Industry overview
What is shaping government
Government departments, PSUs and public programmes need independent evidence on citizen needs, service delivery and programme outcomes, often gathered across large and diverse geographies.
- Programmes are expected to show measurable outcomes
- Citizen feedback is shaping service delivery
- Large field surveys need rigorous quality control
Client background
A government services authority, working in United Arab Emirates. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A government services authority
- Sector
- Government
- Team engaged
- IT & Development
- Services
- UI/UX design, Qualitative research, Web application development
Client challenge
Citizens and residents found an online licence renewal service confusing. Many users abandoned the online form and visited service centres instead, adding queues and costs. Many users abandoned the online renewal process and visited service centres instead.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: usability testing a government digital service.
- Define requirements and success criteria the solution would be tested against.
- Deliver a reliable, secure solution the team can run and extend.
Target audience
Scope: 40 sessions.
Audiences we typically reach in government
Citizens and householdsProgramme beneficiariesFrontline workersLocal officialsBusinesses using public services
Geographic coverage
Coverage: United Arab Emirates. Market: United Arab Emirates.
- United Arab Emirates
Research methodology
An iterative delivery approach: discovery, design, build and test in short cycles, with the client reviewing each step.
- 1Brief
- 2Usability testing in Arabic and English
- 3Insight
We tested the service with users in Arabic and English and recommended redesigns. Sessions included citizens and expatriate residents with different levels of digital confidence, completing real tasks on mobile and desktop. Participants completed real tasks while researchers observed where they hesitated or made errors.
UI/UX designQualitative researchWeb application development
Sampling strategy
- Users and stakeholders from every affected team took part in discovery workshops and acceptance testing.
Data collection
- sessions
- 40
- Requirements were gathered through workshops, process walk-throughs and a review of existing systems and data.
Data quality & validation
- Peer code review on every change
- Automated and manual testing
- User-acceptance testing with the client
- Release checklist and rollback plan
Data analysis
- Usage and performance monitoring after launch
- Defect and support-ticket trends
- Process time before and after
Key findings
- Completion rates improved after redesign, and help-desk calls fell.
Testing with real users improved public services.
Recommendations
- The authority adopted usability testing for other digital services.
- Track adoption and support tickets, and plan the next release from real usage.
What we recommended, and the client put into practice
Business impact
- Usage of the online service increased, and service centre visits for renewals declined.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Interview summaries and key verbatims
- Deployed solution with documentation and handover
- Support and maintenance plan
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: is a scheme reaching the people it was meant for?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.