Kane Exec Sum
Transcript of Kane Exec Sum
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Office of the e-Envoy
August 2001
Sapient Outputs from context research workshop
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This document highlights some of the key outputs from a half-day workshop we co n d uc te d
with Liz Sands and Dan Harrison on 13 August fo l lowing co n text res e a rch. Through the co n-
text re s e a rch and in the workshop we we re able to identify key areas to inve st i g a te during
f i e l d work over the next week. These key areas appear at the end of this document.
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Our approach to the problem
Developing the close-in vision
Initial segmentations
initial mapping of services
initial mapping of transaction
characteristics
Shaping the fieldwork
Appendix: Review of peer
government sites
5
6
9
13
15
Contents
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Sapient | 2001 5
Our approach to the problem
Office of the e-Envoy | Confidential
The objectives of the current
phase of context research and
fieldwork are to:
identify services or packages of
services, including private sector
that citizens would
wish to transact through ukonline
identify and describe the groups
of citizens who would be
most likely to value thesetransactions.
In the second phase of work we will
conduct in-depth research within
peoples homes to validate the
selection of these services, as well
as understand how to deliver them
online, and develop the ukonline
environment as a whole.
We approached the problem and
structured our context research by considering that the services we
wish to identify sit at the intersec-
tion of three key domains: online
transactions in general; govern-
ment transactions; non-govern-
ment (private sector transactions).
We explored online transactions in
general by identifying, from a users
perspective, the key characteristics
of successful sites offering online
transactional functionality.
We explored government transac-
tions by conducting secondary
research focusing on citizens inter-
actions with government and their
attitudes to government.We explored the intersection itself
by conducting interviews with key
stakeholders within the Office of the
e-Envoy. These interviews focused
on how government should be
delivering services to citizens and
on the relationship with the private
sector. We also reviewed competi-
tive sites from the point of view of
user experience (see appendix).
During the field research we will
build on the findings from context
research to achieve a close-up
understanding of how citizens
experience and feel about interact-
ing with government, and how
these interactions fit into their
everyday lives. This knowledge will
be key to identifying services at the
intersection of the three domains.
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Developing the close-in vision for ukonline
Sapient | 2001 Office of the e-Envoy| Confidential6
Government services can be
delivered electronically either
directly by government, or through
the private sector. In our interviews
with stakeholders we discerned
a vision for delivering government
services seamlessly and almost
invisibly through the private and
voluntary sectors. This approach is
strongly supported by theSeptember 2000 PIU report. "There
is a strong case for portal sites
that provide a focused service for
one group (such as students) by
packaging government services for
them. This will benefit service
users, not only in the incentives it
provides for improvement but also
in the content of the sites." When
citizens visit these focused service
sites (which we term focusedinterest) they may not be aware
that they have a need to interact
with government at all it is not the
reason for the visit.
ukonline, however, is a general
government site rather than a
focused interest site and it is likely
that citizens will visit it when they
have a specific purpose for interact-
ing with government (whether or
not government as an entity is
something they are particularly
conscious of). They may not know
what service it is that they need,but they do have a need to be met,
or a realisation that they have to
transact with government in some
way. The opportunity for ukonline
is to complement focused interest
sites rather than compete with
them to provide a first port of call
for citizens with a shapeless
problem. How this should be done
will be a focus of research going
forward mainly in phase 2.
The diagram below illustrates three
ways in which government could
interact with citizens online. The
current ukonline site with its life
episodes structure is closer to the
focused interest model than the
specific purpose model, and yet as
we have seen citizens would be
unlikely to visit ukonline with a
focused interest in mind. Movingforward in phase 2 we will explore
the most compelling way to offer
generalised access to government
services. This could be as a form of
directory of services suggested by
the specific purpose model or more
of a personalised portal suggested
by the my government model.
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Sapient | 2001 9
Initial segmentations
We have identified three ca tegories that bro a d ly define the types of interactions citizens have
with government. We have also identified two citizen types based on the degree of depend-
e n ce a person has on government. Ta ken together, these definitions (see below) provide an
initial user segmentation that helps st r u c t u re our fieldwork. We re cognise that these
definitions narrow ly focus on citizen g overnment inte ractions, and that our fieldwork will
help us va l i d a te and build on these definitions. One of the main purposes of our in-depth
f i e l d work in phase 2 will be to provide a richer description of people based not only on
ex p eri e n ces with and attitudes about government but also on an understanding of the bro a d-
er co n text of their everyday lives.
