MAACE Design Pattern Library

Overview

The Government of Canada does not have a common design system for internal applications. However, in Marine and Civil Aviation at Transport Canada we introduced the Telerik component library in September 2022.

Since then, we have also created a pattern library that includes guidelines and examples on how to use various Telerik components.

The goal of this pattern library is to help designers, product owners, and developers create MAACE products and experiences that:

• are consistent

• are accessible

• are based on industry best practices

• follow service design leaders (GOV.UK, Ontario Digital Services)

Design principles

All elements in the MAACE Design Pattern Library meet these design principles (provided by the Ontario Digital Service).

While the UX Enablement team is continually updating, improving and adding to the library, we recognize that your project may have design needs that aren’t covered.

If an element you need:

• is in the pattern library, but doesn’t have the level of detail you need, use its “guiding principle” to guide your work

• is not in the pattern library, use the following principles to guide your work:

1. Put the user first

Service design starts with defining the problem that needs to be solved. Talk to and test with real users who are experiencing the problem and ensure that their needs come first in your design – don’t let back-end issues dictate a front-end design that isn’t intuitive for users.

2. Only include elements that have a purpose

Every element in a user’s experience should have a functional purpose. Don’t add anything that doesn’t explicitly help the user complete their task. In some cases, this will mean sacrificing beauty and flair for purpose – and that’s okay!

3. Be consistent

Using pattern library elements for their identified purpose will automatically help keep your designs consistent.

While consistency is a very important design principle, keeping the user’s experience as effortless as possible always comes first. So if ever you need to introduce a little inconsistency to your design to give the user a smoother experience, that’s okay!

4. Design for everyone

All current and future employees deserve easy-to-use enterprise services. Make sure your design works for everyone – including people who:

• use assistive devices such as text readers, alternative input devices or screen magnifiers

• have slow or unreliable internet services, computers or devices

• may have trouble reading or understanding English or French

5. Start simple

Simple designs are easier to change than complex ones. Create and test the simplest version of your service first, to keep it flexible enough to change or adapt to user needs as you add new functionality and design elements.

6. Continually test and improve - especially after launch

Technology and user needs and behaviours change over time. Keep your product relevant and useful by setting up a schedule and process to continually test and improve it, even after you’ve launched.