By NYS Customer Experience Team
New Yorkers expect their government to work—efficiently, effectively, and equitably. Every day, people interact with state services, whether they are renewing a driver’s license, applying for food assistance, or starting a business. But too often, these interactions are complex, time-consuming, and frustrating. That’s why New York is taking bold action to transform the way services are designed and delivered.
Through the New York Experience (NYX), we are reimagining a government that works better for the people it serves. This means making services easier to use, more responsive, and built around real-life experiences. And we are not starting from scratch—governments across the country and around the world are pioneering new approaches, and we are tapping into the best available research, tools, and insights to accelerate change.
Building a Customer Experience Strategy and Action Plan
Transforming government services requires more than individual fixes—it demands a clear, intentional strategy that puts the customer experience at the center of decision-making. A strong CX strategy ensures agencies have a shared vision, actionable steps, and measurable outcomes to guide their efforts.
To build a robust CX strategy, agencies should focus on:
- Defining clear goals and success metrics. What does a great customer experience look like? Agencies should set measurable targets, such as reducing processing times, increasing digital adoption, or improving customer satisfaction scores.
- Engaging customers in the process. Listening to the people who use government services—through surveys, usability testing, and feedback channels—ensures that solutions are designed with real user needs in mind.
- Prioritizing quick wins and long-term investments. Some improvements—like simplifying forms—can be implemented quickly, while larger system changes require sustained investment. A balanced approach delivers immediate impact while building momentum for bigger reforms.
To develop a CX strategy that delivers real results, agencies can draw on proven frameworks and best practices, including:
- Have no clue where to start? The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs created the Customer Experience Cookbook to solve this issue! This template allows agencies to collect the key ingredients of customer experience and build them into their recipe, or strategy.
- Maybe you need a toolkit from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Planning Your CX Strategy tailored to your organizational goals.
By building a structured CX action plan, agencies can move beyond isolated improvements to create a government that consistently delivers services with efficiency, dignity, and ease.
Making Government Services Seamless and Accessible
When New Yorkers reach out to government, they shouldn’t have to navigate a maze of confusing paperwork, outdated websites, and unclear instructions. The way services are designed matters—and small changes can have a big impact.
Eliminate unnecessary barriers and drawing on best practices from across the country, including:
- Modernizing social safety net programs. Too often, people eligible for benefits like Medicaid, food assistance, or unemployment insurance face significant hurdles—long wait times, complex forms, and burdensome verification processes. The Code for America Benefits Playbook provides strategies for streamlining access to these essential services.
- Simplifying government forms. Paperwork should be clear and intuitive, not a test of endurance. The Digital Services Network’s Standardizing and Digitizing Government Forms Brief highlights how agencies can create user-friendly, digital-first forms that reduce errors and improve the customer experience.
- Designing digital experiences that meet people where they are. New York’s Digital First Standards provide agencies with guidelines for creating accessible, mobile-friendly digital services that are built around user needs.
Whether someone is applying for assistance, registering a business, or renewing a license, the process should be fast, fair, and frustration-free. By implementing these best practices, we can transform government interactions into seamless, intuitive experiences that respect people’s time and dignity.
Designing for Real-Life Experiences
Government should not be built around bureaucratic processes—it should be built around the people it serves. That means designing services that reflect real-life experiences and the moments that matter most.
At the federal level, the Life Experiences framework, highlighted on Performance.gov, marks a major shift in how government approaches service delivery. Rather than forcing people to navigate multiple agencies to get what they need, this model brings services together based on key life moments—like having a child, starting a business, or recovering from a disaster.
Embracing this customer-centered approach by integrating:
- The Customer Experience Toolkit from Digital.gov, which helps agencies rethink how they deliver services from a user’s perspective.
- The Human-Centered Safety Net Blueprint from Code for America, which outlines how states can modernize benefits delivery to be more user-friendly.
- The NSW Government Sludge Toolkit, which provides strategies for identifying and removing unnecessary bureaucracy that slows down service delivery.
