This paper reports the results of a multi‐phased investigation into Open Government Data (OGD) sites in the United States. Upon searching and examining OGD sites by state and state capital, we outlined current OGD practice in the US. An inventory of data processing capabilities of 50 OGD sites uncovered the most frequently occurring data categories, search and filter options, raw datasets, data visualization displays, data extraction formats, interactive and map tools, and help functions provided through the OGD sites. Heuristic evaluation of 15 sites containing “Transportation” datasets revealed that main usability problems were violations to the principles of “Flexibility and Efficiency of Use,” “Help and Documentation,” and “Help users to recognize, diagnose and recover from errors.” Findings suggest that in order to sustain and achieve a good usage of OGD sites, a significantly better understanding of user populations, their data needs, and their data literacy levels is needed.

This paper reports a usability and user experience research study of http://PBCore.org, a WGBH website supporting the PBCore metadata dictionary. Usability testing was conducted with 53 participants who worked in audiovisual processing and archiving. Significant differences in task performances and interaction experiences among user groups were found, most notably between broadcast and information professionals, archivists/librarians and other staff, and participants who had an LIS degree and those who did not. Qualitative observations afforded a deeper understanding of the difficulties that non‐LIS participants encountered. Recommendations for designing a more inclusive technical website include providing contextual and practical information on the homepage, delivering technical content visually and interactively, offering understandable definitions of terminology, and building a vibrant user community. Further research documenting users' knowledge gaps would be valuable. The paper concludes with a call for developing specific usability requirements for technical websites to create an inclusive and accessible user experience.