Department of Homeland Security saves 20 million hours of the public's time with a focus on UX

[AJ Siegel]

In a recent article by Justin Doubleday of the Federal News Network, the power of human-centered design in transforming government interactions with constituents is highlighted. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) CIO, Eric Hysen, successfully launched an initiative in 2022 to reduce the public's time spent on DHS forms by 20 million hours (previously 190 million hours annually).

One key factor in achieving this goal was the incorporation of usability testing as a mandatory step before releasing any new form to the public. This same approach should be applied to any new software released to users, whether they are agency employees or constituents. By collecting real user feedback before production, potential issues affecting user adoption or causing friction can be identified and addressed.  

So what is usability testing?

We explore usability testing in depth in the article Getting user feedback through Usability Testing. 

Usability testing involves presenting tasks to study participants who represent the target users of the application, observing their attempts to complete the tasks, and analyzing their experiences to find solutions. Conducting usability tests early and regularly throughout a project not only helps catch and address issues early on but also builds champions among participants who can assist with change management. It is important to note that usability testing is different from user acceptance testing, as it focuses on observing user experiences rather than following a prescribed script.

ServiceNow incorporates usability testing in the design and development of all our products, but you should also perform usability testing during implementations to account for unique processes and business needs. This ensures that additional friction is not introduced during the project.

This is NOT the same as user acceptance testing, since UAT asks testers to follow a proscribed script and see if the script works.

You can learn more about how to incorporate UX into your ServiceNow projects by viewing Success Packs on Now Create