THE FORESEE NOVEMBER 2015 E-GOVERNMENT SATISFACTION INDEX · The ForeSee E-Government Satisfaction...

THE FORESEEE-GOVERNMENT SATISFACTION INDEX(Q3 2015)

NOVEMBER 2015

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS BY:

Dave Lewan Vice President, ForeSee

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY: Cody Haro Associate Client Analyst, Usability, ForeSee

© 2015 ForeSee

WWW.FORESEE.COM | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS

2 T H E F O R E S E E E - G O V E R N M E N T S AT I S FA C T I O N I N D E X ( Q 3 2 0 1 5 )

TABLE OF CONTENTSAbout This Report 2

How Are Your Mobile Initiatives Going? 3

How E-Government Is Performing Overall 12

Top Gainers 16

Satisfaction by Website Functional Category 17

Federal E-Commerce and Transactional Websites 17

Federal News and Information Websites 18

Federal Portals and Department Main Websites 20

Federal Career and Recruitment Websites 22

Satisfaction with Mobile Sites and Apps 23

Why Satisfaction Matters 24

Why Government Agencies Rely on ForeSee 26

About the Author 27

About ForeSee 27

ABOUT THIS REPORTThe ForeSee E-Government Satisfaction Index is a comprehensive reflection of the citizen experience with federal government

websites, and it serves as a critical checkpoint for evaluating the success and performance of the federal government’s

online initiatives. Over 170,000 responses were collected across the federal government websites for the quarter measured

in this Index. This demonstrates that citizens are willing to share their voices to help agencies and departments improve.

With an eye to the future steps citizens may take as a result of their online experience with federal digital properties, the use

of the ForeSee methodology and technology enables agency leaders to determine specifically which desktop and mobile

improvements will have the greatest impact on future usage and recommendations.



HOW ARE YOUR MOBILE INITIATIVES GOING?For the past couple years, the E-Government Satisfaction Index has not only served as a checkpoint to see how the federal

government is performing in the eyes of the citizen with digital initiatives, but it has also served as a constant reminder of the

growth and importance of the role mobile plays in driving the overall success agencies have in serving and meeting the needs

of citizens.

Mobile growth has been tremendous. Today, according to a recent Pew Research report (October 2015), 92% of adult

Americans own cell phones, 68% of those being smartphones, up from 35% in 2011. Tablet ownership has also shot up to

45% from just 3% in 2010. While the growth in mobile continues to climb, the Pew Report reveals that computer usage is flat.

Some 73% of adult Americans own a desktop or laptop computer, a number similar to the 71% of those who owned a desktop

or laptop in 2004 and down from the high of 80% in 2012.

When we look at specific demographics, the numbers are glaring: 86% of those ages 18-29 have a smartphone, as do 83% of

those ages 30-49 and 87% of those living in households earning $75,000 and up annually. When we look to the future, aided

by the convenience and constant access provided by smartphones, an April 2015 Pew report titled “Teens, Social Media and

Technology Overview 2015” points out 92% of teens report going online daily, including 24% of teens reporting they are online

“almost constantly.”

So what does this mean for the state of E-Government? To start with, many of our customers are reporting 30, 40 and even

50% of internet traffic is coming from mobile devices. This is a significant number of constituents you are serving. It is

paramount to meet and, whenever possible, exceed their high expectations.

When we don’t perform at expected levels, frustrated citizens may call the contact center, go stand in line or head to a private

sector site to get information. This is counter to government’s overall objective. Citizens want to get information from their

government from digital channels to leverage the greater access, availability and consistency of information the internet

provides, while government would prefer delivery through digital channels to benefit from a lower cost to serve.

As citizens (you and I) traverse various apps and sites with mobile devices, we form opinions and have expectations of how we

should be able to interact with the information. Those expectations are higher than ever. I should be able to access information

easily and intuitively navigate with familiar menus. Content should be optimized for mobile, and I shouldn’t have to pinch,

zoom or pan.

As I have said often before, digital managers need to be focused on outcomes versus just outputs. The importance is not how

many have downloaded the app or what your “star rating” is, or if they were able to complete their task for this visit (that

doesn’t mean they were pleased and will come back). The focus needs to be on predictable, measureable outcomes. As a

result of his or her visit today, how likely is he or she to return to the app or site (think first-time visitors), to recommend the

app or site, to use the app or site as a primary resource of information versus the channel more costly to government, e.g.,

contact center? So how do you improve the experience so constituents will do more of the things you want them to do?



