10x Forms Platform

10x is the federal government’s venture studio. For this project, we were tasked with creating a no-code form-builder to address 21C IDEA, which mandates that government forms be built as web applications.

Working alongside technologists and civil servants, I am responsible for creating a great experience for users creating forms and for users completing forms. I entered this project in the delivery phase, building off of existing designs and development.

This project is still ongoing. Our goal is to deliver an MVP to our pilot partner at the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney.

Project Type: UX/UI Design and Research

Role: UX Researcher and Design Strategist

Organization: 10x in collaboration with DOJ

Timeline: 7 months

Team Size: 7 members

[ Background ]

As of 2024, fillable pdfs are no longer compliant as public-facing digital forms. However, most agencies don’t have resources to build compliant digital versions of all of their forms. There are also few choices in the market that are compliant for use with Federal data.

As a solution, the 10x Forms Platform helps agencies deliver a great digital experience that works for all users on all devices.

[ Deliverables ]

A design audit to improve usability of the current build

The no-code platform allows civil servants of any skill levels and disciplines to begin designing forms within minutes. To ensure a great user experience and alignment with U.S. Web Design System, I conducted a design audit of the existing components in the platform (e.g. short answer, long answer, multiple choice, checkbox, rich text).

As a result of this audit, I improved the UI of all 17 components for two views – for the form-builder and form-filler. Additionally, I detailed validation error messages to guide form-fillers, and redesigned the ‘Add element‘ menu to lift usability.

Form-builder view: Adding supplementary information to a question

Form-filler view: Revealing supplementary information in the accordion

Form-builder view: Editing a set of related questions

Form-filler view: Answering a set of related questions

Research and design of new components for the MVP

In addition to improving existing components, I designed new capabilities such as multiple entries and logic to meet MVP requirements. This involved:

  • Leveraging insights from past research

  • Conducting a UX teardown of similar platforms in the industry (e.g. Suffolk County Forms, GC Forms) and form builders (e.g. Google Forms, Typeform)

  • Conducting user testing on new concepts with DOJ partners and legal aides

  • Observing best practice guidelines from government design systems (e.g. U.S. Web Design System, VA.gov Design System, GOV.UK, GC Forms)

Since the components are U.S.W.D.S.-based, they are responsive and meet strict security and accessibility standards. The aim is also to contribute new components back to U.S.W.D.S for use in other accessible, mobile-friendly government websites.

Form-filler view (desktop): Adding 1+ response to this question

Form-filler view (mobile): Adding 1+ response to this question

[ Challenges ]

Meeting user needs and MVP timelines

A classic design challenge is delivering a desirable and technically feasible solution within a given deadline. An example is the logic work.

In an initial prioritization exercise, our pilot partner identified logic as a requirement for the MVP. I mocked up ways for form builders to show or hide specific pages or questions based on a response. This involves:

  • Branching logic, which skips one or more pages based on a set of answers. This is helpful for eligibility screeners.

  • Skip logic, which hides questions based on an answer. This is helpful for skipping questions that are not relevant.

Form-builder adds skip logic to a question. We kept this as simple as possible by setting logic at the top of the page and hiding the rest.

Considering the technical complexity of logic, however, we had to scope down the designs to deliver on time for the MVP - all without compromising the overall user experience.

After rounds of iterations, user testing, and discussions, we were able to align on a scope of work that enabled the engineers to meet both user needs and deadlines.