Office of the e-Envoy | Confidential
Types of interaction
with government
I have to
In this category citizens are break-
ing the law if they do not transact
with government. Examples of I
have to interactions include regis-
tering births, deaths and mar-
riages, and paying taxes.
I need to
This category covers interactions
that, while not compulsory, are
necessary for a person to under-
take because the circumstances
require it. Examples include claim-
ing benefits and reporting a crime.
I want to
This category refers to interactions
where people are not obligated toand have no need to transact with
government but choose to do so.
Examples include voting, making
complaints, and seeking informa-
tion (e.g. children who want to learn
about how the government works).
Types of citizens
One critical axis for thinking about
people in terms of how they interact
with government relates to their
degree of dependence on govern-
ment. Lifestage and socio-econom-
ic class are major factors that
determine where someone may lie
on this scale.
The reason for focusing on this axis
(as opposed to lifestage or socio-
economic class) is that degree of
dependence directly drives the
behaviours and interactions withgovernment.
During our fieldwork these two
classifications will provide the basis
for examining citizen attitudes and
interactions with government.
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Sapient | 2001 Office of the e-Envoy| Confidential10
Initial mapping of services to citizen
experience
One of the central hypotheses
for our research is that users might
define good service differently.
In discussing the difference
between more self-sufficient citi-
zens versus those more dependent
on government we began to think
about the distinction between good
service as speed, or good service as
guidance or advice.
This distinction placed against
high or low personal interaction
creates a way to visualise the
range of services.
Mapping services to citizen experience:
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Sapient | 2001 11 Office of the e-Envoy| Confidential
Initial citizen definitions
Initial mapping of online transaction
characteristics to citizen experience
Drawing on our context research
analysis of the characteristics of
online transactions, we used the
same matrix to chart the reasons
for online transactions, and began
to define what type of online func-
tionality might meet certain needs.
Our fieldwork will inform and refine
this way of mapping services. What
is valuable about this step is that it
gives us a way to look at the criteria
for successful online transactions
against good candidates for target
services. In our phase 1 field
research we will focus on the bot-
tom-right quadrant.
Mapping online transaction characteristics to citizen experience:
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Sapient | 2001 13
Shaping the fieldwork
Shaping the fieldwork
Pulling all the st rands together, we discussed the high-level ca tegories of questions that we
will ask during phase 1 field re s e a rch, and the priority of each ca te g o r y.
At the conclusion of the workshop we established the fo l lowing grouping and prioritisation
for areas to inve sti g ate. This prioritisation will help us write a discussion guide for inte r v i ew-
e rs to use during inte r v i ews. (Note: these are not the questions we will ask. Questions will
be designed to get at this information in the best way. )
Office of the e-Envoy | Confidential
Changes will be made to the order
and the selection of questions
based on the amount of time we
have with the participants. (A ten-
or fifteen-minute intercept inter-
view may not be long enough to
cover all of the areas below in suffi-
cient depth, so we may need to edit
on the basis of how we prioritised.)
Demographic information
(this will include information
about Internet access and
online experience)
When, why and how people
interact with government
(this section will start with what
they are doing on this day at
this location)
What these interactions are like
What sorts of information they
give to the government, and what
they would be reluctant to give
How people currently combine
services and transactions in their
everyday lives (this will get at
connections and combinations
people are already making)
Perceptions of partnerships
between government and
the private sector
Range of government interactions
Their relationship with locations
where they interact with
government
Their awareness of whats
available at this location
Major pain points for people
Perceptions of government
strengths and weaknesses in
terms of providing services
Notions of good and bad service,
in general
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Sapient | 2001 15
Appendix: Review of peer government sites
Appendix
We approached the rev i ew of peer government sites from the persp e c t i ve of underlyi n g
o rganisational st r u c tu re and potential usage of government service and information site s .
This combination of criteria provides a top level analysis for what co n st i t u tes a co mp e l l i n g
user ex p e r i en ce .
