Ask HN: Why isn't A/B testing applied to government forms?

1 points by TamDenholm 15y ago ↗ HN

Maybe this already happens but I seriously doubt it, but why don't governments A/B test their forms? Surely it would make sense for them to do so. Please discuss.

4 comments

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mooism2 15y ago ↗

I think it would make sense to find out whether governments had already implemented your suggested improvement before suggesting it.

Incidentally, do you want them to optimise the time taken to fill the forms in, or the accuracy with which they're filled in?

papps 15y ago ↗

Not quite a form, but the U.S. govt. has worked on optimizing the typeface for road signs for legibility - see

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/magazine/12fonts-t.html

anigbrowl 15y ago ↗

It does, but there are many thousands of forms. RFCs are published in the Federal Register.

brudgers 15y ago ↗

[IANAL]

Two official forms = two possible interpretations -> inconsistency. Bidder one gets form A.1, Bidder two gets form A.2.

Doesn't matter which one wins the bid, the other will cry foul.

[In the US]For governement workers, much of the legal protection against charges of negligence comes from performing their actions in a consistent manner.