DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden Profiling User Requirements for Multi-Target e-Government Applications: a case study Marco Winckler1, Dominique Scapin2 Florence Pontico3, Gaëlle Calvary4, Audrey Serna4 1 3 University Paul Sabatier, IHC-IRIT Région Midi-Pyrénées 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France DSI - Service Etudes et Solutions 2 4 INRIA Paris - Rocquencourt Research Centre University Joseph Fourier, LIG-IIHM Domaine de Voluceau-Rocquencourt, B.P. 105 385, Rue de la Bibliothèque, BP 53 Le Chesnay 78153, France 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France ABSTRACT fast delivery of multi-target applications. During the last The increasing use of the Web as a software platform decade, users have become accustomed to new means of together with the advance of technology has promoted Web service delivery in the private sector. Nowadays, users applications as a starting point for improving the expect the same level of service availability from the public communication between citizens and administration. sector: they want their interactions to be convenient, and Currently, several e-government web portals propose they prefer to be online rather than in line [18]. Faced to applications for accessing information regarding these expectations, some administrations started exploiting healthcare, taxation, registration, housing, agriculture, a variety of channels that allow users to consume their education and social services, which otherwise may be services anytime, anywhere and anyhow. However, the difficult to obtain. However, the adoption of services decision of deploying e-government services on new provided to citizens depends upon how such applications communication channels should accommodate competing comply with the users needs. Unfortunately, building e- objectives [9]: to improve the quality of public services and government web site doesn’t guarantee that all citizens who the way in which it serves the community versus to reduce come to use it can access its contents. These services need the costs of services. In this context some issues highlight to be accessible to all citizens/customers equally to ensure the importance of investment on the User Interface (UI) wider reach and subsequent adoption of the e-government design of e-Government applications: services. User disabilities, computer or language illiteracy • Public administration should ensure multiple access (e.g. foreign language), flexibility on information access points to e-Government applications (e.g. home access (e.g. user remotely located in rural areas, homeless, mobile via Internet, computer-based kiosks, mobile platforms). users), ensure user privacy on sensible data are some of the barriers that must be taken into account when designing the • The ever growing number of users of e-Government User Interface (UI) of e-government applications. Whilst applications calls for universal access to e-Government several initiatives (such as the W3C WAI) focus on how to applications. Usability has become one of the major promote usability and accessibility of content provided via challenges for large adoption of many e-services e-government, many governments are enhancing their provided to citizens, in particular those suffering from technology to make their services compatible with new some kinds of disability or having some literacy barriers communication channels available through multiple (e.g. illiterate users, immigrants seeking information devices including interactive digital TVs (iTV), personal about the country). digital assistants (PDAs), and mobile phones. In this paper • E-Government applications present several advantages we focus on this latter issue, which means the development for both front office users (e.g. citizens, associations, of multi-target e-government services available across companies and so on) and back office people (e.g. several platforms. In this paper we present a case study government employees, administrative clerks) as they focused on the development of multi-target e-government reduce costs of information transfer and treatment. Thus services available across several platforms. We discuss the front office and back office users are two sides of the major constraints underlining the importance of investment same coin. Whilst universal access should be provided to on the UI’s design of e-Government applications. front office users, usability for back office users should Keywords not be neglected as some usability problems could cause User interface design, ubiquitous services, multi-target errors and/or losses of data that might compromise the applications, design for all quality of the whole system. 1. INTRODUCTION As far as the costs of services is a major issue, it should not The large variety of computing systems available nowadays be counted as a simply addition of costs related to (e.g. desktop/notebook computers, cell phone, Smartphone) implementation, deployment and maintenance of has created a milestone for cost-effective development and applications but it must include the adoption rate of 9 DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden services by citizens. A countless number of e-government Web Consortium (W3C) [1] has started recently a new initiatives worldwide failed because by low technology interest group for improving access to government through adoption levels in their communities. Concerned by these better use of the Web. Among the activities performed by problems, a number of recent studies have investigated the this new W3C group is the recommendation for shaping up general adoption of e-government services in developed Web applications for delivering content through many countries [5, 6, 15]. It has been shown [13] that faced to the communication channels. This interest group is related to choice of e-government services available in more than one previous W3C initiatives on mobile platforms and communication channel citizens tend to choose the most accessibility; the latter become one of the most important familiar option; however, when task complexity increases references for e-Inclusion initiatives undertaken by any citizens change their line of reasoning to a thought democracy in the digital era. elaboration between tasks to be accomplished and channel 2.2 Non-Traditional User Interfaces characteristics. The Web is still the primary platform