By focusing on life experiences, we can break down silos and create a government that anticipates people’s needs rather than making them navigate a patchwork of programs and agencies.
Using Data to Improve and Personalize Services
Data is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve government. Every interaction New Yorkers have with the state—whether it’s applying for a permit, filing taxes, or using public transit—generates valuable insights. By analyzing this data, agencies can identify pain points, streamline processes, and deliver more personalized, responsive services.
Enhance data-driven decision-making using best practices, including:
- The State Data Maturity Assessment from the Digital Services Network, which helps agencies evaluate and improve how they collect and use data.
- The Customer Feedback Dashboard from Performance.gov, which tracks real-time insights from people using government services.
- The Government Performance Lab’s Improving Processes Brief, which uses data to identify gaps in service referrals and coordination.
When used effectively, data can help agencies move from reactive to proactive service delivery—identifying problems before they arise and ensuring that services are not just efficient, but equitable and responsive to the people who need them most.
Strengthening Digital Service Delivery
As more interactions shift online, New York is committed to building digital experiences that are not just functional, but user-friendly, inclusive, and accessible to all.
- The Digital Services Playbook from Digital.gov outlines 13 key principles for building effective digital services, including starting with user needs, making services accessible, and using agile development.
- The Requirements for Building a Digital-First Experience breaks down federal policies on digital accessibility and why they matter.
- The Digital Government Hub from the Digital Services Network provides open-source tools and reference materials to help agencies improve their digital offerings.
New York is also focused on improving digital accessibility, ensuring that all customers—including people with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency—can access government services with ease. The Centering Digital Accessibility Brief highlights best practices for creating inclusive digital experiences.
By making digital services clearer, simpler, and more intuitive, we can create a government that works for everyone, regardless of their background, abilities, or location.
Mapping the Customer Journey: Understanding the Full Experience
Improving government services isn’t just about fixing individual pain points—it’s about understanding the full customer journey. Whether someone is applying for childcare assistance, navigating healthcare options, or starting a business, their experience doesn’t happen in isolation. It involves multiple steps, interactions, and agencies.
By mapping customer journeys, agencies can:
- Identify where people get stuck or abandon the process.
- Reduce duplicative steps and improve coordination across agencies.
- Proactively address pain points before they cause frustration.
The Veteran Journey Map from the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs provides a strong example of how agencies can shift from a system-centered to a user-centered approach. Instead of looking at benefits and services as separate transactions, it visualizes how a veteran moves through key life moments—transitioning to civilian life, accessing healthcare, and securing financial stability.
You can apply this same approach by leveraging tools like:
- The Customer Journey Mapping 101 by Qualtrics serves as a practical guide for agencies to define key customer personas, outline full-service journeys, and identify roadblocks that create frustration.
- From Digital.gov, the Build Sites to Address the Entire User Journey post highlights how journey mapping can help agencies create more seamless online experiences, ensuring users don’t have to navigate multiple disconnected platforms to complete a single task.
By embracing journey mapping, we can ensure that government services work the way New Yorkers expect—seamlessly, intuitively, and with their needs at the center.
A Future Where Government Works for Everyone
Governor Hochul has made it clear: New Yorkers deserve a government that works for them. The New York Experience is putting that vision into action by equipping state agencies with the best tools, insights, and strategies available to transform service delivery.
With this expanded resource guide, agencies have everything they need to:
- Eliminate barriers that make accessing services difficult.
- Design services around real-life experiences, not internal processes.
- Use data to identify and solve problems before they impact the people we serve.
- Modernize digital service delivery, making government interactions seamless and accessible.
New York is leading the way in building a government that is responsive, innovative, and designed for the people who rely on it. Embracing human-centered design, harnessing data-driven enhancements, and championing digital transformation are the keys to shaping a future where government not only operates effectively but also empowers every New Yorker.
This vision will pave the way for a more responsive government that meets the needs of all its customers.