The first step to improvement is measurement. If you want to lose weight, you have to start by stepping on the scale. Want

to improve your golf game? Keep score; yes, count every stroke! When it comes to measuring success of your mobile

channels, ForeSee uses the same credible, reliable, accurate precise, predictable and actionable methodology as we do for

measuring websites.

There are some nuances for collecting data (text back, bit.ly links, etc.) designed specifically for mobile. We still deconstruct

the experience to understand satisfaction drivers (just using fewer elements), and we use the same benchmarkable

satisfaction questions (overall satisfaction, satisfaction compared to expectations and satisfaction compared to your idea of an

ideal mobile experience). For the respondent, the survey is shorter and very efficient to complete. The result for our customers

is an overall diagnosis of how they are performing, where they should focus improvement investment and again, with their eye

on outcomes, the future behaviors they are looking for, e.g., return, recommendations, primary source of information.

Many of our customers have moved to a Responsive Design code base. Responsive Design helps developers leverage the

same code base for desktop, tablet and smartphone. However, the key to remember is that from YOUR customers’ point of

view, these are three distinctly different experiences. You should measure all three to develop roadmaps and action plans

specific by channel and understand how each are used as separate standalone channels or how one contributes to the other

by understanding customer journeys.

We realize all of you are in different stages of mobile development. Often the questions we hear are, “What specifically are

agency digital teams doing to increase scores?” “What are some best practices we could implement?” As I mentioned in last

quarter’s commentary, the label best practice may be overused. I prefer to offer design alternatives that may work for your

apps, sites and objectives.

At ForeSee, we offer usability auditing services. These allow our clients to leverage degreed, human computer interaction

experts to heuristically review wireframes, sites, apps or specific areas of the experience to deliver the most optimal,

satisfactory experience to your constituents.

Cody Haro is a ForeSee Usability Client Analyst who works with both public and private sector organizations. In our continuing

effort to share usability ideas for mobile, Cody has outlined some design alternatives that may serve as launch point or

comparative while you map out design and development plans for your mobile apps or sites.



VISITOR SEGMENTATION

Large government sites that attract a diverse range

of visitors need to effectively segment them on the

site’s homepage. For example, the FDA site provides

specific navigation channels for visitors based on

their role (although this design could be improved by

locating it higher on the page).

SURFACING KEY FUNCTIONALITIES

For comparison, the FDA’s visitor segmentation elements are placed at the top of the homepage on the desktop site.



In addition, the mobile site surfaces key functionalities that may be difficult to locate on

a mobile device such as Latest Recalls and Report an Adverse Event. Sites should use

visitor navigation data to identify resources and functionalities popular among visitors but

overlooked on mobile devices. In addition, using large buttons to link to key functionalities

helps visitors easily find and select them.

ORIENTATION

Orientation elements, such as navigation highlighting and consistent labeling, help to inform visitors of their location within a

site’s structure. This is especially true for large, information-heavy government sites that contain multiple levels of content.

These elements are also helpful for visitors who have reached the site from an external source, such as a search engine result,

and are unsure of where they are within the site or where they should navigate to next for related information.



SECTION NAVIGATION

Government sites should also consider how they design pages to facilitate navigation within a site section. For example,

Athena Health includes a section selector at the top of the page as well as a prominent and explicitly labeled Next button at the

bottom of the page to navigate between sections. These two action mechanisms make it clear that related information will be

found on a following page, while providing clear and prominent pathways to reach this related content.



GLOBAL NAVIGATION

The Explore VA site uses an effective global navigation menu that provides easy access to top level pages as well as to each

of their subsections. Visitors can either navigate directly to top level pages or expand and select subsections by tapping on the

arrow icon. This design offers visitors access to top level pages and their corresponding subsections from any page of the site.

TOUCH INTERACTION

When viewed on a mobile device, Time Warner Cable’s responsive site adapts to offer

visitors improved touch interaction within its global menu. While the desktop site uses

closely spaced links within its menu, the mobile menu reorganizes itself to offer visitors

larger links that are appropriately spaced to facilitate touchscreen interaction.



