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This is an overview of design principles and how to incorporate them into your practice.
Table of Contents
The Intent of Design Principles
Design Principles at CMCS
User-Centric and Accessible
Focus on the needs and feelings of all users, including those with disabilities.
Collaborative and Iterative
Encourage collaboration within product teams, subject matter experts, and users to continuously improve and iterate.
Clear and Consistent
Ensure designs and messaging are clear and consistent across all products and services.
Responsive and Scalable
Design for different contexts while considering future growth and expansion.
Secure and Efficient
Prioritize the protection of information and privacy in all design decisions while aiming for quick and efficient processes.
How to Incorporate the Principles into your Practice
User-Centric and Accessible
Principle in action:
- Define what accessibility means for your team, from Confluence access to 508 compliance.
- Start a project with an accessibility plan that explicitly states what you commit to as team.
Reference guides:
Accessibility Guide
- Service Design at MACBIS
Collaborative and Iterative
This principle in action:
- Create touch points where input from impacted groups is heard and valued with intention.
- Iterate on possible solves in very low fidelity, sweeping the local landscape for similar solves.
Reference guides:
Groups in CMCS and Their MACBIS Products
Clear and Consistent
This principle in action:
- Create alignment on following standards, templates, style guides and design system (s) so that patterns feels consistent.
- Call out any impacts (more developers needed) made on the team, products, etc.
Reference guides:
HCD Practice Guides
The Service Design Process and Methods
This principle in action:
- Conduct user testing before going to development to see the growth between what was and what will be.
- Define project requirements and success in ways that the work can be sustained and evolved by future stewards.
Reference guides:
What Is Dovetail?
Sharing and Presenting Research
This principle in action:
- Define tactics or tasks that promote best practices in conducting and demoing work. Such as live demoes that showcase data or data analytics of visualizations.
External Design Guides and Resources
In creating these design principles, we referenced examples and perspectives from within CMCS, the federal government, and the broader HCD field.
- Federal Examples of Design Principles
- CMCS Community Perspectives on Design Principles
- Externally-sourced Best Practices in Design Principles