State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

A Three-Step Guide to Better UX in Government

Data-Smart City Solutions: Last week, the government of Hawaii accidentally sent a massive alert to citizens warning of an impending ballistic missile attack. The message ended with the ominous warning “this is not a drill,” only to alert Hawaiians some 40 minutes later that the original missive had been sent in error. Point being: sometimes governments really send the wrong message.

This is of course a highly egregious and literal example of government messaging gone awry. But misarticulated or misunderstood government communications, even in more figurative circumstances with far less disastrous implications, can erode trust and derail well-intended initiatives.

The key to designing effective government-constituent interactions, according to a group of behavioral scientists and government leaders gathered at the Summit on Data-Smart Government, is understanding the behavior of the end users. Infusing behavioral science methods into government is distinct from traditional policy-making, often grounded on the “rational thinking” assumptions of traditional economics. These innovators outlined three key considerations for creating policies and strategies grounded in a robust understanding of user behavior.

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