Background
Launched as the official portal of the Federal Government of the UAE, www.Government.ae communicates with a broad audience ranging from government entities to media, and from citizens and visitors to businesses.
The Challenge
Flip Media was appointed to develop an integrated digital platform to disseminate information about the government and its services and to help individuals and organizations to find and use these services. The brief required Flip to create user journeys, Information Architecture (IA), interaction design and HTML templates for the portal.
From the many challenges and complexities that we identified, a few were mission critical.
- Since user segments had varying informational and functional needs, Flip took a distinct approach for each segment, an aspect that impacted all deliverables, from user journeys to interaction designs.
- All ministries, authorities, corporations have two tasks - each to provide information and to provide a mode of transaction to fulfill a specific need.
- Research by Flip revealed that users required less than 25%* of information offered by the government, requiring a clear understanding of requirements of each segment, precise user interactions and highly targeted content delivery.
The Solution
We had to design an integrated government-to-people/business communication platform containing a great deal of information, both general and targeted, ensure that targeted information was properly categorized and delivered to relevant user groups, and lastly, facilitate the interactions for each user group.
User Journey
We mapped user journeys for each target group by simulating the step-by-step journey that users take to reach their goal. We created personas to simulate real-life requirements and common behaviors of users and used the learnings and insights to build wireframes of key user interactions.
Information Architecture
A critical observation that Flip made during extensive research on the subject of government portals was that information from a government to its citizens is vast and specific. User groups will not need/understand all of the information. Consequently, a user needs less than 25%* of information offered by a government office. The IA aimed to deliver information and transactions that are relevant only to the user’s needs and in the expected context.
In addition to mapping user journeys, Flip analyzed the existing government structure and devised a solution for the two primary aspects of the governance model – Information (mission statements, departments, initiatives, services, office locations, help desk directory) and Transaction (online transaction sections will have examples and demos, features, FAQs, Help desk access related to transacting with the authority).
The result was a clear site architecture and targeted navigation that enables a simple user journey for the different user groups on the site. The portal offers users direct access to transactional pages to achieve the primary aim of visiting a govt. website to get things done quickly and smoothly.
Interaction Design – Although, the IA laid out clear guidelines for the design interaction, the design itself was expected to communicate the UAE as a modern and progressive nation, deeply rooted in its heritage, but with a keen eye on the future. Care was to taken to highlight relevant content items for user groups, make optimal use of space and strategically position navigational aids and menus. Ongoing analyses helped evolve the designs further and facilitated significant additions and modifications to enhance the user experience.
The Results
As a company “born and raised” in the UAE, Flip is always proud to play a leadership role in the development of the nation's digital space. While this typically means working with some of the biggest brands in the region, we believe that the UAE Federal Government portal is perhaps the biggest brand we are associated with. We are especially proud of the fact that our ideas will make things simpler for the people of an entire nation.
