Human-Centered Design in Policy Environments

Government policies establish mandatory requirements and legal frameworks that determine how public services must be designed, delivered, and maintained. These regulations ensure services meet essential standards for accessibility, security, and public good while protecting citizen rights.

Key policy types affecting design include:

• Accessibility policies: Like Section 508 in the US requiring digital services to work for users with disabilities^[1]
• Privacy policies: Such as GDPR in Europe affecting how user data is collected and displayed^[2]
• Language policies: Like Canada's Official Languages Act requiring bilingual service delivery^[3]
• Digital standards: Such as Australia's Digital Service Standard mandating user-centered design approaches^[4]

These policies create a framework for design decisions in government projects. Understanding them helps create services that are both legally compliant and user-friendly.

Government rules shape how we design public services. While these rules might seem limiting, they can help create better solutions for people who use these services. Take privacy rules as an example. When a policy says we can't show personal information on screens, we can turn this into better design. We might create clear options for people to choose what information they share, or add simple explanations about how their data stays protected. When policies require specific steps in a service, we can make each step easier to understand. This means using clear language, showing people where they are in the process, and explaining what comes next. Working with policy rules works best when we learn from people using the service. Their feedback helps us create better solutions and explain our design choices to government teams.

Advocating for design changes in government services involves multiple levels of stakeholders. Design teams typically work with project managers, service owners, and department leads who ensure compliance with regulations and policies. Building support for human-centered design requires working through organizational layers. Start with immediate stakeholders: project managers and service owners who understand both policy requirements and day-to-day operations. Show them how design improvements align with their responsibilities for service quality and compliance. Frame design changes in terms of shared goals rather than just user needs. For example, connect simpler forms to reduced errors and support costs, or show how clearer information helps meet accessibility requirements. Use data and examples that matter at each organizational level.

Unlike commercial projects, where you might start with rapid prototyping or user research, government service design requires a different first step. Understanding policies prevents designing solutions that can't be implemented, no matter how well they might serve users. Start by digging into the policies that will shape your design. Meet with service owners and team members who know these policies well. Their insights help reveal which requirements are firm and where there's room for creative solutions. This foundation prevents wasted effort and builds trust with stakeholders. Turn policy requirements into practical design guidelines by understanding what each means for your service. Security policies might affect how users log in, while accessibility rules shape your color choices and navigation patterns. This helps spot challenges and opportunities early.

Government user research operates under specific rules about privacy, accessibility, and data handling. While these requirements might seem limiting, they help create more ethical and inclusive research.

Research in government follows specific regulations:

• Privacy rules: Careful handling of personal information and health data
• Accessibility requirements: Including people with disabilities in research
• Information collection policies: Following proper procedures for gathering public input (such as the US Paperwork Reduction Act or Canada's Tri-Council Policy Statement for research with humans)
• Communication standards: Using clear language in all research materials^[5]

These requirements actually help create better research by ensuring we include diverse participants and protect sensitive information. Instead of seeing them as barriers, treat them as tools for more inclusive research.

Government services need to show they meet both policy requirements and user needs. This means measuring success differently than in commercial projects, where metrics often focus only on user engagement or business goals. Success in government services combines compliance and effectiveness. Track how well your service follows policy requirements while measuring if it actually helps people complete important tasks. For example, monitor both accessibility compliance and task completion rates for users with different abilities. Create measures that matter to various stakeholders. Policy teams need compliance data, service teams need operational metrics, and design teams need user success rates. Combining these helps show the full impact of design improvements.

Government policies evolve to meet new challenges and technologies. When the EU adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2016, replacing the 1995 Data Protection Directive, teams across government services had to rethink how they handle user information. Changes in areas like data privacy, accessibility, or service delivery require design teams to adapt while still maintaining service quality.

Design teams can prepare for policy changes by:

• Following policy discussions in government working groups
• Building flexible design systems that adapt to new requirements
• Creating modular components that are easier to update
• Maintaining clear documentation of policy-driven design decisions

Being proactive helps reduce rework. For instance, designing forms to separate required and optional fields makes it easier to adapt when data collection policies change. Similarly, building accessibility features into base components helps meet new requirements faster.

Getting support for human-centered design (HCD) in government means showing how it helps achieve policy goals while improving services. Design teams can show the value of HCD by demonstrating how user research, testing, and improvements lead to better results for both users and the government.

Share clear examples of how HCD has worked for other government services. For example, how user research helped reduce mistakes on forms or how usability testing improved completion rates. Link these results to policy goals, such as increasing access to services or lowering support costs.

Involve stakeholders in the process by sharing updates and running workshops. When they see how user feedback directly improves solutions, they’re more likely to support HCD as a key method for achieving government goals.