for delivering e- This paper discusses how to envisage scenario for new government services but other platforms such as mobile communication media and in particular, their deployment networks and interactive TV (iTV) are quickly emerging as over many platforms. At the light of a real case study of e- suitable alternatives for delivering e-government services. procurement services for students applying for The huge penetration of mobile technology (even in scholarships, we discuss solutions for delivering multi- developing countries) has motivated many public target user interfaces. Our work is underlined by two main organizations to make e-government services through assumptions: mobile devices. Nowadays, there are about 3.3 billion • By focusing on end-users’ requirements we can mobile users around the world, and a growing user base, improve the usability of the UIs and select the platforms the prospects and possibilities in using the mobile phones that best suit their needs, thus reducing the risk of as a two-way service delivery platform are incredible. So rejection; that the current demand for mobile applications to support • By focusing on users’ tasks we can determine the e-government initiatives is huge. Mobile phones are sought complexity of the steps required to accomplish an to foster an innovative method for citizens to interact with administrative procedure and then assess the technical Government [14]. Government can provide needed and feasibility of deploying tasks on multiple platforms. sometimes life-saving information to citizens via phone or SMS1 based alerts. Mobile technologies has been used for 2. STATE OF THE ART tighten communication with citizens and organization and In this section we present a summary of the most relevant for delivering advanced services. For example, the BlueTo communication channels nowadays for the e-government application [4] deploys a location-based solution for domain. delivering digital content previously distributed by the 2.1 The World Wide Web Platform public administration on traditional media but including The World Wide Web was the starting point for integrating located content to citizens and tourists (e.g. basic tourist services available 24/7 while promoting faster and efficient information, emergency numbers, and events in the city). connection between agencies, processes and systems. As Mobile technology provides many opportunities but it has far as e-government services are a concern, one can notice also lots of drawbacks for example, the screen size and several stages of sophistication [3, 9] including: resolution limit interactivity, cell phone can be easily lost • Emerging Web sites: much of the information is static or stolen so they are not suitable for storing private data. It and there is little interaction with citizens. became so important in these days that sometimes refer applications in this domain as m-government (for mobile • Informational Web sites: citizens can download forms government). However, many organizations are deploying and documents including law and regulations; huge efforts to find solutions to foster e-government • Transactional: two-way interaction between ‘citizen initiatives through mobile technology, which is often and government’ where all operations are conducted referred as m-government or mobile government2. online (e.g. web-based tax declaration). Interactive TV (iTV) is another promising communication • Full-case electronic case handling including channel for delivering e-government services. iTV connections with actors involved in the process (e.g. combines television content with some of the interactivity central and local government agencies, direct connection we are now used to on the internet such as clicking on between citizens and governments, and connections links. iTV channels are supplied onto a television set among stakeholders). through a ‘set top box’, which sits near the TV [12]. The In the last years, several initiatives try to develop guidelines for developing usable and accessible e- 1 SMS: Short Message Service government services [19]. Concerned by the ever growing 2 use of the web as a common platform, the World Wide http://www.mgovernment.org/ 10 DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden interactive element comes from the channels having a versatile application in UK which is accessible at major means whereby the user can send their own signals back to UK interactive TV platforms (Sky and Virgin), from the broadcaster. This allows users to request different mobile phones and on some kiosks. pieces of information, still images or video clips, within a browser environment similar to but less sophisticated than a web browser. TV, after the radio, is one of the most popular and diffused communication channels even in developing country and iTV are expected to replace traditional TV systems quite soon. A typical example of iTV usage in the e-government domain is the system VOICE3 which is employed in India to disseminate information about government activities and to enable Figure 2. Application ‘Look Local’ available on interactive online services (Figure 1). TV (at left) and on cell phones (at right). Whilst the technology of iTV is recent the preliminary results look very encouraging [12]. However, there are also Indeed, many governmental reports strongly recommend various potential problems with the medium, however: only that e-government services must be deployed in many small amounts of text can be used on each screen, as it is different platforms in order to provide better coverage of viewed at a distance; it is generally used with a remote services and reach users with special needs [1, 8, 9, 16]. control, which is far more restricted than a computer The study launched by the European Union (EU) [9] keyboard; and the speeds of interaction are not good. assessed a very broad range of communication channels Interactive services may also not be suited to the television supporting communication between citizen and viewing habits of many users – unlike the web, TV is a government including: Web, iTV, mobile platforms, call- medium often used for recreation or relaxation by several center, e-mail. It provides a detailed list of criteria for people at once [2]. Making sure that iTV contents and evaluation multi-channel delivery of e-government services devices are flexible enough so that people are