NON-MOBILE PAGES

In order to offer visitors a consistent

mobile experience that follows

usability best practice, mobile sites

should avoid directing visitors to

non-mobile pages. In situations,

such as the one shown, visitors

must pinch, zoom, and pan to the

side to properly read and interact

with the content on the page due to

its small size.

As you continue to embark on delivering the best mobile experience for your constituents, Cody also points out some

reminders for your mobile teams:

SIZING AND SPACING

» Text sizes must be appropriate for the device

» Buttons and links must be sized and spaced for touchscreen interaction

» Zooming and panning should not be required

LINKING TO NON-MOBILE PAGE

» Mobile pages should avoid linking to non-mobile content

» Remove links that do not open in mobile devices

GET THE MOST FROM YOUR MOBILE SEO EFFORTS

Google uses mobile usability metrics as part of its algorithm to determine a site’s ranking within search results. Here are some

useful links for maximizing your mobile SEO efforts.

http://searchengineland.com/google-may-add-mobile-user-experience-ranking-algorithm-205382

https://www.seroundtable.com/google-mobile-friendly-search-ranking-factors-19926.html

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/03/assessing-mobile-usability-google-webmaster-tools/

http://searchengineland.com/google-may-add-mobile-user-experience-ranking-algorithm-205382

https://www.seroundtable.com/google-mobile-friendly-search-ranking-factors-19926.html

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/03/assessing-mobile-usability-google-webmaster-tools/



MOVING FORWARD WITH MOBILE

The future of mobile is clear: it is here to stay, and it is an important channel for citizens when they need to get information

from their government. It is critical for agency managers to deliver on citizens’ high expectations. So far, the returns are

positive (as I will discuss later in this report), but agencies need to start or continue to measure to ensure they are making the

right investments of time, money and resources.

SATISFACTION REBOUNDS SLIGHTLYThe ForeSee E-Gov Satisfaction Index rebounded insignificantly this quarter, coming in with an aggregate score of 75.1 up

from 74.5 in Q2 2015. This is the 49th consecutive quarter that ForeSee has reported on the state of E-Government beginning

in the third quarter of 2003.

ForeSee measures satisfaction on a 0-100 scale. Scores 80 and above are recognized as the threshold of excellence (highly

satisfied visitors), and scores below 70 reveal there is much room for improvement (dissatisfied). ForeSee customers have

the ability to compare how they are doing relative to their peers and, most importantly, how their channels are performing

over time. Scores in this quarter’s index range from 54 to 90. We often applaud the efforts of the high scoring sites. However,

we recognize all for being sensitive to the fact that the customer experience is more important than ever before, and

measurement is the first step towards improvement.

ForeSee measures the digital experience for nearly 300 web and mobile sites and the E-Government Satisfaction Index is a

measurement of 101 sites who volunteer to be transparent and share their scores. Some additional details on this quarter’s index:

» Citizens will provide their opinion. Over 170,000 responses were collected for this third quarter Index. This

demonstrates that citizens are willing and able to provide feedback to government site managers to help

agencies and departments, with the use of ForeSee’s methodology, to determine which site improvements will

have the greatest impact on future usage and recommendations.

» E-government outperforms overall government in citizen satisfaction. Average citizen satisfaction with

e-government (75.1) versus 64.4, according to the ACSI Federal Government Report 2014.

» Highlighting the sites with stellar performance. Once again, Social Security Administration leads the pack with

Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (socialsecurity.gov/i1020), SSA Retirement Estimator

(ssa.gov/estimator) and SSA iClaim (socialsecurity.gov/applyonline) all coming in with a 90 for the quarter.

» SSA was not the only organization meeting or exceeding the excellence threshold. Thirty-one sites (31%) had

scores of 80 or higher.

» Top gainers for the quarter include Federal Railroad Administration main website (fra.dot.gov), Pension Benefit

Guarantee Corp., My Plan Administration Account site (egov.pbgc.gov/mypaa/), Veterans Affairs main website

(va.gov), Bureau of Economic Analysis main website (bea.gov) and Department of Transportation Research and

Innovative Technology Administration website (rita.dot.gov).



WHY DOES SATISFACTION MATTER?If agencies can deliver a satisfactory experience, the likelihood of desired outcomes is increased. For example, for this

quarter’s index, highly satisfied website visitors were 88% more likely to use the website as a primary resource (versus a

more costly channel like the contact center) and 82% more likely to put their trust behind the agency. For mobile, those that

were highly satisfied with their experience were 73% more likely to return to the site or app and a whopping 107% more likely

to recommend the site or app! Mobile matters!

