Add clarification on parent agency in Identifier component

[thisisdano]

Summary

Added clarification on parent agency in Identifier component. The identifier can be used by any site, regardless of whether that site has a higher-level agency associated with it. For this component, “Parent agency” means "the highest-level agency associated with a site or service." This PR adds guidance to cover cases when a site is the primary site for an agency, and has no higher-level agency.

Related issue

Closes #2592

Preview link

Preview link: Identifier page →

Problem statement

Not every site has a parent agency. In some cases, a site or service is the primary site for an agency. (For example, dhs.gov is the primary site for the Department of Homeland Security. It does not have a "parent agency.") Our current guidance suggests that if a site doesn't have a parent agency, they shouldn't use the identifier. But this is not the case. Every site can use the identifier.

Our guidance should make it more clear that every site can use the identifier. When we talk about "parent agency," it's a simpler way of saying "the highest-level agency associated with a site or service."

Solution

This PR makes a couple additions to our identifier guidance.

1. Add more inclusive language to the "When to use the identifier component" section:

To identify the highest-level agency associated with a site or service. The identifier is a complement to the USWDS banner. Use the identifier to tell users what parent agency is responsible for your website. Consider the parent agency to be the highest-level agency associated with a site or service. If your site is the primary site associated with an agency, you can still use the identifier.

2. Add a clarification to the "Usability guidance" section:

Consider the parent agency the highest-level agency associated with a site or service. In some cases, your site may not have a parent agency. If your site is the primary site for your agency, use your agency name in place of [Parent Agency]. For example, “[agency.gov] An official website of [Agency].”

I do not suggest making a change to the component's dek: "The identifier communicates a site’s parent agency and displays agency links required by federal laws and policies." Most sites and services using the design system will have a parent agency, and the plain-language benefit to using "parent agency" in the dek may outweigh the clarity gained with the wordier phrasing.

Major changes

None

Testing and review

1. Verify noted changes to the "When to use this component" section.
2. Verify noted changes to the "Usability guidance" section.
3. Check that the changelog accurately captures the nature of these clarifications.
4. Check for spelling, grammar, plain language, and correctness.
5. Check that there aren't any other places on this page that need a clarification.

[sarah-sch]

@thisisdano - laving some suggestions in the "Files changed" section. Also, please note that there is a typo on the Spanish-language component previews on this page. We should delete "An" from "An Un sitio web oficial de ." Let me know if you want me to create a separate ticket for the component preview changes.

[sarah-sch]

@thisisdano - added some suggestions to the files that were changed and noted that we should make some corrections to the Spanish-language component previews. Let me know if I should make a separate ticket for the component previews.

[amyleadem]

Looks good to me! I added some comments below, but I consider them optional because I am not sure if any action needs to be taken.

Also, I looked into the issue with the Spanish-language component previews that @sarah-sch flagged and it looks like it is related to how USWDS builds out the html-templates. This issue will be addressed in uswds/uswds#5853.

[amyleadem]

Optional

If I was in charge of implementing the identifier on a top-level agency site, I would wonder if I should use the logo in both the footer and the identifier (Especially considering the "Redundant content" note earlier on the page). Wondering if we should be explicit in our guidance about logos in that scenario here.

[thisisdano]

I'd like to keep this update scoped to the general usage question, but this is a good point

[amyleadem]

Optional

Flagging that we use "parent agency" for every item in this list except for the "Performance reports" item. Should we use "parent agency" in place of "agency" there as well?

[thisisdano]

Updating content

Added editorial suggestions

[annepetersen]

Terminology used in M-23-22 that we may want to consider in the future:

• Agency’s principal website
• Agency’s principal sub-agency website

But for now, I do think this is more clear.