Flag

We stand with Ukraine and our team members from Ukraine. Here are ways you can help

Home ›› Short News ›› Why UXers should join Code for America

Why UXers should join Code for America

by Jeremy Canfield
2 min read
Share this post on
Tweet
Share
Post
Share
Email
Print

Save

Help reshape the citizen experience by applying for a fellowship with Code for America.

Despite its name, the Code for America Fellowship isn’t just for coders. In fact, most of what we do for our government partners doesn’t involve much code at all. User research, experience design, information architecture, visual design are critical to our work. Unlike traditional vendors, we don’t build to specifications. We work with governments collaboratively on developing a rough idea into a real product, all in just a few months.

The Code for America process borrows heavily from UX design. We spend months of our fellowships interviewing users and stakeholders in our partner cities, trying to determine the root causes and context of their problems, and then we create user personas and stories based on those interviews from which we design and develop the applications. Then we sprint, test, and iterate. And iterate.

There are tensions. Because we are a fellowship organization attempting to build once and share widely, our apps must be not only easy to use, but also easy to reuse. This means more than just making our code open source or providing good documentation; we are not just designing the software that our cities will run on, but attempting to build or find communities that will support it. Put another way, we have the challenge of designing not just for ease of use, but also for ease of participation.

Are you interested in reshaping the citizen experience? We’re trying to bring designers into the fold, both for the 2012 fellowship, but also to find ways to engage people who may not have the ability to take a year off for a fellowship (though it’s probably easier than you think). Here are some things you can do now:

When I started my fellowship at Code for America, I was asked what my greatest wish for my fellowship was. My goal, simply stated, was and remains to make government beautiful. As our founder and executive director Jen Pahlka has said, designing for government is incredibly hard; government has to design for quite literally everyone. I can’t think of a better challenge for UX designers.

post authorJeremy Canfield

Jeremy Canfield, This user does not have bio yet.

Tweet
Share
Post
Share
Email
Print

Related Articles

Article by Josh Tyson
Meet the Intelligent Digital Worker, Your New AI Teammate
  • The article introduces the concept of Intelligent Digital Workers (IDWs), advanced bots designed to assist humans in various workplace functions, emphasizing their role in augmenting human capabilities and enhancing organizational efficiency.
Share:Meet the Intelligent Digital Worker, Your New AI Teammate
3 min read

Did you know UX Magazine hosts the most popular podcast about conversational AI?

Listen to Invisible Machines

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Check our privacy policy and