Office of the e-Envoy | Confidential
Government sites reviewed:
Ireland:
http://www.gov.ie/default.asp
New Zealand:
http://www.govt.nz/
Australia:
http://www.govonline.gov.au
http://www.fed.gov.au/
United Kingdom:
http://www.ukonline.gov.uk
Singapore:http://www.gov.sg/
Hong Kong:
http://www.esd.gov.hk/
Criteria for assessing sites:
What services are offered
on the site?
To what extent is there provision
for online interaction and
transaction within each service
provision?
How are the services grouped and
offered to the user? How are the
services packaged and what value
is added to the service by doing
this?
How does this presentation of
transactional services affect
the overall user experience of
the site; is it a compelling user
experience?
Is there a publicprivate
partnership? If so how does
this work?
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Sapient | 2001 Office of the e-Envoy| Confidential16
Summary of sites
Top line characteristics:
High levels of interaction
and transaction
Good example sites:
Singapore, Hong Kong
Characteristics:
Upfront clarity about the breadth
and requirements of the
transaction; this means that the
user is much more likely to
complete the transaction
embarked on.
Very good use of simple and
effective design style with good
application of visual codingdesigned to signal what transac-
tions are possible.
User transaction and authenti-
cation is made simple and easy
and facilitated by the use of
e-certificates.
Recommendations:
Build users trust through the
initial implementation of simple
and easy transactions.
Facilitate users transactions to
make them quicker and easier,
e.g. secure e-certificates.
Low transparency of government
structure and departments as
opposed to a high transparency of
government structure.
Organisational paradigms ranged
from structural [echoing govern-
ment departments and structures],
grouping of like services and the-
matics, e.g. life events.
Good example sites:
ukonline, Singapore, Hong Kong
Characteristics:
Multiple ways into the same
information and services so that
if users dont identify with a
particular information structure,
they can access through othermeaningful information
organisation.
The life events organisational
paradigm seems to be a very
popular one throughout the sites
investigated, however the most
successful sites were the ones
that provided multiple points
of access to the same type of
information. This form of access
eases the pressure on the life
events paradigm particularly
where a user may not identify
with a life event, which leads to a
necessary piece of
information/transaction.
These sites tended towards
structuring the online presence
by a mixture of citizen perception
and government structure.
Recommendations:
Structure the online experience
around peoples meaningful
offline experiences
Allow for flexibility in how the
online experience is structured
around meaningful offline
experiences: allow users multiple
means of accessing information.
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Representation of government
online and high degree of citizen
focus:
The provision of services and infor-
mation is shaped within and around
a portal concept rather than the
simple presentation of government
services and information online
[which often equates to organising
services around government struc-
ture or a basic grouping of like
services]. A high degree of citizen
focus is reflected in the following:
intuitive organisation of information
and services; language that is
familiar to citizens [avoiding gov-
ernment jargon]; consistent look
and feel so that users are clear
where and how they are interacting
with government.
Good example sites:
ukonline, Canada, Singapore,
Hong Kong
Characteristics:
Users understanding of offline
is translated into online
experiences.
Users are not required to
understand the structure or
organisation of government
in order to interact with the
information and services
that they need.
However, there is a drawback of
the Singapore and ukonline sites
in particular [though also
demonstrated by many other sites
for example Ireland, Australia].
The portal front end gives way to adisjointed collection of govern-
ment related sites that leave the
user unclear as to who they are
engaging with and what relation-
ship they have to government [i.e.
are the sites intermediaries or
private partnered sites?]. This has
implications for trust and how
freely users will choose to be with
sensitive information.
The sites offer a suite of services
that appear to cater to the needs
of the citizen.
Recommendations:
Build an easy-to-use suite of
services that is flexible,
appropriate and capable of learn-
ing from users interactions
and transactions.
The effective publicprivate
partnership between government
and third parties facilitates:
government responsiveness
to the users
users transactional capability.
Good example sites:
Singapore, Hong Kong
Comments:
In some cases there is evidence of
heavy commercialism in the form
of advertising which may detract
from the benefit of the public-
private partnership; a careful bal-
ance should be found.
The benefit of the publicprivate
partnership should be rooted in
the facilitation of government
responsiveness to citizens.
Recommendations:
Government should seek
partnerships with organisations
that will provide successful
and responsive service provision
for citizens.
Office of the e-Envoy| Confidential