According to Department of Defense Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer and 2024 Wash100 winner Leslie Beavers, functionality is her primary consideration when it comes to the DOD’s efforts in improving user experience with technology, Federal News Network reported Friday.
Another consideration is security, specifically zero trust, and a third is scalability.
“We have to be able to scale it. That’s the other big challenge that we have in the department. Not just internally, but we have to be able to scale to international allies and partners into the commercial world,” Beavers said in an interview.
The Defense Department was compelled to adopt a new outlook on UX following the viral “fix my computer” post in 2022 by Michael Kanaan, the director of operations for the Air Force – MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator, and a survey released by the Defense Business Board in 2023 where 80 percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with their experience with technology in the agency.
Beavers also underscored how the DOD is approaching UX improvement in a holistic manner because of the varying technology needs of people across the agency.
“[User] experience is more than just having the latest equipment,” the DOD official noted.
Department of Defense Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer Leslie Beavers will be a keynote speaker at the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual CIO Summit, which will take place on April 17. Register now to attend this highly-anticipated event!
