Belgium.be - The new Belgian government portal, a catalyst for more user-centric eGovernment - Web Scene Expo 2008

Belgium.be
The new Belgian government
portal — A catalyst for more
user centric eGovernment?

Erik Verdeyen
erik.verdeyen@internetarchitects.be
+32 475 567890

Track 1

WebSceneExpo - 03 June 2008
Affligem, Belgium

©2008 Internet Architects

Erik Verdeyen
co-founder, Internet Architects

lead architect &
program manager for
Belgium.be

The essence of web projects?


Technology!


The essence of web projects?

Structure
Content
Technology
budgets
CMS
servers
procedures
hosting

sharing
look & feel


Nope


Pop quiz!


Who knows Zune?


Who knows iPod?


Zune is a great product


And yet…

Cumulative
sales figures
+150 million
Million
8

6

4

2

0
Zune iPod


It’s the experience that matters!


Total user experience

drool
share
crave
buy
unpack
hookup


User Experience (UX)

Users Content

UX

Context

Source: Louis Rosenfeld 2002

User Experience is more than usability

Source: Peter Morville, 2004

How many governments do we
have in Belgium?


How many governments in Belgium

Answer A: 4
Answer B: 5
Answer C: 6
Answer D: 7


Seriously now:
Some more questions

Everyday questions,
from people like you and me


Who can help me finding a job?
What will be my pension?

What benefits are there to buying a “green”
car?

What are the inheritance tax tariffs?
Am I entitled to heating fuel aid cheques?

What are the dates for prepaying taxes?
What is the regulation on student
appartments?

Why should you have to know to
whom to ask your question?


OK, but hey, that’s the way of the
web.

And there is always Google…

Good governance

A goverment needs to inform and
grant access to information and
services to everyone without
barriers

And it needs to be in the
director’s seat


The web is the center of the
communication universe


Core values for communication

• Consistent communication online
& offline

• User centric communication

• Accessible for all surfers (&
search engines)

• Quality information

• Cooperation between government
levels and bodies


Strategy for the portal site

•
CENTRIC COMMUNICA
USER TION

Point of reference

•
CONTEXT

Categorization by themes

•
SCOPE

A portal team

• A blanket on top of all info: broad
CONTENT

but not deep (Pareto is our friend)

• Is no replacement for other
channels, but complementary

• Up to date info on decided policy

• Quality > quantity

Search all gov
sites

search.belgium.be

Federal
Government sites

Search engines Campaigns
External sites Ofﬂine comm.
Bookmarks… Call centers…

www.belgium.be
Better positioning New portal: user SEO, SEM
Reference point centric and Better integration
Top of mind with interlinking with w/ other channels
the user public service
sites

What belgium.be is not

• A repository of all info

• A solution for all gov
communication

• A site for domain experts

• …


Users want info and services

High quality
Ease of Use
Fast download
Frequent updates
Incentives
Favorite brands
Games What users want!
High-end
Buying ability
Discussion forums
Customizable
Others
20 40 60 80 100 %

Source :29
Forrester

What about web 2.0?


What about web 2.0?

Mashups
RSS APIs

syndication
forum
rating
blogs
wikis
microformats

podcasts rich internet applications

tagging
More on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2 ©2008 Internet Architects

Online things happen in a certain way

• Information (maturing)

• Interaction

• Transactions

Each stage is a prerequisite for the next

There it is again: User Experience

It’s not about the usability of one site,
one application.

It’s about the user experience when
dealing with your government
as a whole
(and citizens & companies have to, no
choice there)


So first things first: walk before you run

Focus on building and maintaining gov
site that are:

• helpful

•
High quality content

Ease of Use

Fast download

Frequent updates

Incentives

usable

•
Favorite brands

Games

High-end technology

Buying ability

Discussion forums

reliable

•
Customisable content

Others
20% 40% 60% 80% 100% %

findable

• accessible


And some 2.0 is already there (or in the
pipeline)

• RSS

• Microformats

• Rating

• …

And all public services already have an
incredible amount of info and apps
online!

Where could it go from here?

• Integration of communication
channels: phone, face, web

• Integration of those channels
cross government

• Interaction: 2 ways

• Guidelines for harmonizing the
user experience (≠ same look &
feel)

• Doing the same for applications

Where could it go from here?

• Single sign-on

• Data sharing

• Standards for building user
interfaces, harmonizing the UX

• Integration of communication

• …

It’s happening, but it takes time


Web 2.0 in government

It’s a conversation alright - but not
as you know it

• Rating info

• Online case management

• Chatting (?)

• Suggestions for policy
improvements

• Provide API’s & enable mashups


On a final note:

• Complicated rules and legislation
is a pain for civil servants…

• … and it’s hell for User
Experience designers

Law & policy makers should be made
aware of the impact of “bad design”

Conclusion

•
Launch last week: 1st step in new
federal government approach

•
Other departments are following
(guidelines, eClasses, coaching)

••
Further steps:
optimization & expansion of
current information cloud

• Adding interaction &
transactions


Thank you!

More info: see us at our
booth

WebSceneExpo - 03 June 2008
Affligem, Belgium

Erik Verdeyen, co-founder, Internet Architects
erik.verdeyen@internetarchitects.be
+32 475 567890


Belgium.be - The new Belgian government portal, a catalyst for more user-centric eGovernment - Web Scene Expo 2008

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