In September 2023, the Office of Management and Budget published the Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience guidance. The guidance provides agencies with tangible actions and timelines to deliver a digital experience that meets the public’s expectation now and in the future.
Overview
The Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience guidance establishes the foundation for an improved digital experience when the public interacts with the government’s products and services. The guidance identifies seven digital experience pillars and the specific actions and standards that agencies must take to accelerate the design, development and delivery of modern websites and digital services. The key pillars are:
- Analytics: We need improved analytics to better optimize digital experiences
- Accessibility: We need to ensure information and services are accessible to all individuals
- Brand: We need consistent branding to establish greater trust for digital interactions with the government
- Content: We need to de-duplicate and improve content so the public gets one answer – the right answer – when they search for information online
- Design: We need consistent design so that it is easier to navigate government websites
- Search: We need to adopt search best practices so that it is easier for the public to find information
- Digitization: We need to continue to identify digitalization opportunities so that it is easier for the public to access services
Together, these pillars represent the path towards a truly simple, seamless, and secure digital-first public experience. And to deliver it, we must take a whole of government approach. To our industry partners, these pillars represent the government’s requirements. They aren’t optional; we must - and will – implement them.
This means not building duplicative, stand-alone websites, micro sites, and digital services that are not integrated into an agency’s primary domain, digital product, or customer journey. Agencies should continue to build custom web applications that are designed with the requirements in the DX memo, like using the U.S. Web Design System.
We need solutions that will meet agencies where they are and deliver these outcomes. It will take us all working together – across government and industry – to deliver the digital experience the American public expect and deserve.
Calls to Action
CIO Community: Read and be an ambassador of the guidance. Ensure your digital teams are taking steps to implement the near-term actions required over the coming months.
Federal Employees: Read the guidance and be empowered to drive change in your agencies to deliver a better digital experience for your friends, neighbors, and communities.
Industry Partners: Read the guidance and pitch solutions that will help your agency customers be compliant. Do not pitch what we don’t need.
