Despite existing to serve the public, public sector organizations fall short when it comes to delivering services and information to their constituents digitally. One survey found that constituents’ satisfaction with digital government services lags the private sector by nearly 20% — a major issue considering that websites are the preferred method for interacting with public services for the majority of constituents on the federal, state, and local levels. Websites aren’t the only digital experience public sector organizations need to worry about modernizing, though, because mobile apps, chatbots, and interactive voice experiences have all risen in popularity as constituents use these technologies more frequently in their everyday lives. 

To address these shortcomings, the White House issued Executive Order M-23-22 in late 2023, which has digital modernization requirements for federal agencies, including an emphasis on user-centric design principles for public-facing websites and web applications. It underscores the bigger issue at hand: the public sector is simply not living up to its duty of service, and it’s time to change.

How bad is the problem?

The federal government should serve as a role model for state and local agencies to model themselves after. And yet, 45% of federal websites are not mobile friendly, 60% contain a possible accessibility issue, and 80% do not use U.S. Web Design System code. The public spends more than 10.5 billion hours each year completing government paperwork, but only 2% of federal government forms to date have been digitized as a dynamic online form rather than a fillable PDF. 

If this is the experience at the federal level, it’s fair to assume experiences at the state and local levels are just as bad, or worse, because resources are even more limited. 

Shifting towards human-centric design

It’s not that public sector organizations don’t want to modernize. In fact, 66% of government respondents in a recent survey reported that they intend to use technology to design better user experiences. It’s not simply a matter of getting new technology, though. The key to delivering better public sector digital experiences is to build them around the user, which means following these human-centric design principles: 

• Understand your audience: How can you meet your users’ expectations if you don’t know what they are? Every development process should begin with taking steps to understand your constituents, the regulatory landscape, and your current gaps. Collect user feedback, conduct focus groups or surveys, and dive into your data to uncover where you might be able to improve. Get up to speed with current and upcoming regulatory requirements to ensure compliance and prepare for what’s ahead. The more you can learn on day one, the more informed your design process will be.
  
  During this stage, don’t overlook the perspectives of under-represented constituent groups such as those living with disabilities. Human-centered design means designing experiences that benefit all, but when considerations are made for the minority, everyone benefits. Taking the time to factor in the perspectives and needs of many different audiences leads to more well-rounded, thoughtful, and enriching experiences. An accessibility-first approach throughout the design process will ensure you aren’t leaving any gaps that might impact specific user groups.
• Explore and validate: That said, not every gap you uncover will be the result of something you’re not doing. Some gaps are actually just technology barriers. This is extremely common in the public sector where legacy systems rule the day. You don’t need to overhaul your entire tech stack all at once, but making strategic improvements and applying some newer tech solutions to your problem can make it possible to scale experiences in an omnichannel way. This will take trial and error, but the key is to rapidly design and validate concepts to gain feedback, iterate agilely, and go to market faster.‍
• Continuously improve: Once you have an experience you are proud of and your users enjoy interacting with, don’t stop there. The reason we end up with outdated, uninspiring experiences is because digital products are often abandoned after launch. You might make a few updates or bug fixes along the way, but how often are you revisiting the design and UX? Your constituents’ needs are ever evolving, so your digital experiences need to evolve alongside them. That’s not to say you will need to massively overhaul your digital experiences every few years, but instead, adopt a model of continuous improvement and measurement to ensure they are still meeting expectations. Also, part of continuous improvement is consistently looking for new ways to serve your constituents, so begin fostering a culture of experimentation and agility to encourage fresh ideas.

The best public sector experiences are those designed with constituents at their core. To get started on your journey towards more engaging and innovative constituent experiences, download our free ebook.