About

Experience Standards

The VA.gov Experience Standards are the criteria that the Governance team will use to assess VFS products for design, IA, content, and accessibility as VFS teams bring their work through the Collaboration Cycle.

Each experience standard is framed around the end-user experience (Veterans, family, caregivers, or members of the public). Issues flagged under these experience standards will result in a degraded experience for at least some users.

Using the Standards

Governance team references these standards when we review products during the Collaboration Cycle, and especially at staging reviews. See Anatomy of a Staging Review Issue Ticket for an example of how findings are reported.

VFS teams should use these standards as a helpful tool as you build your product. At any point during your product’s lifecycle, you can use each standard as a self-check to verify that you’re building a product that meets the needs of your users.

List of Experience Standards

There are 22 experience standards grouped into 7 user experience categories.

Category: Comprehension

User easily understands the product.

A product might have launch-blocking findings in this category if it:

Makes it hard for a user to understand how to complete a task

User can perceive all meaningful elements

There’s an issue when: User can’t perceive an element.

GitHub label: exp-std-element-perception

User encounters content that meets best practices

There’s an issue when: User encounters content that does not meet best practices.

GitHub label: exp-std-content-practices

User has enough information to complete a task

There’s an issue when: User doesn’t have enough information to complete a task.

GitHub label: exp-std-task-completion

User knows where a button or link leads

There’s an issue when: User is uncertain where a button or link leads.

GitHub label: exp-std-link-action

Category: Consistency

User has a predictable and unchanging experience across all VA.gov services, tools and pages.

A product might have launch-blocking findings in this category if it:

Is too far out of alignment with the rest of the VA.gov experience.

User encounters accurate, consistent content

There’s an issue when: User encounters content with errors or inconsistencies.

GitHub label: exp-std-content-errors

User encounters components and patterns that meet best practices

There’s an issue when: User encounters a component or pattern that isn’t considered a best practice.

GitHub label: exp-std-best-practice

User encounters consistent, clear design components and patterns

There’s an issue when: User encounters design components or patterns that are inconsistent or confusing.

GitHub label: exp-std-design-consistency

User encounters content that is similar to other content on VA.gov

There’s an issue when: User encounters content that doesn’t match other content on VA.gov.

GitHub label: exp-std-content-va

User encounters up-to-date design components and patterns.

There’s an issue when: User encounters design components or patterns that are out of date.

GitHub label: exp-std-design-version

User’s experience is consistent with the VA.gov design principles

There’s an issue when: User experience is not consistent with the VA.gov design principles.

GitHub label: exp-std-design-principles

Category: Credibility

User perceives VA.gov as a credible source for receiving and sharing information.

A product might have launch-blocking findings in this category if it:

Doesn’t allow a user to review, edit, or confirm their information before form submission.

User encounters content that aligns with VA.gov voice and tone content principles

There’s an issue when: User encounters content that does not align with VA.gov voice and tone content principles.

GitHub label: exp-std-voice-tone

User can review, edit or confirm their information before form submission

There’s an issue when: User can’t review, edit, or confirm their information before form submission.

GitHub label: exp-std-form-integrity

Category: Efficiency

User can accomplish their goals as quickly and efficiently as possible, with minimal cognitive load.

A product might have launch-blocking findings in this category if it:

Keeps a user from completing a critical task quickly.

User can perform the primary task free of distractions

There’s an issue when: User can’t easily perform the primary task free of distractions.

GitHub label: exp-std-task-focus

User encounters no repetition or redundancy

There’s an issue when: User encounters unnecessary repetition or redundancy.

GitHub label: exp-std-repetition

User is notified if an action will take them out of the primary flow

There’s an issue when: User is taken out of the primary flow without notification.

GitHub label: exp-std-flow-interruption

Category: Findability

User can identify where they are within VA.gov and where to go next to complete a task.

A product might have launch-blocking findings in this category if it:

Lacks core navigation elements
Doesn’t account for all user flows

User can determine next steps in a flow

There’s an issue when: User can’t determine next steps in a flow.

GitHub label: exp-std-flow-steps

User can determine where a page is within the VA.gov website

There’s an issue when: User can’t determine where a page is within the VA.gov website.

GitHub label: exp-std-site-location

User has a path to the content or feature

There’s an issue when: User does not have a path to the content or feature.

GitHub label: exp-std-findability

Category: Health and Safety

User is able to safely access VA.gov tools.

A product might have launch-blocking findings in this category if it:

Poses risks to a user’s health and safety

User can safely use VA.gov products

There’s an issue when: User’s medical condition could be triggered.

GitHub label: exp-std-safety

Category: Usability

User is able to easily know or learn how to use the interface to complete tasks.

A product might have launch-blocking findings in this category if it:

Contains elements that users can’t identify or interact with.

User can complete necessary flows

There’s an issue when: User can’t complete a necessary flow or hits a dead end.

GitHub label: exp-std-flow-completion

User can identify an element and its state

There’s an issue when: User can’t identify an element or its state.

GitHub label: exp-std-element-comprehension

User experiences predictable interactions with components and patterns

There’s an issue when: User experiences an unexpected interaction with a component or pattern.

GitHub label: exp-std-unexpected-interaction