Championing the Value of HCD in Government

March 31, 2022

On Thursday, March 31, Senior Design Strategist Brian Flaherty with Tantus Technologies shared best practices and facilitated small group discussions to explore how we might champion the value of HCD in government. Despite the expectations for federal agencies to become more user-friendly and customer-focused, human-centered design (HCD) often feels like it is left on the cutting room floor due to pressing deadlines, tight resources, and misunderstandings. The mandate is clear—from both customers and the executive office—yet we face challenges when it comes to “selling” the value of HCD and related methods at the enterprise and product levels.  

Small groups of CMS employees and contractors discussed common scenarios and shared their insights with the larger group. Attendees:

• Explored ways to champion the value of HCD 
• Reflected on common rebuttals, like HCD takes too much time 
• Defined success with a human-centered lens 
• Co-created meaningful answers to why HCD helps the government
• Learned about tools and resources to help you make a case for HCD

Session Speaker

Brian Flaherty  – Senior Design Strategist, HCD CoE. Brian has spent the better part of three decades pitching creative and communications services to an extensive list of proponents and naysayers alike. He is currently a Senior Design Strategist with the CCSQ Human-Centered Design Center of Excellence, has been a graphic designer for 30 years, and has been practicing HCD for 12. In addition, Brian spent 11 years as a Creative Director, Communications Supervisor, and HCD Practitioner at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a BA degree from the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in Creative Writing and Public Relations. Brian is married, has a daughter preparing to head off to college, two cats, two dogs, 26 chickens, four ducks, a crested gecko, and an alpaca named Skinny Pete.