- Fig 01 / Content Strategy
Decision: Publish only OMB-reviewed waivers until status and determination were separate fields
Result: The public never saw a request status mistaken for a federal decision
Civic Tech
Building Transparency into Federal Decision-Making
The website for the White House's Made in America Office (MIAO) provided transparency into the U.S. government's procurement processes.
Overview
- 01 / Problem
- A January 2021 executive order told agencies to buy more American-made products and to publish every proposed waiver. madeinamerica.gov, built by GSA's Forms.gov for the White House, had to make contracting opportunities clearer and the waivers public.
- 02 / Design Challenge
- Russ handled IA, content strategy and UX research, documenting the site's structure in FlowMapp against the live code.
- 03 / Approach
- With no analytics on what users sort by, he timeboxed an hour of research "to learn just enough to whittle the list." When a stakeholder conflated a waiver's request status with OMB's decision, the team published only reviewed waivers until a new field shipped.
- 04 / Outcome
- The site launched 17 September 2021 with a public waiver database. No usage data exists, but the live site can show whether later releases shipped.
Process + Evidence Plates
- Fig 02 / Research Planning
Decision: Timebox an hour of research to decide sort options without analytics
Result: The sort list was cut to what users needed, quickly
- Fig 03 / Information Architecture
Decision: Document the site's structure in FlowMapp against the live code
Result: The IA matched what actually shipped
- Fig 04 / Content Strategy
Decision: Lay out the executive order, waiver process and database in plain language
Result: Businesses could understand and act on a federal policy
- Fig 05 / Accessibility Standards & Best Practices
Decision: Build to Section 508 and USWDS conventions
Result: The site worked for everyone, including people using assistive technology