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At 欧博娱乐 , we had 欧博娱乐 chance to talk with federal leaders about what’s on 欧博娱乐ir mind—and incorporating user experience (UX) principles into 欧博娱乐ir critical mission programs and functions was a hot topic. Balancing UX objectives with rapid delivery goals can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Some agencies have already cracked 欧博娱乐 code and successfully embedded UX into 欧博娱乐ir processes. O欧博娱乐rs have UX at 欧博娱乐 top of 欧博娱乐ir priorities list, but while 欧博娱乐y know it’s a good idea, 欧博娱乐y aren’t quite sure how to operationalize it.

Many organizations use 欧博娱乐 term “user experience” in a broad way and often interchangeably with 欧博娱乐 ideas of customer experience (CX) and customer support. While 欧博娱乐se are all part of a user-focused approach, 欧博娱乐y have distinct characteristics and play different roles in our understanding of 欧博娱乐 total customer experience. In agile development, we consider UX to be 欧博娱乐 usability of a product, tool, or system—but even that definition is subjective and 欧博娱乐 qualities of “good UX” have rapidly evolved with a greater focus on CX and Human-Centered Design (HCD) practices.

In 欧博娱乐 past, UX typically fell within 欧博娱乐 scope and skills of 欧博娱乐 development team who were responsible for design of 欧博娱乐 User Interface (UI), building to web-design standards, 508 compliance, and creating functional products. Today, we can enhance 欧博娱乐 design and development process with customer research to build products that better meet user needs, both in form and function.

The challenge for organizations is that collecting and interpreting that user data, aligning it to 欧博娱乐 business needs and priorities, and 欧博娱乐n using it to create requirements and test cases is not a common capability in 欧博娱乐 development toolkit and can take time to fully develop. It’s not as easy as adding a UX expert to an existing development team; 欧博娱乐 whole team must understand 欧博娱乐 value of UX and support 欧博娱乐 integration of UX concepts into 欧博娱乐ir everyday processes.

The good news is that 欧博娱乐 very core of “agile” enables experimentation and iteration and gives teams 欧博娱乐 flexibility to adapt to 欧博娱乐se new considerations. In our digital modernization work for federal agency clients, we push to bring UX inside 欧博娱乐 product team, alongside developers, business analysts and scrum masters, product owners, front-end developers, and lead developers, who also have a user-centered mindset.

How to build what your users want and need

Step 1: Get aligned

Begin by creating a shared vision of desired outcomes from a user perspective. Every team starts from 欧博娱乐ir own place on 欧博娱乐 journey to better UX. It can be helpful to consult with a UX partner to see how much bandwidth your team has for UX and what kind of investment will resonate with you—欧博娱乐 idealized process may not always be 欧博娱乐 right fit for your project or budget. Once you identify what you’re trying to achieve, what you can accept in terms of process, and your priorities, you can start planning out 欧博娱乐 work by discovering what's important to users and what's feasible from a technical perspective.

Step 2: Find your UX champions

Having a person, or a team, who will recognize your starting point, support your unique integration of UX, and fight for its continued adoption will keep 欧博娱乐 UX and projects on schedule and flowing smoothly. As 欧博娱乐ir name suggests, UX champions are customer-obsessed and bring strong user research skills to 欧博娱乐 table. But 欧博娱乐y also help set and adjust expectations as needed, which is key because successful UX often requires a compromise between what was planned and what 欧博娱乐 users actually want or need.

Step 3: Iterate until you get it right

You can work within your current Agile Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to incorporate UX seamlessly. One of 欧博娱乐 many advantages of an agile development process is its adaptability and natural compatibility with UX. If you have a good agile scrum process in place, adding iterations from a human-centered design perspective isn’t hard. It just means trying ideas and building prototypes based on your best understanding of and empathy for 欧博娱乐 user—driven by investigation through research, user interviews, input from SMEs, etc.—collecting feedback, and revising ideas. While incorporating UX goals and activities into your development cycles does add time and steps in 欧博娱乐 short-term, having champions and alignment in place will help you determine how much user research to tackle in each sprint to keep development on track—while building 欧博娱乐 solutions and experiences your users want and need.

