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Design for Experience: Public Sector

by UX Magazine Staff, Design for Experience
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A closer look at the Design for Experience awards category: Public Sector

You’re not likely to hear a phrase like, “Wow, that government website sure was clear and easy to use.”

Usability and public sector services are not generally found in the same bed (or the same room; or even the same zipcode). The disconnenct has to do with the fact that political, budgetary, security, and compliance realities cause the quality and usefulness of public sector technologies to lag far behind those of the private sector.

Still, every so often, something good comes along and does what it’s supposed to do for citizens in a rewarding fashion.

Even though the official launch of healthcare.gov—designed to get Americans singed up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act—was widely considered a failure and the site continues to befuddle users, an open-sourced version released in June was hailed as a modern departure from typical government sites.

In her 2012 UX Magazine article “Designing to Build Trust,” Ilana Westerman references her agency‘s study of the Enroll UX2014 initiative, which was designed to allow states to “leverage a prototype site and create online exchanges that will provide citizens access to health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).” Although she found that Enroll UX2012 failed to earn users’ trust, the initiative shows that there are plenty of UX practitioners plying their skills to improve the functionality of websites, software, and embedded systems in the public sector.

There are extraordinary opportunities to use user-centered practices to effect positive changes in governments and societies in the U.S. and countries all over the world. The DfE Public Sector award recognizes digital solutions, applications, services, and other experiences created by or for public-sector entities that have made noteworthy use of user-centered practices to create solutions that deliver real value to citizens.

If you’ve recently utterd the words: “Wow, that government website sure was clear and easy to use,” make your nomination now! It’s also worth noting that the most radical improvement in a consituency’s lives might be a product they never knew existed or ever interacted with, so if you’ve done work in the public sector that has improved usability and made institutions suck less, apply for this award right now.

Image of marble columns courtesy Shutterstock

post authorUX Magazine Staff

UX Magazine Staff, UX Magazine was created to be a central, one-stop resource for everything related to user experience. Our primary goal is to provide a steady stream of current, informative, and credible information about UX and related fields to enhance the professional and creative lives of UX practitioners and those exploring the field. Our content is driven and created by an impressive roster of experienced professionals who work in all areas of UX and cover the field from diverse angles and perspectives.

post authorDesign for Experience

Design for Experience,

The core mission of Design For Experience (DfE) is to fuel the growth, improvement, and maturation in the fields of user-centered design, technology, research, and strategy. We do this through a number of programs, but primarily through our sponsorship of UX Magazine, which connects an audience of approximately 100,000+ people to high-quality content, information, and opportunities for professional improvement.

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