CX Guides & Kits

There are a number of low-cost, low-lift actions that can contribute to a positive difference in how citizens experience your agency’s services. Here are some actions you (a Federal employee at any level!) can take within your agency.

Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey | Performance.gov

The best way to learn about your customers’ needs is to go where your customers are; observe them in their daily environment as they live, work, and use your products and services; and ask them directly using methods that test assumptions, reveal hidden needs, lead to practical solutions, and are supported by data.

How Customer Experience (CX) Can Help Your Agency | Performance.gov

HCD, UX and CX aren’t the same things, but they have a great deal in common. They all involve researching the needs of users and working with them to design and test solutions.

HCD, UX, and CX: Why Their Differences Matter and Why They Don’t | GSA - IT Modernization Centers of Excellence

A customer journey map helps organize your research findings in a way that uncovers patterns, reframes the data, and helps your team identify new insights. Along the way, you’ll validate (or reject) assumptions and get insights into your customers and stakeholders that you just can’t get from a straight-up process map.

How Do You Use a Journey Map? | GSA - IT Modernization Centers of Excellence

Personas are descriptions that give you an understanding of your users and how they use your product or service. Personas can take on a variety of forms depending on your organization’s needs. But there are a few basic questions and ideas that every persona should include to ensure that the tool is useful.

Personas 101 | Digital.gov

Those who have lived through a natural disaster are facing one of the most difficult experiences they’ve ever encountered: attending to their families’ most basic needs while experiencing trauma, stress, and multiple bureaucratic processes. In these most vulnerable moments, survivors expect the government to step up.

A cross-agency collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration, and the Social Security Administration.

Surviving a Natural Disaster | Performance.gov

Each year, approximately 200,000 service members leave the military. Employment statistics have continued to improve, but there is more to understand to improve the rates of those that find a career that is satisfying, has potential for development and higher wages, and recognizes valuable skills veterans have.

A cross-agency collaboration between the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

Seeking Employment After Service | Performance.gov

The Customer Experience Center of Excellence (CX CoE) set out to visually represent the OneUSDA Ecosystem: a comprehensive view of USDA services and customers, with the power to reveal overlaps, bring clarity to complex customer and employee interactions, and uncover opportunity areas within the department and its agencies.

A cross-agency collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and GSA.

The OneUSDA Ecosystem: Visualizing the Connections Between USDA Customers, Services, and Agencies | GSA - IT Modernization Centers of Excellence

Using human-centered design (HCD) research methods, the CoE team interviewed very low-income seniors, intermediaries who facilitate HUD programs that serve seniors, and HUD representatives to understand the activities and challenges involved in navigating HUD’s affordable housing programs. The learnings from this research were visualized in a journey map and via a service blueprint.

A cross-agency collaboration between the Department of Housing and Urban Development and GSA.

The Journey to Affordable Housing for Seniors | GSA - IT Modernization Centers of Excellence

Each year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency helps hundreds of thousands of people recover after disasters, providing critical emergency services, financial support, and other assistance. Remote property inspections, launched out of necessity during the pandemic, are helping disaster survivors get easier access to inspections to verify damages.

FEMA 2021 CX Profile | Partnership for Public Service

Every year, the Transportation Security Administration interacts with millions of travelers passing through airports and other transportation hubs. Customers appreciate the general travel information and answers to their questions that TSA provides over social media using its #AskTSA accounts. Customer satisfaction with the agency’s website has also increased in recent years. The agency has improved the clarity of information on the site, although many customers still call the agency’s contact center to confirm information.

TSA 2021 CX Profile | Partnership for Public Service

USCIS is now working to improve the experience for attorneys and legal representatives who helps applicants navigate the process and making it easier and quicker for customers to complete tasks when interacting with the agency across multiple channels.

USCIS 2021 CX Profile | Partnership for Public Service

As international travel resumes and border restrictions are lifted, Customs and Border Protection is increasing its use of technology to streamline the customs experience.

CBP 2021 CX Profile | Partnership for Public Service