Federal Front Door Research
Role
Research lead and strategic advisor (2015-2016) for comprehensive study of how the public interacts with federal government, conducting the largest user research initiative in federal government history to inform service design across all agencies.
Challenge
The federal government operated as a collection of disconnected agencies, each designing services independently without understanding how the public actually experienced government interactions. There was no comprehensive research into citizen needs, expectations, or pain points when seeking government services - a critical gap for designing effective digital transformation.
Approach
Research Strategy and Foundation
Built on comprehensive analysis of existing research from Pew Research Center, Gartner, and other organizations, plus international precedents including New Zealand’s pioneering digital government research. While existing surveys effectively documented the “what” of public-government interactions, they provided no insights into the “why” behind citizen behaviors and decisions.
Original Qualitative Research
Designed custom research methodology to understand motivations, mental models, and decision-making processes behind government interactions. Conducted 35 in-depth interviews and 29 intercept interviews across five cities (Jacksonville, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Sacramento), plus 52 diary entries from longitudinal study participants.
Systems-Level Analysis
Rather than focusing on individual agency services, examined government interaction patterns holistically to understand cross-agency user journeys and systemic barriers preventing effective service delivery.
Human-Centered Framework Development
Created research-backed frameworks for understanding government service design challenges, including the “black box of government” concept and analysis of trust, choice overload, and proxy user needs.
Key Findings
Government as Black Box
Discovered that the public struggles with government opacity - not understanding processes, timelines, or information usage. The public expects transparency about why information is needed and how long processes take.
Proxy User Dependencies
Found that vulnerable populations (seniors, non-English speakers, people with disabilities) depend heavily on informal helpers, but government systems aren't designed to support this reality. When proxy support fails, people fall through cracks.
Cost-Benefit Calculations
Identified that the public makes sophisticated assessments about whether interacting with government is worth the effort. Complex processes and unclear outcomes discourage engagement, particularly among those who most need services.
Trust as Contextual
Learned that public trust in government varies by interaction context and that trust-building requires specific design patterns, including clear .gov domain usage and HTTPS security indicators.
Impact
Policy Transformation
Research directly influenced OMB Circular A-11, establishing customer experience as a government-wide priority and requiring agencies to measure and improve public-facing services.
International Influence and Knowledge Exchange
Research was consulted by digital government teams from the UK, the Netherlands, Estonia, Ukraine, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand - creating a full-circle knowledge exchange after initially learning from New Zealand’s digital government research. Findings established the work as a global reference for government service design methodology.
Design System Integration
Key insights about trust and transparency were incorporated into the U.S. Web Design System, particularly the “Here’s how you know” pattern that helps the public identify official government websites.
Organizational Change
Research established customer experience as a legitimate discipline within federal government and provided evidence base for subsequent service design initiatives across agencies.
Methodological Innovation
Cross-Agency Perspective
Pioneered approach of studying government interaction holistically rather than agency-by-agency, revealing systemic issues invisible to individual departments.
Vulnerable Population Focus
Emphasized research with seniors, non-English speakers, and people with disabilities - populations often excluded from government research but critical for inclusive service design.
Behavioral Framework Development
Created transferable frameworks (cost-benefit assessment, proxy dependencies, trust contextuality) that other governments could adapt for their own contexts.
Long-term Influence
The research established evidence-based service design as fundamental to digital government transformation. Its frameworks continue to influence federal customer experience strategy and have been adapted internationally. The work demonstrated that large-scale user research could drive policy change and organizational transformation across the federal government.
This project proved that investing in understanding public needs could generate insights powerful enough to influence government-wide policy and international best practices.