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And the winners of the First Fridays Challenge are...

Department of Transportation - Winner of the Judges' Vote

Healthfinder.gov (HHS) - Winner of the Public Vote

Congratulations on your winning entries. We look forward to working with you on your First Fridays Product Test. 

Everyone can be a First Fridays winner by volunteering to participate in First Fridays. We test on the first Friday and third Wednesday of every month, and you can participate in person or remotely via webinar. Email FirstFridays@gsa.gov

Timeline

  • Submission Period

    Jan 23
    08:00AM
    EST

    To

    Mar 9
    09:00PM
    EST

  • Judging

    Mar 19
    08:00AM
    EDT

    To

    Apr 15
    09:00PM
    EDT

  • Public Voting

    Mar 19
    08:00AM
    EDT

    To

    Apr 2
    09:00PM
    EDT

  • Winners Announced

    Apr 16
    10:00AM
    EDT

Prizes

Judges' Choice

You'll receive a free website product testing package, including a half-day of product testing (on the First Friday or third Wednesday of a month in 2012); test scenarios; recruitment of test participants; debriefing lunch; short test report; copy of test recordings, and follow-up meeting.

People's Choice

You'll receive a free website product testing package, including a half-day of product testing (on the First Friday or third Wednesday of a month in 2012); test scenarios; recruitment of test participants; debriefing lunch; short test report; copy of test recordings, and follow-up meeting.

Runners Up (10)

Even if you don't win one of our top prizes, you'll observe a do-it-yourself usability test at First Fridays; look at your website with new eyes; AND have your site placed on the First Fridays test waiting list (we DO get cancellations)

About the Challenge

Was your website created with customers in mind? 

They often aren't and the results are disappointing: cluttered home pages, confusing navigation, and too much text!  A Forrester study shows that 57% of online customers leave a site if they don't find answers to their questions. And often they don't come back.

The best websites test their sites to "tweak" how well they meet customer needs. If your website's never had a usability test - or you're long overdue - this contest's for you. First Fridays is looking for enthusiastic web teams to work with in 2012!

The GSA First Fridays Product Testing Program tested over 30 government websites in a year and a half. 

After a morning of testing with real website customers, we collaborate to identify a path forward that includes quick-fix solutions to the top three problems. Our goal is for sites to make improvements in 30 days and learn to do simple testing themselves. These small changes can have a BIG impact on customer experience. 

Read more

Judges

Joanne McGovern

U.S. General Services Administration

Ron Jones

National Weather Service, NOAA

Jessica Skretch

Federal Trade Commision

Cory Lebson

President, Lebson Tech & UPA DC Metro President

Steve Krug

Author, Rocket Surgery Made Easy, Sensible.com

Judging Criteria

Length of Video-10%

Video is two minutes or less

Current Usability Problems-30%

Video points out three serious usability problems on the current website

How Testing Will Help-30%

Video discusses how testing and fixing will help your agency improve the customer experience

Quality-10%

Clear picture, not fuzzy

Persuasiveness-10%

How well did you convince us that you deserve to win?

Creativity/Humor-10%

You had fun telling us your website's story

How to Enter

Submit a short video addressing why your government website or web application is a good candidate for a usability test. We want to see a creative video explaining the importance of your site, the problems you think need fixing, and a creative push for why we should pick you.

 1. Read the Rules, click on tab at the top of this page.

 2. Enter a Submission, click on tab at the top of this page.

Learn about First Fridays Product Testing Program

Have questions? Call us at (202) 631-2425.