# The White House’s Customer Experience Executive Order: 18 Months Later Date: Wednesday, June 14, 2023 By [Valerie Runde](/valerie-runde) In December 2021, President Biden signed an [Executive Order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/12/13/executive-order-on-transforming-federal-customer-experience-and-service-delivery-to-rebuild-trust-in-government/) focused on Federal customer experience (CX). It highlighted 36 areas where the Government could create a more fair, effective, and efficient experience. Some of these initiatives include: - Redesigned websites - Simplified applications - Digital alternatives to traditional paper processes. The administration’s goal is to approach these initiatives using human-centered design methodologies. Since then, more than 17 Federal agencies, through 35 High Impact Service Providers (HISPs), [have taken actions](https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2023/03/09/fact-sheet-president-bidens-budget-improves-customer-experience-and-service-delivery-for-the-american-people/) to deliver customer experiences that are more simple, seamless, and secure. We thought we’d take a look at the progress agencies have made over the last 18 months and where they can go from here. ## Progress made Since the Executive Order was released, [thirteen agencies now have CX officers, and three have offices focused on internal CX](https://fcw.com/digital-government/2022/12/hows-white-house-doing-one-year-its-executive-order-customer-experience/380847/). There have been some big agency wins from the State Department, the Treasury, Small Business Administration, Government Services Administration (GSA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ## Paperless passport renewals Since 2020, many passport offices have been closed due to the pandemic. They’re currently only open by appointment in certain circumstances. Personnel cuts at the State Department created a backlog to get and renew passports. Oftentimes, these waits stretched as long as 18 weeks. The Executive Order called for a new online passport renewal experience that doesn’t need any mailed physical documents. [The Department of State has responded](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/travel/online-passport-renewal.html). In early 2023, plans for an online renewal option will launch for the general public after rounds of pilot programs ensuring its success. Currently, the actual processing time remains the same: about seven to ten weeks. But improvements include a reduction in paperwork, travel, and other hassles associated with renewing your passport. ## Convenient IRS call-back scheduling Taxes can be stressful for many people and waiting on hold to get your questions answered only makes the situation more frustrating. Shortly after the release of the Executive Order, things hit a breaking point when [the IRS received a record number of telephone calls and answered the lowest percentage of calls in its history.](https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/news/nta-blog-hello-is-anyone-there-taxpayers-and-practitioners-continue-to-experience-frustration-over-lack-of-adequate-phone-service/) The Executive Order called for the option to schedule customer support call-backs instead of waiting on hold. The new call-back scheduling feature has been a success. Since its launch, the Secretary of Treasury has saved 1.7 million hours of wait time for 5.7 million taxpayers. That‘s approximately 3.3 hours per person. ## Help for small businesses affected by natural disasters Historically, the process for a small business to apply and receive federal assistance to recover from a natural disaster was lengthy and time-consuming. Businesses had to: - Determine whether the Small Business Administration (SBA) had issued a disaster declaration in their area - Submit a paper application by mail - Wait for it to be approved The Executive Order called for the design and delivery of a streamlined online disaster assistance application experience. The SBA created [an online Disaster Loan Assistance application process](https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/). It allows business owners to check to see if the SBA has declared a disaster in your area, apply for a loan, and check the status of the loan throughout the approval process all online. ## One stop shop for Federal services [USA.gov](https://www.usa.gov/) was originally imagined as a centralized location for government services. This concept quickly became a misguided list of links and agencies, missing the mark of why people were coming there in the first place: to learn where to go to get the government services they need. The Executive Order’s directive for the General Services Administration (GSA) was to develop a roadmap for a newly redesigned [USA.gov](https://www.usa.gov/). The goal is to create a hub containing: - Information on government benefits, services, and programs - Streamlined content, processes, and technologies - Consolidated content currently appearing on [Benefits.gov](https://www.benefits.gov/), [Grants.gov](https://www.grants.gov/), and other websites The GSA has already made strides to make [USA.gov](https://www.usa.gov/) much more human-centered by creating homepage navigation that highlights the most common tasks people are trying to complete. It also identifies life events in which they may be searching for relevant information. ## How our team has contributed Our team has been hard at work with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in fulfilling the guidelines set forth in the Executive Order. ### Department of Veterans Affairs The Executive Order calls for the Secretary of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide digital services through a single, integrated, and equitable digital platform on VA.gov and the VA mobile app. Our team