QUADWORK

Case study · U.S. Department of the Treasury

Government finance, made readable.

A responsive, Section 508 compliant redesign of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service site, plus ARC and TreasuryDirect Kids, validated in formal usability testing.

Client
U.S. Department of the Treasury: Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Office of Public and Legislative Affairs, Administrative Resource Center
Our role
As part of ALEX+TOM (Full Stack Developer and UX Designer, 2011–2019)
Scale
Three Treasury sites serving individuals, government agencies and large investment institutions
Services
  • Design
  • Engineering
  • Accessibility
Concept image: neoclassical stone columns of a federal building, overlaid with a fine blueprint grid of interface components.
Concept image.
The starting point

Three very different audiences, one site.

The Fiscal Service serves individuals, government entities and large investment institutions from one site. It also had to sit alongside the established TreasuryDirect brand and work on mobile.

What we changed

Four decisions did most of the work.

  1. Split content by audience

    Each of the three audiences gets a clear path, so an investor and a citizen never wade through each other’s pages.

  2. Rebuild for mobile

    The site was redesigned responsively while keeping the TreasuryDirect brand intact.

  3. Write in plain language

    Copy follows federal plain-language standards, so complex finance reads clearly.

  4. Test with real users

    Formal usability testing and analysis ran through the engagement, not only at the end.

How it works

Three sites, one approach.

Bureau of the Fiscal Service site shown on a desktop, tablet and phone.
Bureau of the Fiscal Service, responsive redesign
TreasuryDirect homepage with entry points for individuals, financial institutions and government agencies.
TreasuryDirect
TreasuryDirect Kids homepage with games, videos and a cartoon piggy bank.
TreasuryDirect Kids
Guardrails

Compliance, plain language and testing.

Section 508 compliance, federal plain-language standards and formal usability testing held the quality line on every release.

Results

It worked for the people using it.

508compliant, to federal plain-language standards
3Treasury sites: Fiscal Service, ARC and TreasuryDirect Kids

Performed very well with users in formal usability testing.

Quote: ALEX+TOM project page.

For your campus

Your bursar has Treasury’s problem.

  • Many audiences, one siteTreasury had investors, agencies and the public. You have prospective students, families, faculty, alumni and donors.
  • Clarity under rulesFinancial aid and bursar pages carry complex, regulated information with no room for confusion.
  • Test before you launchUsability testing catches the misreadings that cost students money and staff time.

Talk to us about your campus

Credits & sources

Who did what, and where the numbers come from.

Role
As part of ALEX+TOM (Full Stack Developer and UX Designer, 2011–2019). Delivered at the agency by members of today’s Quadwork team.
Source
alextom.com/projects/department-of-treasury
Images
Screenshots: ALEX+TOM, used with approval. Cover is AI-generated concept art.