Blog

Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 28 at 1:00 pm ET for CCSQ HCD Community of Practice: Working with the Public to Improve Digital Forms: A GSA Case Study. We will welcome members of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) to discuss the digital forms evaluation project and share how five GSA offices and the public worked together to improve federal forms.

Find Zoom info and other details on the HCD CoE space: https://qnetconfluence.cms.gov/display/HCD/Community

School is now in session! Announcing the Grand Opening of the ESS Tools University. Register for upcoming QualityNet Confluence, Jira, and Slack training sessions, view materials from previous sessions, watch on-demand Lucid and SurveyMonkey trainings, and more.

Visit the ESS Tools University Now

Every November, communities come together to celebrate how we can make life easier for everyone. On Wednesday, November 8, ISG will host its 5th annual program to explore this year’s theme, Collaboration and Cooperation. With this theme, we seek to examine ways in which we can work together to create solutions and connect our work to the big problems of the world. Look for more information in the future.

Save the date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023

ISG will host the 5th Annual CCSQ World Usability Day on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. We're looking for speakers, contributors for panel discussions, and facilitators who would like to help us explore this year’s theme, Collaboration and Cooperation. We also have volunteer opportunities for those who would like to support the event without presenting a topic.

Please complete the Call for Speakers form by Friday, September 1.

Learn more about how to get involved: https://forms.office.com/r/NDaRYGfbZk

There’s a new resource to support your QNOD needs. Need to submit a change request or enhancement for your service? The QNOD Request Service Desk is here for you. Fill out the form with the details regarding your request, click "Create", and you’re done! You can even track your request through the QualityNet Help Center request tracking feature. Always know where your request is in the process without making a call, drafting an email, or sending a Slack message. Accessible, convenient, and available to you now, the QNOD Request Service Desk is your key to an easy change/enhancement request process. Check it out!

info QNOD Request Service Desk


Want to learn how to use it? Visit the QNOD Request Service Desk tab on the QNOD Confluence page. For more information about QNOD, visit our QNOD Confluence page. If you have questions about the Service Desk or need help with any other QNOD issue, contact us on our slack channel #help-qnod-dashboard.


The QNOD Service Desk does not replace ServiceNow as the submission portal for Incident Reporting. If you have an Incident to report, please submit it via ServiceNow.

During this CCSQ Community of Practice event, the LACE will explore the boundless possibilities of embracing agility to enhance our organizations' resilience and success. Together, we unlock the potential of adaptive strategies, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and build strong connections to thrive in an ever-changing business landscape.

Attendees will:

  • Discover what Business Agility is,
  • Learn about the state of Business Agility in CCSQ,
  • Gain insight from SAFe and
  • Hear from speakers’ firsthand experiences.

When: Wednesday, September 6th; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST

Learn more and register here: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItcO2vqz0sHKgFKKCBMOY6Sr-RGHuW4nc

Register now for upcoming training offerings from the Lean-Agile (LACE) and the Human-Centered Design (HCD CoE) Centers of Excellence.

Learn more about the Centers of Excellence

During this one-day course, LACE will cover the foundations and principles of Agility.

What is Agile? Learn more about Scrum, Kanban, and how the core principles of Agile are applied to digital product development.

Attendees will gain an understanding of Agile Values and Principles, Social Contracts, Key Agile Roles, Scrum Overview, Visualizing Work, Writing User Stories, Estimation and Planning Techniques.

When: August 1, 2023; 9:00am - 3:00pm EST

Learn more and register here: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsdOChrz4qGAJp2FquQFfGcVmTmKY05ME

There is a common misconception that design and development are at odds. One prioritizes understanding and the other prioritizes solutioning.

During this online, two-hour training co-facilitated by the CCSQ Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) and the Human-Centered Design Center of Excellence (HCD CoE), attendees will discuss and explore how teams can thoughtfully share these responsibilities and achieve a balanced approach to delivery.

When: July 13, 2023; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST

Learn more and register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/achieving-great-outcomes-with-lean-agile-and-human-centered-design-registration-608801139597?aff=CommsHub

On Thursday, June 29, Kira Prin and Sam Chapman from the IRS joined the CCSQ HCD Community of Practice to share how they collect user feedback and use web analytics to improve IRS Free File, one of the IRS’s most widely used applications.

ACCESS SESSION MATERIALS NOW

During this two-day SAFe POPM course, gain an in-depth understanding of how to effectively perform your role in the Agile Release Train (ART) as it delivers value through Planning Intervals. Discover how the Continuous Delivery Pipeline and DevOps culture contribute to the relentless improvement of the ART.

Attendees will:

  • Explore how to apply Lean thinking to decompose Epics into Features and Stories,
  • Refine Features and Stories,
  • Manage Program and Team backlogs, 
  • Plan and execute Iterations and Planning Intervals. 

When: June 27 & 28, from 9:00am - 5:00pm EST both days 

Learn more and register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/safe-popm-tickets-600714381887?aff=LACEHubComms

Empathy workshops help teams or stakeholders understand and prioritize user needs before designing a solution.
Learn more about the Empathy Map Workshop as well as other available workshops, and what to expect upon project request. Contact us at HCD@cms.hhs.gov to schedule a workshop now.

Check out the HCD Annual Trend Report 2023 and explore a series of interconnected research themes concerning market forces, societal shifts, consumer demand, and historical events that impact healthcare, as well as the insights gathered from a CCSQ community survey.

Start reading the Annual Trend Report now!

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, June 7th from 1:00pm-3:00pm ET for CCSQ LACE Community of Practice: Creating Organizational Accountability
During this CCSQ Community of Practice event, the LACE will examine the various agreements between teams, leadership, customers and partners to create a fabric of organizational accountability.
Attendees will:

  • Discover how continuous exploration fuels innovation,
  • Gain the guidance and tools you'll need to work effectively in remote environments with distributed teams, and
  • Define a vision, strategy, and roadmap to satisfy existing customers and attract new ones.


Learn more and register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-ccsq-lace-community-of-practice-creating-organizational-accountability-tickets-600706749057?aff=LACEHubComms

Spring Data Camp

The spring CCSQ Data Camp is being held May 23rd and 24th. This is a multi-session, multi-day event designed for the CCSQ Data and Analytics community.

The mission of the CCSQ Data & Analytics Team is to encourage the community to "Come to the Data." During this Data Camp, we be exploring our theme of "Expanding the Analytics Toolbox," as we discuss the latest addition to the CCSQ Data & Analytics environment, Databricks.

To learn more about Spring Data Camp 2023 click here










Learn about this spring's CCSQ Data Camp being held May 23rd and 24th. This is a multi-session, multi-day event designed for the CCSQ Data and Analytics community.