has been working on integrating the unified check-in experience with the VA mobile app. This work brings together the check-in experience on VA.gov, right to the mobile app, seamlessly connecting the two. ### Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services We’re part of the team working on the WECMS (Web Experience and Content Management Services) sites, including [Medicare.gov](https://www.medicare.gov/), [CMS.gov](https://www.cms.gov/), and open data site portals. They provide a centralized platform for 6.9 million people to access information and healthcare monthly. The Executive Order called on Health and Human Services (HHS) to design and deliver new, personalized online tools and expanded customer support options for Medicare enrollees. Our team worked closely on not only making Medicare.gov and CMS.gov more streamlined and human-centered, but also focused on [reimagining government-as-a-service.](https://medium.com/civicactions/wecms-making-a-lasting-impact-9d6bc1287191) “Through our work on WECMS, we have seen increased customer satisfaction scores on the Medicare.gov site, where end-users are reporting that the sections of the site we are updating are easier to use,” said Alaine Karoleff, CivicActions’ Director of Digital Services. “On the CMS.gov site, our team is constantly folding in end-user feedback on designs and information architecture changes, ensuring there is an improved experience for the public. Additionally, the open data site portals are iterating on data outputs and visualizations, securing confidence in the data with the end-user. All of these types of activities establish trust in the accuracy and find-ability of information the users need, creating a more delightful customer experience.” ## Taking the Executive Order further The Executive Order did a good job focusing on improving and digitizing processes of high impact areas. In order to truly fulfill the directives, there are a few additional things agencies need to be focused on now. ### Hire the right mix of people [Research from Forrester](https://www.forrester.com/blogs/the-white-houses-500-million-request-for-cx-funding-is-a-big-step-toward-a-vital-goal/) shows that CX teams rarely include people with vital “accelerant” skills such as journey mapping, journey analytics, journey management, and storytelling. These skills help the team understand, improve, and manage the experience. It’s critical to augment CX teams with these roles, otherwise, the team risks being stuck on basic find-and-fix work. This leaves the team unable to help the organization innovate to fulfill the administration’s CX goals. With [one in four people in America living with a disability](https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html), it’s critical to have accessibility specialists on the team that can develop and design digital products with the needs of all Americans in mind. ### Share more insights across agencies In 2015, 18F and the USDS released the [US web design system](https://designsystem.digital.gov/) (USWDS) for use across all Federal agencies that has proven to be accessible and responsive. We can do more of the same. We recommend deepening the commitment to cross-agency CX teams focusing on accessibility, research, and design. Let’s create Federal government-wide standards and resources to ensure that digital products and services meet a consistent level of service. These standards and resources can include: - Stricter enforcement of the USWDS and [plain language](https://www.plainlanguage.gov/) to create consistent, accessible experiences - Team staffing standards to adequately accomplish CX goals - Shared user research repositories to spread insights and avoid redundancy ## Making more progress in the years to come The White House’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 includes more than $500 million in [customer-experience (CX)-related investments](https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2023/03/09/fact-sheet-president-bidens-budget-improves-customer-experience-and-service-delivery-for-the-american-people/) to continue progress on the[ administration’s robust CX goals.](https://www.performance.gov/pma/cx/) The “long-term test” is “whether these ideas can survive a particular administration and become embedded in government,” [said Donald Moynihan, chair of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown](https://fcw.com/digital-government/2022/12/hows-white-house-doing-one-year-its-executive-order-customer-experience/380847/) and expert on administrative burdens and government reform. ## So what do the next five to ten years look like for CX? 1. We expect to see greater integration across platforms, like [pay.gov](https://www.pay.gov/public/home) and [login.gov](https://login.gov/) 2. We expect to see more federated experiences across government websites, like [search.gov](https://search.gov/) 3. Higher utilization of resources like the [USWDS](https://designsystem.digital.gov/), [plainlanguage.gov](https://www.plainlanguage.gov/), and other government-wide standards of content and design ## Change takes time The goals set forth by the Executive Order have the potential to be life-changing for those who need to interact with government services regularly. But it doesn’t come quickly and it doesn’t come without a cost. Stacking your teams with people who have a passion for human-centered design and accessibility takes time and intention. Shifting the mindset of project teams who are accustomed to a rapid pace of shipping code can be even harder. In order for government agencies to succeed in fulfilling this Executive Order, we need to be ok with changing how we work. We need to take the focus off of reactive design and development and come to the table with more proactive approaches to identifying the needs, goals, and pain points of all Americans.