When you work with departments on a new website, it’s helpful to begin by learning about their priorities. Once you understand them, you can work on ways to make their key services easy to find. This will help you develop a government content strategy. Each department has its own mission and operational goals. Depending on … Continued
A team agreement is a shared set of norms and expectations that define how team members will interact. Sometimes they are referred to as working agreements. They create a foundation for: Trust Accountability Collaboration Why team agreements matter Team agreements pave the way for a productive and effective work environment. They provide a framework for … Continued
This is a chapter from Proudly Serving, contributed by Laine Hendricks and Rebecca Woodbury Overview Guiding principles help organizations align their values to their digital goals. They serve as an aspirational North Star to help teams make design and content decisions. Guiding principles enable collaboration and consistency so digital products achieve better outcomes and build … Continued
A new website project ends with a launch, but your website is never done. When you get feedback, you should report out about what you did. An easy way to do this is a regular update with a list of things you’ve done and things you are doing to improve the site. Sharing updates increases public … Continued
How to create sustainable and effective community engagement for your government agency Written in collaboration with Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab), this guide walks you through the basics of digital community engagement and is meant to serve as a resource for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. After all, setting a solid foundation for your community engagement … Continued
Purpose The purpose of an empowered government product owner is to make sure that a government service or program is effective and meets people’s needs. “There must be a single product owner who has the authority and responsibility to assign tasks and work elements; make business, product, and technical decisions; and be accountable for the … Continued
The under-resourced nature of local government often leads to de-prioritization of workplace culture. At the same time, it adds pressure to increase efficiency. The “do more with less” mantra sounds like tired nails on a chalkboard to most public servants. Work culture is made up of several elements including: Purpose (this inspires and motivates us … Continued
Early in my career, my best friend was working as a social worker. She helped LGBTQ foster youth navigate trauma. She supported them in relationships with foster and birth parents, as well as other kids. At the end of her shift, she had to document the happenings of the day, sometimes traumatic, into their case … Continued
A product owner ensures that a government service or program is effective and meets people’s needs. This role is different from a project manager, who’s job is to make sure a project gets done on time and on budget. The product owner is accountable for whether the service is any good. This mindset helps to … Continued
The book “The Open Organization” by Jim Whitehurst speaks to the idea of openness beyond the legal definition of transparency or simple collaboration, but as a tool for making government work better for people. Whitehurst talks about an “open everything culture” and that it’s not for everyone. To succeed in this culture, you must be … Continued
