I have published a *general* introductory article with specific approaches to user experience design and information architecture for government sites. The article touches on the broad process from the point of view of a Lead information architect and walks through some of the following:
- Organization and political issues
- Information architecture framework
- Metadata structure, and classification issues
- Search, Help and Indexes
- Content Management
- Section 508 compliance
Not long after my article went live at Digital-web I received a few emails with comments. In particular I should note that Anitra Pavka (accessibility specialist) has pointed out an omitted qualification on my part.
In the article I state:
"While not bound to the federal laws of section 508, state and provincial governments often require meeting level-A (Priority 1) checkpoints or higher as specified by the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative."
While this might be partially true Anitra notes, "That States that receive money from the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (most, if not all, do) are required (legally) to comply with Section 508." So States that receive Federal funding through the ATAct are required to meet Section 508 guidelines.
Anitra's site is a great source for accessibility related information and resources.
Links:
http://www.resna.org/taproject/policy/initiatives/nidrrassur.html
http://www.anitrapavka.com
http://www.digital-web.com/features/feature_2003-01b.shtml