If you’re responsible for the digital channel, you’re probably interested in what’s driving satisfaction. Navigation and

functionality are top drivers of satisfaction in this quarter’s index, followed closely by search, content and online transparency.

It’s important to note, online transparency (providing thorough, easy-to-find information on a site) has been proven to be a

driver of increased trust in the agency. Each site is different, so it’s key to prioritize improvements that will have the greatest

impact on satisfaction for your site in order to drive the outcomes your organization desires.

Thank you for taking the time to review the ForeSee E-Government Index for this third quarter of 2015. As always, at ForeSee, we

continue to be committed to federal government organizations in their continued efforts to deliver customer service excellence.

Best,

Dave Lewan

Vice President, ForeSee

ForeSee, an Answers solution

[email protected]



HOW E-GOVERNMENT IS PERFORMING OVERALLForeSee has been measuring e-government since the third quarter of 2003, when the average score was 70. The lowest the

score has been during this time is 69, which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Figure 1 provides a summary of e-government customer experience performance for the most recent 12 months, as measured

by the ForeSee Satisfaction Index.

FIGURE 1

Q3 2015 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 Q4 2014

Number of Sites Measured 101 100 101 100

Average E-Government Satisfaction Score (Out of 100) 75.1 74.5 74.7 75.1

Highest Satisfaction Score 90 91 90 90

Lowest Satisfaction Score 54 55 55 56

Number of E-Government Sites Achieving “Excellent” Rating (80 or Higher) 31 (31%) 27 (27%) 30 (30%) 31 (31%)

Number of E-Government Sites Rated 69 or Below 25 (25%) 22 (22%) 24 (24%) 21 (21%)

Figure 2 displays scores for all participating federal websites in the ForeSee E-Government Satisfaction Index this quarter. The

agencies whose Satisfaction scores are noted in blue text represent those that have reached or exceeded a score of 80, the

threshold for excellence in this study. Later pages of this report show scores by category.

FIGURE 2

Q3 2015 E-Government Satisfaction Scores

Department Website Satisfaction

SSA Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs—socialsecurity.gov/i1020 90

SSA SSA iClaim—socialsecurity.gov/applyonline 90

SSA SSA Retirement Estimator—ssa.gov/estimator 90

SSA SSA - my Social Security 89

HHS MedlinePlus en español—medlineplus.gov/esp 88

Treasury Electronic Federal Tax Payment System—eftps.com 87

DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Resource Center—uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/citizenship 85

SEC U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission—investor.gov 85

SSA Social Security Business Services Online—ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm 85



Q3 2015 E-Government Satisfaction Scores (continued from page 12)


Boards, Commissions, and Committees American Battle Monuments Commission—abmc.gov 84

CIA Recruitment website—cia.gov/careers 84

HHS MedlinePlus—medlineplus.gov 84

HHS National Cancer Institute Site en Español—cancer.gov/espanol 84

PBGC U.S. PBGC My Plan Administration Account—egov.pbgc.gov/mypaa/ 84

DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Español—uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis-es 84

HHS CDC main website—cdc.gov 83

HHS AIDSinfo—aidsinfo.nih.gov 83

NIH National Institute on Aging - Go4Life—go4life.nia.nih.gov 83

HHS NIDDK—www2.niddk.nih.gov 83

SSA SSA.gov iClaim – Disability—ssa.gov/applyfordisability 83

HHS National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) main website—womenshealth.gov 83

FTC FTC Complaint Assistant website—ftccomplaintassistant.gov 82

DOC National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website—ngs.noaa.gov 82

HHS National Library of Medicine Genetics Home Reference website—ghr.nlm.nih.gov 82

DOD arlingtoncemetery.mil 81

NASA NASA main website—nasa.gov 81

HHS SAMHSA Store—store.samhsa.gov 81

HHS infosida.nih.gov 80

HHS National Cancer Institute main website—cancer.gov 80

DOI National Park Service main website—nps.gov 80

DOC NOAA NWS—weather.gov 80

DOS Department of State - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs—alumni.state.gov/ 79

