Research Plan

Problem statement

The world of OMB policy and legal guidance is complicated and hard to navigate. There are different types of documents with varying levels of importance; most of the documents are PDFs living on various websites; and it is not easy to search for a policies or requirement that apply to one specific agency.

Through this research, we wanted to better understand how agency representatives and OMB desk officers manage the policy environment within OMB and find the information they need so that we can better present these documents and requirements in a way that makes them easier to find, read, and understand.

Research Plan

Goal:

Learn about the policy environment around OMB and how that policy is used within OMB and out.

Areas of focus:

• How do people use OMB policy in their day to day work?
• How do people find the documents or requirements they are looking for?
• What are their biggest pain points?
• How are the documents written?
• What do people research most often?
• What are they looking for when they are researching?
• What types of documents make people feel confident in their research?

Types of users

OMB Desk Officers - 3 users

• This group works with agencies to help them understand OMB policy and makes sure they are complying with it.
• We wanted to know:
  • How they research the policy
  • What they find most useful/helpful
  • How they talk to agency staff about policy
  • What would make their lives easier

Agency representatives who work on implementing IT Policy - 7 users

• This group is responsible for understanding and complying with OMB policy.
• We wanted to know:
  • How they research the policy
  • What they find most useful/helpful
  • How they interact with OMB
  • What would make their lives easier

OMB Policy Writers - 3 users

• This group writes OMB policy and other guidance documents.
• We wanted to know:
  • What is their drafting process / how do they decide to write a specific policy or document
  • How they research the past and current policy
  • What they find most useful/helpful
  • What would make their lives easier

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General background

• Research plan < You are here
• Findings