Blog Posts
Navigating the Regulations: UX Research in Government
An introduction to how two regulations, Human Subjects Research and the Paperwork Reduction Act, might impact a User Experience (UX) Research study.
Hey, Government Teams - UX Designers are Looking for You
To bridge this gap between government teams looking to hire designers and designers looking to join these teams, we put together this resource from the perspective of a designer who is passionate about working with a government team and what they would need to be successful.
A look at the accomplishments from the first year of the Colorado Digital Service
Video / Audio
The Download | Ep. 12 - Ploy Buraparate
The United States of Technologists is a collective effort to empower 10,000 technologists to enter the public sector across state, local, and federal government. Their bi-monthly video series, Download, highlights civic technologists sharing their experiences working in the public sector.
At our one year anniversary, the Colorado Digital Service team conducted a one-year retro by interviewing 40+ people that we had interacted with to understand how they perceived our value and to identify opportunities to improve the way we work. We compared these insights against our team’s self-perceived value. Listen to the insights we gained through this process, specifically focused on what went well, what we could have done better, and paths forward.
In June 2020, the CDS led an innovative and entirely virtual vendor selection process. Stakeholders across the state of Colorado participated directly in an interactive evaluation and selection process, which provided opportunities to assess vendors’ work style and culture, center evaluation on user needs, and generate buy-in from users. A vendor was selected in just 19 days and $15 million under budget.
A panel discussion moderated by CDS on the State of Colorado's COVID-19 Response, including lessons learned. This panel included the founding members of the Innovation Response Team (IRT) launched by Governor Jared Polis, reflections on leading the COVIDtech team, which focuses on how tech can be applied to the state’s response, and how the state is using technology for contact tracing and investigation.
News / External
GAO conducted a technology assessment of exposure notification apps, including Colorado’s. This in-depth report discusses the benefits of exposure notification apps, challenges affecting their use, and policy that might help in the future.
Colorado Digital Service: Year One
CDS’ agile, multidisciplinary nature was an asset as we shifted to deliver solutions for the state’s Covid-19 response. This article is a brief introduction to what we worked on and how we tend to operate.
“The state implemented an innovative and entirely virtual vendor selection process to evaluate solutions [for case investigation and contact tracing] under the direction of the Colorado Digital Service (CDS). Using a “demos not memos” process, a vendor was selected in just 19 days and $15 million under budget.”
Introducing the Colorado Digital Service (USDS)
CDS co-founder Kelly Taylor describes to the USDS the origins and early history of the CDS team, founding strategies and principles, and provides some guidance about how to found a new digital service elsewhere.
Tech-starved government seeks industry’s best, brightest
Governments at the federal, state, and municipal level have adopted “digital service” models to encourage technologists to enter civic service from the private sector, in both paid and volunteer roles.