DOD DoD Navy—navy.mil 79

DOJ FBI main website—fbi.gov 79

HHS NIAMS public website—niams.nih.gov 79

HHS National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research—nidcr.nih.gov 79

SSA SSA iAppeals - Disability Appeal—ssa.gov/disabilityssi/appeal.html 79

NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission website—nrc.gov 79

OPM Recruitment website—applicationmanager.gov 77

DOS Recruitment website—careers.state.gov 77

PBGC MyPBA—https://egov.pbgc.gov/mypba 77

HHS National Library of Medicine main website—nlm.nih.gov 77

SBA SBA main website—sba.gov 77

HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality—ahrq.gov 76

Agencies Scoring

80+





DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—uscis.gov/e-verify 76

DOS Department of State blog website—blogs.state.gov 76

DOD DoD Air Force—af.mil 76

DOT Federal Aviation Administration—faa.gov 76

DOJ National Institute of Justice—nij.gov 76

DOC NOAA Tides and Currents 76

SSA Social Security Online main website—socialsecurity.gov 76

DOI U.S. Geological Survey—usgs.gov 76

DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics—bls.gov 75

FTC FTC main website—ftc.gov 75

OPM Recruitment website—usajobs.gov 75

USDA ERS main website—ers.usda.gov 74

HHS U.S. Food and Drug Administration main website—fda.gov 74

FDIC FDIC Applications—www2.fdic.gov 74

FDIC FDIC main website—fdic.gov 74

HHS National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—www3.niaid.nih.gov 74

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology main website—nist.gov 74

HHS ClinicalTrials.gov—clinicaltrials.gov 74

DOD DoD Marines—marines.mil 73

GAO GAO main public website—gao.gov 73

PBGC U.S. PBGC main website—pbgc.gov 73

USDA Recreation One-Stop—recreation.gov 73

DOJ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention—ojjdp.gov 72

Treasury U.S. Mint Online Catalog and main website—usmint.gov 72

DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis 72

DOD Department of Defense portal—defense.gov 71

DOT U.S. Department of Transportation—fhwa.dot.gov 71

Treasury Making Home Affordable—makinghomeaffordable.gov 71

SEC U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission—sec.gov 71

GSA GSA main website—gsa.gov 70

HHS SAMHSA website—samhsa.gov 70

DOS Bureau of Consular Affairs—travel.state.gov 70

DOT DOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration website—rita.dot.gov 69

DOT Federal Railroad Administration main website—fra.dot.gov 69

GSA GSA Auctions—gsaauctions.gov 69





HHS Health Resources and Services Administration main website—hrsa.gov 69

DOC BEA main website—bea.gov 68

USDA FSIS main website—fsis.usda.gov 68

DOC NOAA Fisheries—nmfs.noaa.gov 68

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—epa.gov 67

USDA NRCS website—nrcs.usda.gov 67

DOE U.S. Department of Education—ed.gov 67

DOS Department of State main website—state.gov 66

DOC U.S. Census Bureau main website—census.gov 66

DOC U.S. Patent and Trademark Office—uspto.gov 66

USDA Forest Service main website—fs.usda.gov 65

NARA NARA main public website—archives.gov 65

ITC U.S. International Trade Commission main website—usitc.gov 65

Treasury Treasury main website—treasury.gov 64

Treasury U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau—ttb.gov 64

HHS HHS—grants.gov 63

VA VA main website—va.gov 63

DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics—bjs.gov 62

DOL Disability—Disability.gov 61

DOD TRICARE—tricare.mil 59

DOT Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration main website—fmcsa.dot.gov 58

Treasury IRS main website—irs.gov 54



TOP GAINERSAnytime a federal government department, agency or program website shows significant improvement in satisfaction

(three points or more), it should be noted as a success, as it is sometimes difficult to keep pace with ever-changing citizen

expectations. These organizations are definitely doing something right. Other organizations, whether in the same category or

not, should take note of how they are achieving this success.

Figure 3 shows the websites that demonstrated significant increases in citizen satisfaction since the last quarter.

FIGURE 3

E-Gov Top Gainers (Quarter-to-Quarter)

Department Website Satisfaction Gain







DOS Department of State - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs—alumni.state.gov/ 3






SATISFACTION BY WEBSITE FUNCTIONAL CATEGORYIn this report, federal government websites are organized by both functional category and organizational structure to allow for

benchmarking against peers. The functional website categories include: e-commerce and transactional, news and information,

portals and department main websites, and career and recruitment.