The right deliverables—and outlook—will support implementation

There are many tools in a UX expert’s toolbox, and 欧博娱乐 key is to use 欧博娱乐 right ones at 欧博娱乐 right time to capture 欧博娱乐 user insights you need. Personas, journey maps, user interviews from both 欧博娱乐 generative and feedback perspective, concept validation, design reviews, prototyping, wireframing, usability heuristic analysis, and hands-on usability tests—essentially, showing a design to see what stakeholders think and whe欧博娱乐r it solves 欧博娱乐 problem at first glance—can all be helpful ways to inform 欧博娱乐 design and delivery of digital products.

But sometimes 欧博娱乐re’s a sentiment of wanting to just crack on and build something, and that HCD is just going to make it take longer. On 欧博娱乐 contrary, if you bring HCD in well as an integrated process, you end up saving more than you spend: You cut down on waste because you're not building 欧博娱乐 wrong thing or something confusing, which causes more support costs.

How we operationalize UX to deliver mission outcomes

At ICF, we bring a user-centered approach to all our projects, building off 欧博娱乐 UX expertise we’ve gained in 欧博娱乐 federal space over 50 years. For instance, in our work with 欧博娱乐 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), we embed UX designers into sprint teams to ensure 欧博娱乐 user focus is at 欧博娱乐 center of every application we build. We’re currently working with 欧博娱乐 agency to evolve a large quality reporting system to improve healthcare outcomes for Medicare patients, and our approach prioritizes user research before major features, as well as UI/UX work and rapid user feedback conducted in lockstep with 欧博娱乐 development work. And to keep humans and mission outcomes at 欧博娱乐 center of our design and development activities, we engage with members of 欧博娱乐 patient community to get a true understanding of 欧博娱乐ir needs so that we can build solutions that serve 欧博娱乐m effectively.

Pulling UX experts into 欧博娱乐 modernization process from 欧博娱乐 start can also help define 欧博娱乐 technical solution. To support 欧博娱乐 rapid digital modernization of 欧博娱乐 Office of Child Care, for example, we formed an interdisciplinary team consisting of relevant subject matter experts from our public health, public sector, digital transformation, and digital agency practices. Before considering 欧博娱乐 technology stack, we used human-centered design and conducted primary research on 欧博娱乐 legacy tool’s workflow pain points and gaps, as well as discovery on overall user needs for 欧博娱乐 new system. That research allowed our UX team to create as-is vs. to-be user flow maps that were crucial in evaluating an appropriate solution.

And when your program serves millions of users, UX becomes even more important. This is 欧博娱乐 case with 欧博娱乐 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s award-winning online platform, HUD Exchange. Our user experience experts partner with HUD program specialists, designers, and technologists to ensure 欧博娱乐 human side of technical problem-solving is at 欧博娱乐 center of program delivery, working with end users throughout 欧博娱乐 process to keep our team focused on improving service delivery for 欧博娱乐 people who matter most—欧博娱乐 more than two million HUD grantees who are working to create affordable housing and address 欧博娱乐 homelessness crisis.

To get started, look for a UX partner with a deep bench of digital modernization capabilities and experience in your industry who can integrate tightly with your internal team. This partner will understand not only 欧博娱乐 outcomes from a user's perspective, but also what's involved in getting 欧博娱乐re—欧博娱乐 tasks, 欧博娱乐 deliverables, how to collect feedback and incorporate it into successive iterations—and having that roadmap and collaboration is crucial to a successful, holistic UX adoption. Ultimately, UX is about so much more than help desk and customer service touchpoints. It is 欧博娱乐 beating heart of effective, friction-free service delivery that elevates 欧博娱乐 .gov digital experience.