Trent Mankelow
How to create government websites that don’t suck
Trent Mankelow
How to create government websites that don’t suck rock!
"Despite promises of dramatic change and continuous innovation early on, ...the public sector today looks much as it did when the Internet began its ascendancy"
- United Nations e-Government Survey 2008
64% of public sector organisations expected to spend money on a new/upgraded website in 2008/09.
53% expected to spend money on new/upgraded online services in 2008/09.
- Government Use of ICT 2008
We are falling behind
• We slipped from 19th place in 2007 to 31st in 2008 according to the Global E-Government Report
• We were 13th in the UN list, now we’re 18th
The Internet should TRANSFORM government
The Internet should be the number one channel for government agencies
• Improve public sector efficiency• Convenience and 24 x 7 availability• Advance democracy
But instead of transforming government, innovation has tended to be small-scale and gradual
How to create government websites that rock
01: Create a citizen-centred culture02: Create an actionable, citizen-centric
03: Improve findability04: Follow a user-centred design process
online strategy
01: Create a citizen-centred culture
Currently many government departments have a shared accountability model
• When something is owned by everybody, it is owned by nobody
• This model can't help but trend toward mediocrity
‘Competing priorities’ was the most commonly cited factor restricting the implementation of new ICT in government
So don't make it compete
Hire a Chief Citizen Officer
Reboot culture
Values for successful web teams
• Networking and broad contacts externally and internally
• Respect for individuals• Trust• Sharing of ideas and information• Sound underlying systems and
procedures• Continuous learning and development• Creativity and innovation
02: Create an actionable, citizen-centric online strategy
Know who your users are and what their goals are
Stop designing for "all New Zealanders"
The trouble is that when you design for everyone, you design for no-one
Conduct basic research to segment and understand your audience
One great way to stop designing for “all New Zealanders” this is to use personas
Create a coherent, lightweight online strategy
Use a simple process1. Interview stakeholders 2. Understand your users (user survey, web analytics) 3. In a workshop:
a. Agree your key users and their tasks (based on research) b. Brainstorm website goals and vision individually and then collate
common themes and patterns c. Brainstorm future initiatives individually and then collate common
themes and patterns
4. Firm up goals, provide definitions and ways to measure the goals. Research themes and get other example websites
5. In a workshop: a. Finalise goals and vision b. Talk through the initiatives c. Map the effectiveness of each initiative to achieve each goald. Prioritise initiatives based on their effectiveness across all goals
6. Finalise strategy
Don't develop the strategy in isolation – create a cross-channel strategy
03: Improve findability
36
Finding stuff
…and get bigger
In 2020, the amount of info on the web will double every 72 hours
• In some government departments, new websites spring up like mushrooms
• Governments are broken up into competing agencies and jurisdictions
Too many sites
Citizens shouldn't have to know about the mechanics of government in order to be able to interact with it
Remove redundant content, and consolidate sites to make stuff easier to find
Fix iGovt
Make iGovt seamless
04: Follow a user-centred design process
There are real costs when government websites are unusable
Website use typically doubles when the site is made easier to use
Use ISO13407
Use ISO 13407
• Project planning shall allocate time and resources for the human-centred activities. This shall include time for iteration and the incorporation of user feedback, and for evaluating whether the design solution satisfies the user requirements.
• Relevant user and stakeholder groups shall be identified and their relationship with the proposed development described in terms of key goals and constraints.
• There are four linked human-centred design activities that shall take place during the design of any interactive system a. Understand and specify the context of use; b. Specify the user requirements; c. Produce design solutions; d. Evaluate.
"Usability standards are likely to have the most influence when cited in commercial contracts....Require a design and development project to carry out activities that conform with ISO 13407”
- International Standards for Usability Should Be More Widely Used, Nigel Bevan, Journal of Usability Studies, Volume 4, Issue 3, May 2009, pp. 106-113
Conclusion
Success stories
The results
Original success
rateFinal success
rateIncreas
e
Client 38% 74% 36%
Provider
44% 69% 25%
Business
29% 77% 48% Target increase Actual increase
Page views (users)
10% 25%
Page views (staff)
10% 32%
How to create government websites that rock
01: Create a citizen-centred culture02: Create an actionable, citizen-centric
03: Improve findability04: Follow a user-centred design process
online strategy
It shouldn't be “e-Government”. It should just be government
ThanksTrent MankelowOptimal Usability