The Countdown has Begun to Put the 21st Century IDEA into Action

For federal agencies in the US, the window is closing fast to comply with the first round of requirements for the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA). The time to rethink your customer experience modernization roadmap is NOW, and Adobe can help.

The 21st Century IDEA is here. Signed into federal law (Public Law 115-336) by President Donald Trump on December 20, 2018, the 21st Century IDEA recognizes the need for federal agencies to modernize their existing, new, or redesigned websites, forms, and digital services by improving the usability and accessibility of citizen and employee experiences across digital touchpoints. The key objective is to transform the customer experience by improving the usability and reliability of our federal government’s most critical digital services.

#### **IDEA Deadlines Are Fast Approaching!**The act specifies a few critical timelines for all executive agency CIOs or a designee to fund, standardize, and implement across internal and external customer experience programs.1. By June 20, 2019 – Digitizaiton of Government Services of Non-digital Services Agencies should follow Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance to identify public non-digital, paper-based, or in-person services and include in the agency’s budget request a list of these services that could be digitized along with an estimate of the cost to modernize.2. By December 20, 2019 – Existing Websites and Digital Services The head of the agency that maintains an existing website or digital service needs to review each website or digital service and submit a report to Congress with:• A list of most-viewed/utilized/important public-facing websites; • A prioritized list of websites and digital services that require modernization, or of those that meet the new website standards; • An estimated cost and schedule for modernization of identified websites and digital services.3. Every December 20 – from 2019 to 2023 – Public Reporting The head of the agency must submit an annual progress report on meeting the digital modernization requirements to the OMB and the general public.

According to a recent Adobe and WPP study, citizens and employees want personalized digital experiences and more self-service options, much like the ones they receive from private sector companies. The study points to the huge gap that exists between the demands of citizens and the state of current digital service delivery. The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) recently noted that there are “more than 23,000 different forms inside the federal government that leads to 11.4 billion hours of paperwork annually, and a poor user experience.”

The 21st Century IDEA has three overarching goals

1. Deliver state of the art digital experiences that put citizens and employees first;
2. Replace complex, paper-based forms and services with digital, mobile-friendly experiences;
3. Do it all the more efficiently, thereby saving taxpayer dollars while improving service delivery levels across the board.

Better outcomes, more cheaply — impossible?

A recent IDC report quantifies the benefits of customer experience modernization. According to the report, organizations saw a 379% return on investment within three years and a 63% faster delivery of new forms and documents when they used Adobe Experience Manager Forms.

Adobe’s Experience Platform: Uniquely built for the 21st Century IDEA

For government agencies, the 21st Century IDEA is an opportunity to accelerate your digital service delivery programs. Addressing the components of the 21st Century will position agencies to meet the expectations of their constituents.

Adobe’s unique blend of software and consulting services are delivering digital transformation for over 25,000 digital experience customers every day — from AT&T and Amazon, to Tourism Australia, the DOD, and many others across the U.S. federal government. Our two decades of working with federal government clients, combined with our deep expertise in customer experience, is a powerful formula.

Need help with the 21st Century IDEA? Put Adobe to work for you

View our Customer Experience Modernization Services for more info.

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