Since missions can vary greatly by category, it is useful to benchmark government websites against other sites in the same

category, in addition to comparing scores against the overall aggregate average. To provide the most accurate and precise

data, the ForeSee standard requires that a category consist of at least five websites before an average is calculated. Because

the career and recruitment category consists only of three websites, an average isn’t calculated for it.

Federal E-Commerce and Transactional Websites

FIGURE 4

Q3 2015 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 Q4 2014

Aggregate Satisfaction Score (100-point scale) 82 81 79 79

Federal E-Commerce and Transactional Websites


SSA Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs—socialsecurity.gov/i1020 90

SSA SSA iClaim—socialsecurity.gov/applyonline 90

SSA SSA Retirement Estimator—ssa.gov/estimator 90

SSA SSA - my Social Security 89

Treasury Electronic Federal Tax Payment System—eftps.com 87

SSA Social Security Business Services Online—ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm 85


SSA SSA.gov iClaim – Disability—ssa.gov/applyfordisability 83

FTC FTC Complaint Assistant website—ftccomplaintassistant.gov 82

HHS SAMHSA Store—store.samhsa.gov 81

SSA SSA iAppeals - Disability Appeal—ssa.gov/disabilityssi/appeal.html 79

PBGC MyPBA—https://egov.pbgc.gov/mypba 77


Treasury U.S. Mint Online Catalog and main website—usmint.gov 72

GSA GSA Auctions—gsaauctions.gov 69



Federal News and Information Websites

FIGURE 5

Q3 2015 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 Q4 2014


Federal News and Information Websites


HHS MedlinePlus en español—medlineplus.gov/esp 88

DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Resource Center— uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/citizenship 85

SEC U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission—investor.gov 85

Boards, Commissions, and Committees American Battle Monuments Commission—abmc.gov 84

HHS MedlinePlus—medlineplus.gov 84

HHS National Cancer Institute Site en Español—cancer.gov/espanol 84

HHS AIDSinfo—aidsinfo.nih.gov 83

NIH National Institute on Aging - Go4Life—go4life.nia.nih.gov 83

HHS National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) main website—womenshealth.gov 83

HHS NIDDK—www2.niddk.nih.gov 83

DOC National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website— ngs.noaa.gov 82

HHS National Library of Medicine Genetics Home Reference website—ghr.nlm.nih.gov 82

DOD arlingtoncemetery.mil 81

HHS infosida.nih.gov 80

DOC NOAA NWS—weather.gov 80

DOS Department of State - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs—alumni.state.gov 79

DOD DoD Navy—navy.mil 79

NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission website—nrc.gov 79

HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality—ahrq.gov 76


DOS Department of State blog website—blogs.state.gov 76

DOD DoD Air Force—af.mil 76

DOT Federal Aviation Administration—faa.gov 76

DOJ National Institute of Justice—nij.gov 76

DOI U.S. Geological Survey—usgs.gov 76

DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics—bls.gov 75

USDA ERS main website—ers.usda.gov 74

FDIC FDIC Applications—www2.fdic.gov 74



Federal News and Information Websites (continued from page 18)


HHS National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—www3.niaid.nih.gov 74

HHS ClinicalTrials.gov—clinicaltrials.gov 74

DOD DoD Marines—marines.mil 73

DOJ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention—ojjdp.gov 72

DOT U.S. Department of Transportation—fhwa.dot.gov 71

Treasury Making Home Affordable—makinghomeaffordable.gov 71

SEC U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission—sec.gov 71

DOS Bureau of Consular Affairs—travel.state.gov 70


HHS Health Resources and Services Administration main website—hrsa.gov 69


USDA FSIS main website—fsis.usda.gov 68

DOC NOAA Fisheries—nmfs.noaa.gov 68

USDA NRCS website—nrcs.usda.gov 67

DOC U.S. Census Bureau main website—census.gov 66


Treasury U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau—ttb.gov 64

HHS HHS—grants.gov 63

DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics—bjs.gov 62

DOD TRICARE—tricare.mil 59

DOT Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration main website—fmcsa.dot.gov 58



