ISG Playbook
APIs
With an exciting line-up of engaging speakers and diverse topics about systems that provide healthcare in all its many forms, you will not want to miss anything! Do you have a busy day, or an upcoming deadline? We get it. That is why the Zoom event is an open-house format with sessions throughout the day and breaks in between sessions.
SESSION QUICKLOOK
8:30 - 8:35 | Welcome & Overview from the Human-Centered Design Center of Excellence Team
8:35 - 8:45 | Welcome Address from CMS
Introductory Remarks: Katie Holmes – Deputy Director, DQSGED, CCSQ
:: KEYNOTE PRESENTATION ::
8:45 - 9:30 | Policy Design for System Health: Moving from Service Design to Systemic Design through Policy
AN INTERACTIVE SESSION
Presenter: Victor Udoewa, CDC
Join us as we examine how public service designers address challenges that span multiple services and agencies, moving into the realm of systemic design. Influencing policy as a designer differs from creating policy as a policymaker, requiring a distinct approach. We'll introduce a framework for non-policymakers that combines systems thinking with critical policy entrepreneurship. This will be illustrated through a case study on radical participatory design to achieve more equitable outcomes. We will also explore examples of open-source policy development through the collaborative efforts of USDS and 18F.
The session covers:
Defining traditional policy design or policymaking process.
Defining the systemic policy design process.
Understanding differences between prototyping and piloting of policy design.
The importance of policy entrepreneurship role and examples of the work.
Understanding the definition and integration of service design and policy design.
Areas of interest: Service Design, Policy Design, Healthcare, Systemic Thinking, Participatory Design.
9:30 - 9:45 | Q&A / Break
:: MORNING PLENARY SESSION ::
9:45 - 10:00 | Designing from an Emerging Future: Levels of Listening
AN INTERACTIVE SESSION
Presenter: Arthur Grau
Join us as we explore the intersection of technology, design, and human empathy to tackle complex challenges with creative, thoughtful solutions. Success in this work requires honing three key skills: observing (understanding people and systems), reflecting (making sense of insights), and acting (prototyping and creating without rigid expectations). The session will introduce “generative listening” as a valuable tool for problem-solving. Participants will practice different levels of listening—factual, empathetic, and generative—while generating shared insights. By the end, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how mindset influences problem-solving and take home a DIY listening assessment for continued growth.
The session covers:
How integrating mind, heart, and will super-charge human-centered design processes
Alternative observation and learning methods
Practicing a simple non-verbal technique that can unlock problem-solving
Areas of interest: Professional Development, Problem-Solving, Research, Communication, Empathy, Practical
10:15 - 10:30 | Q&A / Break
10:30 - 11:00 | The Health and Human Services Customer Experience Initiative
AN INTERACTIVE SESSION
Presenters: Lauren Anderson and Jonathan Breems
Join us as this session will cover some of the key goals and strategic objectives of the HHS Customer Experience Initiative. The Customer Experience Initiative encompasses work on the CX Agency Priority Goal, in which CMS is participating through their project: “Improving the Clinician Experience through Administrative Processes Improvements and Interoperability”.
The session covers:
Showcasing the impact of the goals with new services, tools and resources
The new HHS CX Community of Practice and building out CX resources in a central repository site
Research incentive programs and generic PRA clearance to advance CX work across the Department
Areas of interest: Healthcare, Strategy, Customer Experience, Government Enterprise
11:00 - 11:15 | Q&A / Break
11:15 - 12:00 | Accessible Plain Language: Weaving Language, Experience, & Accessibility
Presenter: Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo
Join us as we explore how Accessible Plain Language (APL) goes beyond simple communication to focus on people’s experiences in language services. Our goal is to ensure that everyone—especially individuals with Limited English Proficiency and people with disabilities—can access the information they need and use it effectively.
The characteristics of APL are:
People: You, me, our nation
Equity: Consistent and systematic treatment of all individuals in a fair and impartial manner
Accessibility: Consistent and systematic inclusion and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities
Customer Experience: Placing people at the center of everything we do
Engagement: Working side by side with partners
Areas of interest: Human-Center Design, Communication, Practical, Accessibility
12:00 - 12:45 | Lunch Break
:: AFTERNOON PLENARY SESSION ::
12:45 - 1:30 | Virtual Reality: Leveraging Innovative Technologies to Increase Empathy and Improve the Patient Experience
AN INTERACTIVE SESSION
Presenter: Jennifer Chapin
Join us as we address the issue of ineffective healthcare training, where traditional methods often fail to engage staff. In 2022, VA’s VEO office developed a Virtual Reality (VR) app to enhance empathy in clinical staff by immersing them in the patient experience. Piloted in 10 VHA hospitals in 2023, the program saw 93% of participants recommending it and 92% reporting improved interactions with Veterans. Additionally, 80% of pilot sites experienced a 5-6% increase in patient survey scores. This initiative highlights the potential of virtual reality to transform training and customer experience across healthcare and beyond.
The session covers:
The HCD process of developing virtual reality scenarios
Common implementation challenges for VR technology
Impact of VR training on the patient and employee experience
Other applications for VR as a training and empathy-building tool
Areas of interest: Research, Technology, Customer Experience, Data, Healthcare, Empathy
1:30 - 1:45 | Q&A / Break
1:45 - 2:15 | Building Panels to Improve Customer Experience
Presenter: Suzi Soroczak
A PANEL DISCUSSION
Join us to learn how customer panels, a long-standing tech industry tool, enhances recruitment and streamlines development by providing valuable project insights. The CDC's Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology (OPHDST) has built a panel of public health professionals using Qualtrics XM to support over 50 designers working across various products and services. We’ll discuss how this panel was developed and share examples of its successful use in research and design activities.
The session covers:
How to develop a user panel
Benefits of panels in Agile development
How panels can improve DEI and reduce customer burden
See an example of how to leverage panels in product development
Areas of interest: Research, Customer Experience, Metrics & Data, Process
2:15 - 2:25 | Q&A / Break
:: FIRESIDE CHAT ::
2:25 - 2:55 | Human-Centered Design and Government Space
AN INTERACTIVE SESSION
Presenter: Glennette Clark
Join us for an informal and interactive fireside conversation with Glennette Clark, a highly experienced and respected human-centered designer within the government space, as we explore the cultural challenges of change, critical inflection points for progress to occur and what are new horizons for consumers and the HCD practice.
Areas of interest: User Experience, Research, Human-Centered Design, Healthcare, Culture
2:55 - 3:05 | Break
3:05 - 3:50 | The Magic Matrix: How a “Matrix” HCD Model Can Drive Human-Centered Design Strategy on Highly Technical Programs
AN INTERACTIVE SESSION
Presenter: Jesse Michel and Amani Moaz
Join us as we explore how CMS's Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) provides essential Medicaid and CHIP data on eligibility, services, and spending. For HCD practitioners, traditional methods can complicate product strategy, requiring flexibility to support modernization and user adoption. Practitioners were embedded in product teams, collaborating with data, policy, and engineering experts using the SAFe framework. This presentation will discuss the challenges, lessons learned, and benefits of this matrixed approach for improving strategies and outcomes in data-driven programs.
Areas of interest: SAFe/Agile, Process, Product Development, Strategy, Organization, Data
3:50 - 4:00 | Q&A / Closing Remarks
