Soft Launch Alert: The Digital Guidelines are a work in progress and subject to updates. Your feedback is highly valued and will help us improve! Digital Guidelines Feedback (Google Form)
If you're wondering how to incorporate our principles into your work, suggestions on getting started are below. Different agencies and projects may use different strategies. Regardless of the methods you use, always put people first.
Design For and With Real People
User-centered design is vital to ensuring that what we're doing is being done for real people in ways that will work for and benefit them.
- Do Your Research
- Explore your existing data to learn more about your user populations.
- Conduct user interviews from diverse groups.
- Create detailed user personas.
- Map user journeys across all platforms.
- Identify pain points, needs, and expectations.
- Map it Out
- Keep track of user feedback (the good, bad, and ugly).
- Develop user scenarios to help you understand user needs.
- Embrace Continuous Feedback
- Do user testing regularly (not just once!)
- Create clear and easy ways for users to give feedback.
- Talk about and incorporate feedback.
- Create (and follow) an interactive improvement process.
Step-by-Step Guides
- Stakeholder and user interviews from 18F: Figure out what to ask, how to ask it, and what additional methods you might be able to use.
- Journey mapping from 18F: Learn what, why, and how to engage in journey mapping.
- User scenarios from 18F: Explore a method for using personas or user groups to better understand your user's needs.
- The GSA's What is a Customer Journey Map?: Get the basics on what and how so you can begin your mapping journey.
- Usability testing from 18F. Learn about how to pick what you'll test, plan, and more. You can also find checklists, guides, and worksheets to help you get started.
- Visual preference testing from 18F. Discover interview basics and tips on brand alignment.
Put Accessibility First
- Know Colorado's Technology Accessibility Rules (8 CCR 1501-11)
- Understand applicable international standards (like WCAG).
- Use established or approved resources for auditing and testing
- Connect with your peers to stay informed and get help
A Note on WCAG
At present, the State's legal minimum standard is WCAG 2.1. Many of the recommendations made in the Digital Guidelines are informed by more recent standards, including WCAG 2.2 (the current W3C Recommendation) and the working draft of WCAG 3.0. Recommendations herein are backward compatible. We encourage you to be familiar with forthcoming standards and emerging best practices to ensure that the digital products you are creating are as accessible as possible.
Essential Reading & Resources
- ADA "Web Rule" Fact Sheet: Explore the ADA's web accessibility requirements.
- IT Accessibility Laws & Policies from the GSA: Learn about Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and related laws. Jump on over to the Laws and Policy Quick Reference Guide for at-a-glance information and links to important tools.
- Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools List from the W3C: Learn about automated, manual, and simulated auditing and testing tools to help you understand your project's accessibility. Quick reminder: State employees must have all software approved for use. Please follow your agency's requirements for installation and use.
- ICT Testing Baseline Portfolio: Explore method-agnostic foundations for testing web applications and documents. Rationale, test instructions, and more are available.
- Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM): Explore a methodology used for evaluating websites. This resource is especially useful when paired with the WCAG EM Report Tool.
Tools
For more information about auditing and testing resources, please check out Resources.
- ACR Editor: This tool, which uses the OpenACR format, will walk you through testing any digital asset. And, you'll get an ACR when you're done!
- Siteimprove: Available to most agencies, Siteimprove provides both browser extensions (plugins) and a web interface for discovering common accessibility issues in web-based solutions.
- WhoCanUse: See how accessible your color combinations really are! Explore simulations of how people with visual differences and in different situations might experience color pairs.
- WAVE by WebAIM: Get free, quick, and in-depth reports about errors and potential issues on your webpages.
Keep it Simple (and Clear)
- Embrace simplicity in every element of your project.
- Prioritize plain language and structure (including content structure and navigation).
Essential Reading & Resources
- PlainLanguage.gov: Explore plain language guidelines, check out samples, and get access to training materials.
- Empathy Lab & Community Steering Committee: Learn how to improve government services through empathy.
Represent Colorado
- Read, learn, and follow the State's Brand Guidelines.
- Use Design Tokens when possible.
- Don't reinvent the wheel. Components, strategies, and similar are included here to help you succeed in a standardized way.
Essential Reading & Resources
- Inclusive Branding: Find high-level guidelines and best practices for creating brand-aware content.