Create a Cohesive Civic Design Practice Across Agency, Vendors, and Contracts

Key Insights

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  Centralizing research participant recruitment and documentation streamlines user access for multiple contract teams, improving research quality and inclusivity.

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  Collaboration across contractor boundaries is critical and can be facilitated by shared communication tools like Slack and regular cross-team meetings.

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  Normalizing design tools and processes across contractors ensures consistency, speeds onboarding, and prevents duplicated effort in maintaining design systems.

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  A governance-driven collaboration cycle with strict adherence to accessibility and user experience standards is required to launch VA digital applications.

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  Making design work and patterns visible early prevents redundant efforts and clarifies which user problems are already addressed.

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  Dedicated centralized expert teams in accessibility, content, IA, and QA free designers to specialize and maintain quality in large-scale enterprise projects.

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  Legal constraints, such as the Paperwork Reduction Act, limit research interactions, requiring balancing ethical concerns with agile user research.

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  Contracts structured around individual products rather than whole user experiences create challenges in coordination and require extra collaborative effort.

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  Fostering psychological safety and informal feedback venues enables design teams from multiple companies to share work openly and improve outcomes.

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  The VA’s approach has led to millions of veterans using self-service tools monthly, highlighting the impact of cohesive government design practices.

Notable Quotes