HCD Annual Survey

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The Human-Centered Design Center of Excellence (HCD CoE) recently conducted a survey among the CCSQ community to gain insights into attitudes, activities, and barriers in practicing customer research, as well as past experiences and preferences for engaging with HCD CoE services. The survey aimed to deepen understanding of opportunities to improve HCD operations and leverage available resources for better customer understanding. In this article, we will highlight key themes that emerged from the survey, including insights on HCD in practice and HCD CoE services. We will also discuss next steps based on the feedback received from the community. Your input and feedback are valuable, and we encourage you to continue the conversation with us. Thank you to all those who participated in our survey as we strive towards continuous improvement. 

Key Themes 

Community Themes 

Insights from Strategic Design Practitioners: 

1. Enthusiasm for Human-Centered Design (HCD) Methods: A majority of respondents strongly agreed with the statement "My team values and prioritizes end-user research to balance decision-making with customer input." This highlights the importance of incorporating customer input through HCD methods in the decision-making process.
2. Qualitative Research Preference: Respondents were slightly more likely to lead qualitative research activities compared to quantitative research. This suggests that qualitative research methods are commonly and confidently used by respondents in their HCD efforts. This also suggests that challenges with securing Information Collection Request (ICR) for the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) persist.
3. Success Factors in HCD Methods: Respondents attributed their success in HCD methods to three factors: leadership buy-in, resourcing, and clear expectations for research output. This emphasizes the significance of supportive leadership, adequate resources, and clear research goals in achieving successful HCD outcomes.
4. Setbacks in HCD Activities: Respondents identified two main factors as setbacks in their HCD activities: participant recruitment (including finding participants and managing workflow) and policy restrictions such as the PRA. This indicates that challenges related to participant recruitment and policy compliance are areas of concern for HCD practitioners.
5. HCD Areas of Focus in the Upcoming Year: Respondents expressed interest in leveraging research workflow tools, building design systems, and increasing the use of survey methods as key areas of focus in the upcoming year. This suggests a growing emphasis on utilizing technological tools and methodologies to enhance HCD practices.
6. Satisfaction with Figma as a Design Tool: Many respondents reported satisfaction with using Figma as a design tool, which is consistent with previous reports across the enterprise. This underscores the popularity and effectiveness of Figma as a tool for designing and prototyping in HCD activities. 

Insights from all survey respondents: 

1. HCD CoE Services Engagement: In the past year, participants were most likely to engage with the following HCD CoE services:  
   1. Community of Practice events 
   2. Slack channel posts 
   3. Training 
   4. World Usability Day event 
   5. The HCD Confluence site
   6. Paperwork Reduction Act support

2. Value Placed on Services: Respondents highly valued services such as Community of Practice events, Training, and the HCD Confluence site, as indicated by representative feedback: 

• • “Communities of Practice events allow me to learn about other CMS projects; learn what the HCD/UX practitioners are doing and how they're doing it. I find the knowledge sharing valuable.”
  • “The webinar trainings provide practical strategies that I can implement into my work. The speakers were excellent!”
  • “I have found navigating to the HCD Center of Excellence Confluence site has been extremely helpful to me. This page contains most of the information I would be looking for HCD related items. In addition, it is organized very well.”

3. Opportunity for Value Addition: Three key areas emerged as opportunities for the HCD CoE to add more value to the community: 

1. 1. Sharing tool knowledge
      1. “Collect and provide a synopsis of the HCD tools used across ISG LOBs to either help teams figure out what would/could work with their team, and/or allow CMS to streamline the software the LOBs are using.” 
   2. Learning from HCD teams outside of CCSQ 
      1. “Opportunities to understand how other areas of CMS are doing HCD, design, or tools they're using would be helpful. Finding an opportunity to bring all these teams together would be beneficial to understand higher strategy initiatives (if any) would be great.” 
   3. Understanding HCD CoE operational support services 
      1. “If I were to wish for anything, it would be for more insight as to how HCD can support internal operations for the Center. How might we better incorporate HCD principles into the way that we support the budget, contract and administrative needs of CCSQ.” 

4. High Recommendation: Most respondents expressed high likelihood of recommending the HCD CoE services to their colleagues, indicating a positive perception of the value provided by the services. Our net promoter score stands at 56, surpassing the average range. In terms of industry standards, a score falling between 30 and 70 is widely recognized as exceptional.

Next Steps for HCD CoE:  

Based on the insights gathered from the survey, here are some next steps for the Human-Centered Design Center of Excellence (HCD CoE) to consider: 

1. Strengthen HCD CoE Services: 
   • Continue to offer valuable services such as Community of Practice events, training, and the HCD Confluence site, and incorporate up-to-date feedback from participants to further improve these offerings. 
   • Share tool knowledge and best practices across different teams within the organization to streamline processes and foster collaboration. 
   • Explore opportunities to learn from HCD teams outside of CCSQ and other areas of the organization to broaden knowledge and insights. 
   • Provide more insight into how HCD CoE can support internal operations for the Center, including project support and HCD project leadership. 
2. Enhance HCD In-Practice: 
   • Continue to prioritize and promote human-centered design methods and end-user research within the community. 
   • Provide added resources and support for quantitative research activities, such as PRA guidance, as well as address challenges related to participant recruitment. 
   • Explore opportunities to leverage research workflow tools. 
3. Continuous Improvement: 
   • Encourage feedback and suggestions from the community through comments or direct emails to further enhance HCD operations and services. 
   • Continue to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of HCD CoE initiatives and make necessary improvements based on feedback and evolving needs. 

More about the sample… 

Here's a summary of our respondents: 

• We received responses from 52 participants, with most having worked for the organization for at least one year. 
• Among the respondents, 71% are contractors and 29% are federal employees.
• Approximately half of the respondents are currently engaged in CCSQ work, with other groups such as the Center for Medicare and Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services also well-represented.
• Among the CCSQ respondents, the Information Systems Group (ISG) was the most represented group. 

Thank You! The HCD CoE team extends their gratitude to all the survey participants for their valuable insights, and they are committed to ongoing efforts towards continuous improvement in line with the community's needs and expectations. 

Do you agree with these themes? Did we miss anything? Contact us via email or Slack if you’d like to continue the conversation.