Alex Mack
Alex Mack's blog posts
The right benchmarks
While government websites don’t need to match or outpace commercial websites on design novelty or retention metrics, they should aim to outperform on ensuring users accomplish their goals easily and efficiently.
What research can do: A maturity model for government agencies
Maturing a process is not easy, even if there is interest. It’s incumbent on human-centered design practitioners to recognize where an agency is with their practice, so they can identify how to help them grow.
The impact of internal incentives on product outcomes
Agencies that take the time to set outcome-based North Stars, align their internal incentives to reward outcomes, and empower their product owners are better prepared to build excellent products for the public.
How bad incentives can lead projects astray, and how to set things straight
While there is a great deal written about how perverse incentives can lead to unintended outcomes, we wanted to focus on how using the right incentives can drive the right behaviors — both at the individual and organizational levels.
How to create a welcoming user research environment
As researchers, we’re on the front lines of understanding the people who use our services, and that means we need to be thoughtful in how we conduct our research.
A case for incremental change and Section 508 compliance
As we consider accessibility compliance, we also need to keep in mind the impact of disruptions, particularly for audiences who rely on predictability and for whom recreating their accommodations can be a painful process.