Federal Portals and Department Main Websites

FIGURE 6

Q3 2015 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 Q4 2014


Federal Portals and Department Main Websites


DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Español—uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis-es 84

HHS CDC main website—cdc.gov 83

NASA NASA main website—nasa.gov 81

HHS National Cancer Institute main website—cancer.gov 80

DOI National Park Service main website—nps.gov 80

DOJ FBI main website—fbi.gov 79

HHS NIAMS public website—niams.nih.gov 79

HHS National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research—nidcr.nih.gov 79

HHS National Library of Medicine main website—nlm.nih.gov 77

SBA SBA main website—sba.gov 77

DOC NOAA Tides and Currents 76

SSA Social Security Online main website—socialsecurity.gov 76

FTC FTC main website—ftc.gov 75

HHS U.S. Food and Drug Administration main website—fda.gov 74

FDIC FDIC main website—fdic.gov 74

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology main website—nist.gov 74

GAO GAO main public website—gao.gov 73

PBGC U.S. PBGC main website—pbgc.gov 73

DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis 72

DOD Department of Defense portal—defense.gov 71

GSA GSA main website—gsa.gov 70

HHS SAMHSA website—samhsa.gov 70


EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—epa.gov 67


DOS Department of State main website—state.gov 66

DOC U.S. Patent and Trademark Office—uspto.gov 66

NARA NARA main public website—archives.gov 65

ITC U.S. International Trade Commission main website—usitc.gov 65



Federal Portals and Department Main Websites (continued from page 20)


Treasury Treasury main website—treasury.gov 64


DOL Disability—Disability.gov 61

Treasury IRS main website—irs.gov 54



Federal Career and Recruitment Websites

To provide the most accurate and precise data, the ForeSee standard requires that a category consist of at least five websites

before an average is calculated. Because this category consists only of four websites, an average isn’t calculated.

FIGURE 7

Federal Career and Recruitment Websites


CIA Recruitment website—cia.gov/careers 84

OPM Recruitment website—applicationmanager.gov 77

DOS Recruitment website—careers.state.gov 77

OPM Recruitment website—usajobs.gov 75



SATISFACTION WITH MOBILE SITES AND APPSWith more and more citizens wanting to gain information using mobile devices to access the government’s digital channels,

the federal government and ForeSee launched the Mobile Federal Government Benchmark in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Figure 8 shows the average aggregate Satisfaction score for the government’s mobile sites and apps for the last 12 months,

as well as how the scores from this relatively new index compare with scores from other indexes.

FIGURE 8

Mobile Sites and Apps

Q3 2015 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 Q4 2014


Q3 2015 Scores

90

74

57

90

75

36

91

68

21

90

75

55

88

76

62 Maximum

Average

Minimum

ForeSee Mobile Benchmark

ForeSee E-Gov Sat Index Q3 2015

ForeSee Mobile Content

Benchmark (Public/Private)

ForeSee Mobile Fed Gov

Benchmark

ForeSee Website Index

Key:



WHY SATISFACTION MATTERSWhen the ForeSee customer experience measurement methodology is used, satisfaction has been shown to have a direct

impact on behavior. Every quarter, this Index compares highly satisfied visitors and users (with Satisfaction scores of 80 or

higher) to less-satisfied website visitors and mobile users (with Satisfaction scores of 69 or lower) and calculates likelihood

scores that indicate actions citizens may take in the future.

For example, Figure 9 shows the range of Satisfaction this quarter for each measured future behavior. Here, a “Recommend

Site” likelihood score of 101% indicates that a highly satisfied website visitor is 101% more likely than a less-satisfied visitor

to recommend the website.

FIGURE 9

Why Satisfaction Matters: Websites

Highly Satisfied Citizens (80+)

Dissatisfied Citizens (< 70)

Likelihood Scores The Impact of Higher Website Satisfaction

Future Participation 67 47 43%

Citizens are more likely to participate with and express their thoughts to their government, which strengthens the democratic process and may provide useful feedback.

Return to Site 96 61 58%Government departments and agencies have an ongoing channel to provide information and services to citizens efficiently and relatively inexpensively.

Recommend Site 96 48 101%Use of government websites will grow as citizens recommend them to their friends, family, and colleagues.

Use Site as Primary Resource 93 49 88%

Cost-savings for departments and agencies can result as citizens are right-channeled to web; citizens get information from a credible government source, rather than another online/offline source (in cases where options exist, e.g., health-related information).

