from the GSA SmartPay team (Part 1)
Cultivating a dynamic career in user experience
Decoding public sentiment: Harnessing open data to gain insights into service delivery
Resources on User Experience
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An introduction to privacy
Introductory guidance on implementing privacy protections for users of federal websites.
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Lessons from the 2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card
This event recap highlights best practices, a short case study video, and examples of federal web content that received both high and low scores in the 2021 Plain Language Report Card.
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Deceptive Design: How to Identify and Combat Consequence Design
Consequence design is part of everyday life. Deceptive techniques like “dark patterns” and “hostile design” trick people into taking unintended actions — learn how to prevent them from sneaking into our design work.
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U.S. Web Design System
A design system for the federal government that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the American public.
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Department of Homeland Security: Usability Testing Kit
A resource with four approaches to help federal employees perform usability testing.
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An advanced approach to accessibility
A deeper look at accessibility: what to do, how to do it, and why it matters.
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An Introduction to USWDS 3.0
A design system for the federal government that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the American public.
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Required web content and links
Various policies require you to have certain content—or provide links to content—from specific places on your website.
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18F Accessibility Guide
A resource for developing accessible products.
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Accessibility for Teams
A guide to making products more accessible for everyone.
Tools and Services
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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
441 posts
Spring 2024 Community Summit
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
Making GSA’s public art collection more accessible
Delivering on 21st Century IDEA: A case study from the GSA SmartPay team (Part 1)
USWDS Monthly Call - November 2023
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
Cultivating a dynamic career in user experience
Decoding public sentiment: Harnessing open data to gain insights into service delivery
USWDS Monthly Call - October 2023
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
5 things we learned from our scams wizard usability test
USAGov’s usability (UX) team developed a step-by-step process for visitors to easily report a scam. Here are 5 things the team learned from performing usability testing on the tool. — via USA.gov
New IDManagement.gov is refreshing the conversation about Zero Trust
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
USWDS Monthly Call - September 2023
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
Cultivating a dynamic career in UX
Hosted by Digital.gov and the User Experience Community of Practice
First, do no harm: mistakes to avoid in creating accessible user experiences
Accessible design and development practices help us build inclusive experiences. But we can lose sight of the people we serve if we don’t steadily work to better understand our users. To create accessible experiences, avoid these mistakes. — via 18F
USWDS Monthly Call - August 2023
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
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
3 ways to improve communication between contact center agents and customers
The USAGov Contact Center is committed to meeting customers’ needs empathetically, efficiently, and accurately. Here are three tips recommended to USAGov agents for interacting with customers. — via USA.gov
Hosted by Digital.gov and the U.S. Web Design System
2023 Government UX Summit
Hosted by Digital.gov and the User Experience Community of Practice