Presented by Cory Lebson and Carla Briceno. Maybe you’re doing business development for a company that’s interested in US Federal or state government contracting. Or maybe you’re a micro-business or freelancer wanting to take on subcontracts from a prime. Or maybe you’re an individual who wants to be employed by an agency that is doing government work. Know that there is a place for you and a lot of government UX work that needs to get done! We’ll explore what it means to be a government contractor as well as how you find that contract work. We’ll look specifically at where UX efforts are found, often within larger contracts, and where the UX advocates are within the Federal space. We’ll also talk about what it’s like to be a company doing UX work for the government, what it’s like as an individual contributor and key differences between doing government UX work vs. non-government commercial work.

1. The basics of taking on
government contracts and doing
UX work for the government
Cory Lebson, Lebsontech
Carla Briceno, Bixal
Carla Briceno, Bixal

2. Who we are Carla Briceno
CEO AND CO-FOUNDER,
BIXAL
Carla is CEO and Co-Founder of
Bixal, with 18 years of experience
working on large-scale digital
transformation projects for clients
at a wide range of US government
agencies.
Cory Lebson
UX RESEARCH CONSULTANT,
LEBSONTECH LLC
Cory Lebson, author of The UX
Careers Handbook, has been a
UX research consultant for over
two decades, focused in large
part on government consulting.

3. Cory is the Principal and Owner of Lebsontech
and over the past two decades, has spent a lot of
time doing user research and evaluation for
Federal and state government clients.
Cory is the author of The UX Careers Handbook,
is a LinkedIn Learning instructor and is also a
past president of both UXPA International and
the UXPA DC Chapter.
Cory Lebson

4. Bixal is a Woman-owned Small Business based in
in the Greater DC area.
We’re a mission-driven organization determined
to improve people’s lives through human-
centered strategies and transformative
technologies.
We deliver on this promise by partnering with
leading federal agencies to conceive and create
powerful data-driven customer experiences.
Carla Briceno

5. I’m interested in doing (or currently doing) UX work
for government as a government employee.
I’m interested in doing (or currently doing) UX work
as an employee of a company that contracts with the
government.
I’m interested in (or currently) working on
government contracts as a microbusiness (for
example, in US = 1099).
I’m interested in (or currently) taking on government
contracts as a small or large business.
Who are you?

6. The Critical Role of
UX in Government

7. What is
government?
Most of the work is from the executive branch (which
includes most Federal agencies)
A microcosm of Federal, often for an agency within the
state government. Lots of rules, but with less consistency
Federal
Some rules, but often less than Federal or state
contracting. In some ways, may feel closer to private
sector work.
State
Municipal

8. What does it mean
to be a contractor?

9. Companies can bid directly with
the government. These are
called prime contracts.
Prime Contracting
Individual UXers sometimes subcontract
with primes or even subcontractors, but
rarely work directly for the government.
1099 Freelancers
Unlike prime contractors,
subcontractors do not work directly
with the government, but instead
work for other contractors.
Subcontracting
A company can be called a government
contractor but so can the company
employees.
Employees as government contractors

10. How do
companies
get contracts?

11. • Identify Agencies You Want to
Work with and Do “Capture”
• Respond to RFIs/RFQs/RFPs
• Get on contract vehicles
• Partner with other companies as
subcontractors

12. Types of
Competitions
• Full and Open
• Small Business
• Socio-economic Set-Asides
• Sole-sourced

13. Types of
Contracts
• Fixed-Price Contract
• Cost-Reimbursement Contracts
• Time & Materials Contracts
• Indefinite Delivery Indefinite
Quantity (IDIQs)
• GSA Schedules (Federal
government)

14. Where can UX
work be found
in government
contracts?
• Many contracts include UX as a part of
a larger product development process
• Some (often smaller) contracts are
entirely UX focused

15. Who does the
UX work?
• UX staff who work for the prime
• UX-focused sub-contractor(s)

16. Does the
government really
care about UX?

17. Yes!
There is an increasing
awareness of the importance
of a positive overall user
experience and customer
experience in government.

18. US Digital
Service (USDS)
A group of technologists housed within
the Executive Office of the President
Their mission: To deliver better
government services to the American
people through technology and design.
Join for tours of civic service to create a
steady influx of fresh perspectives.

19. U.S Digital
Services
Playbook
• Understand what people need
• Address the whole experience, from start
to finish
• Make it simple and intuitive
• Build the service using agile and iterative
practices
• Structure budgets and contracts to
support delivery
• Assign one leader and hold that person
accountable
• Bring in experienced teams
• Choose a modern technology stack
• Deploy in a flexible hosting environment
• Automate testing and deployments
• Manage security and privacy through
reusable processes
• Use data to drive decisions
• Default to open

20. USWDS
The U.S. Web Design System is a library of design
components that can help government developers
quickly make trustworthy, accessible, and consistent
digital government services.

21. 18F
18F is a technology and design
consultancy for the U.S. Government,
inside the government.
18F partners with agencies to improve the user
experience of government services by helping them
build and buy technology.

22. GSA Centers
of Excellence
Established in 2017 as an accelerator of IT
modernization across the government to improve
the public experience and increase operational
efficiency.

23. 21st Century
IDEA Act
"Government exists to serve citizens, and
this bill ensures government leverages
available technology to provide cohesive,
user-friendly online service that people
around this country expect and deserve."

24. How is government
work different than
commercial work?

25. Pace Scale
Project vs.
Product
No clear measure
of success
Rules and
Regulations
UX Maturity
Politics
Focus on
users

26. Slower Complex
environment
Patience
required
Pace

27. Scale
Massive
Scale
Greater
Impact
Large
Teams

28. No clear
measure
of success
Motivation
difference
Functionality and
accessibilty
For the people,
for the user

29. Less
experience
Hard to build,
test, learn
Comfort
level
UX Maturity

30. Focus on
users
Hard to hone
in on audience
Access to real
users

31. Contracting
Model
Product vs.
Project

32. Rules and
Regulations PRA Citizenship
Requirements
Clearance
Requirements
PII
Location

33. Different
administrations;
different goals
UX focus may change
based on what is
going on in the world
Politics

34. Government has made
great strides in UX/HCD,
but it is still behind the
private sector.
That's why we need smart people like you to help
the federal government move more quickly to the
finish line!

35. Thank you.

36. Carla Briceno, Bixal
carla.briceno@bixal.com
Cory Lebson, Lebsontech LLC.
cory@lebsontech.com
Thank you.