Trust 90 49 82%Citizens believe the agency is trustworthy and acting in their best interests, which fosters faith in the democratic process.

Why Satisfaction Matters: Mobile Sites and Apps

Highly Satisfied Citizens (80+)

Dissatisfied Citizens (< 70)

Likelihood Scores The Impact of Higher Mobile Sites and Apps Satisfaction

Recommend Site or App 95 46 107%

Citizens are more likely to participate with and express their thoughts to their government, which strengthens the democratic process and may provide useful feedback.

Return to Site or App 97 56 73%

Government departments and agencies have an ongoing channel to provide information and services to citizens efficiently and relatively inexpensively.



If federal government agencies focus on improving the priority areas for their websites and mobile sites and apps, citizen

satisfaction should also improve.

ForeSee also helps the government measure a number of elements, or drivers, of satisfaction. Although there are variations

in the set of elements that are relevant to each website (and fewer in general for mobile), the most common elements for

websites are: Navigation, Search, Functionality, Look and Feel, Online Transparency, Site Performance and Content.

By measuring these elements, federal organizations can pinpoint and prioritize areas of improvement from the citizens’

perspective, which leads to increased satisfaction. Figure 10 shows the priority elements identified in the most recent Index.

FIGURE 10

Common Elements of the Website Experience

Element What It Measures Priority for Improvement

Navigation The organization of the site and options for navigation. Priority 1 = Top Priority

Functionality The usefulness, convenience and variety of online features and tools available on the website. Priority 2

Look and Feel The visual appeal of the site and its consistency throughout the site. Priority 3

SearchThe relevance, organization and quality of search results available on the site. (Although this element is not applicable universally, it is often extremely impactful for sites where it is relevant.)

Priority 3

Content The accuracy, quality and freshness of news, information and content on the website. Priority 3

Site Performance The speed, consistency and reliability of loading pages on the website. Priority 3

Online Transparency How thoroughly, quickly and accessibly the website discloses information about what the agency is doing. Priority 3

Common Elements of the Mobile Site or App Experience

Element What It Measures Priority for Improvement

Navigation The organization of the site and options for navigation. Priority 1 = Top Priority

Site Information The accuracy, quality and freshness of news, information and content on the mobile site. Priority 2

Look and Feel The visual appeal of the site and its consistency throughout the mobile site. Priority 3

Functionality The usefulness, convenience and variety of online features and tools available on the mobile site. Priority 3

Site Performance The speed, consistency and reliability of loading pages on the mobile site. Priority 3



WHY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RELY ON FORESEE Today, there are more ways than ever for the public sector to interact with citizens. In particular, websites—and more recently,

mobile sites and apps—are helping federal departments and agencies and state and local governments increase transparency

and deliver information and services more cost-effectively. But with constantly evolving citizen expectations, it’s difficult to

know where to invest often-limited resources to create a better citizen experience and a more effective government.

ForeSee’s predictive customer experience analytics help leaders understand citizen satisfaction, from the citizen perspective;

quantify the impact each element of the experience has on satisfaction and future behaviors; and understand where to focus

resources for the best return.



FS-1477-1115

ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Lewan is responsible for managing the organization focused on the public sector, including federal and state government

departments and agencies, non-profit organizations, associations and higher education institutions. He is charged with defining

strategy and leveraging internal resources to initiate new business opportunities while delivering to existing ForeSee public-sector

clients. Dave is also responsible for ForeSee’s Canadian business and cxMeasure for Stores in the private sector. Over the past 25

years, Dave has led organizations in a number of different areas including sales, marketing, product management, operations and

technology. Prior to joining ForeSee in 2009, Dave held leadership roles at ADP, SalesLogix, Ultimate Software and Ceridian. Dave

graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in speech communications.

ABOUT FORESEEForeSee continuously measures satisfaction with the customer experience across customer touch points and delivers critical

insights on where to prioritize improvements for maximum impact. Because ForeSee’s superior technology and proven

methodology connect the customer experience to the bottom line, executives and agency managers are able to drive future

success by confidently optimizing the efforts that will achieve organizational and mission objectives. The result is better

efficiencies for organizations and a better experience for constituents. Visit www.foresee.com for customer experience solutions.

http://www.foresee.com

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