able to (e.g. accessibility and inclusion, speed delivery for time- perceive, understand and interact with them is an essential critical information, etc) and it points out to some best requirement for the democratization of information via TV practices. One of the main contributions of such as a study broadcasting. is to classify communication channels according to benefits for end-users (i.e. citizens) but also for administrations. The deployment of e-Government services through several communication channels can be sought as an ultimate goal for reaching all citizens. However, this diversity offers important challenges such as: • Constructing and maintaining versions of single applications across multiple devices; • Checking consistency between versions for guaranteeing a seamless interaction across multiple devices; • Building into these versions the ability to dynamically respond to changes in the environment such as network connectivity, user’s location, etc. The availability of several communication channels does Figure 1. VOICE application (i.e. ITV systems) for not mean that applications will convey the same checking information related to birth. information and services across different platforms. On one 2.3 Multi-Channel Delivery of Services hand, technical constraint (such screen size) can prevent Most of currently available applications are deployed in a the display of large amounts of information. On the other single platform but one of the most remarkable trends is the hand some applications can convey information and development of multi-channel services. A typical example services through the communication channel that best suits of such initiatives is ‘Looking Local4’ (see Figure 2), a user needs. For example, support online fill-in forms via Web and notify users of approaching deadline for complete procedures via SMS. 3 3. CASE STUDY Versatile Online Information for Citizen Empowerment: http://www.ourvmc.org/ In order illustrate how the difficulties and constraints for 4 delivering services in different communication channel, we http://www.digitv.gov.uk/ 11 DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden present in this section a case study issued by the Regional subject to the annual budget approval from the RMP’s French Administration Midi-Pyrenées (RMP), one of the council (step 2). Citizens do not request BRPE scholarship partners in the MyCitizSpace consortium. Due to some directly to RMP: the process is mediated by the high private issues, some internal aspects are voluntary school’s principal who notifies students (step 4) and removed. We introduce all actors involved and their explains how they should fill in the form (step 5). interactions along the process which is enough for our Principals are also responsible for checking the purpose. Our focus is on end-users’ (i.e. citizens’) completeness (i.e. no required document is missing) and requirements for adapting the UI according to different correctness of requests (e.g. attest that students are contexts of use. regularly attending a vocational high school) he gets back from students (step 6). RMP receives student’s applications 3.1 Informal description Vocational high schools offer hands-on training to students and verifies their correctness and eligibility again (step 8). and prepare them for careers in fields such as information Problems (e.g. fraud, missing information) are reported to technology, marketing, business, engineering and the high school principals (step 7) who also can monitor (step medical professions. However, to attend some technical 6) the status of applications of students attending program programs such as Plumbing, Electricity or Cooking, at his school. Eligible applications are duly recorded, and students should bring their own equipment to classes (e.g. letters of credits are sent to beneficiaries (step 9). Finally, purchase of knives, aprons and suits for inn students). RMP addresses a payment request (step 10) to the accounts BRPE (French acronym for “Regional Scholarship for First department (step 11). Equipment”) is a program of RMP which provides students Government Public Institution Citizens with a scholarship for buying such equipments. A student can only apply to this scholarship once whilst attending a specific technical program in a vocational high school. However, a second application is illegible if State Units RMP High School Student/Parent students change to a different technical program. High school’s principals are in charge of advertising students 1. Proposal about the calendar and procedures and help them to prepare scholarship amount applications. BRPE applicants get forms from high school principals. For students under the age of majority, their 2. Budget parents or legal tutor are the ones allowed to firm the form. approval The forms and required documents (e.g. bank account statement) are given back to high school principals who are in charge of controlling the completeness of forms and 3. Launch BRPE 4. Notify students program about procedure sending the complete ones to RMP. On receipt, RMP agents treat BRPE applications. If the application is 5. Apply for scholarship accepted by RMP, the accounts department (a state 6. Monitor status 8. Report institution distinct from RMP) pays the BRPE scholarship problems / frauds of requests and check eligibility through bank transfer to the bank account of the student (or his parents). 7. Process 3.2 Analyzing Users’ tasks in the procedure illegible requests The general procedure required for implementing a BRPE application can be summarized by Figure 3. Like many other governmental programs, BRPE is a complex program 9. Account of that integrates actors with diverse juridical status such as eligible requests citizens (i.e. students/parents), units of the regional governmental (i.e. RMP), state governmental (i.e. accounts department), and educational units (i.e. high schools) [18]. 10. Request payment Educational units are controlled by Education Offices (i.e. “rectorat” in the French system), which discuss BRPE 11. Bank Legend: scholarships amounts with RMP once a year. For the sake transfer of simplicity, Education Offices and accounts departments „ Outside processes and National Banks will be considered as “state units”. „ BRPE process From an administrative point of view, the procedure starts Figure 3. Overview of the BRPE application. with the annual definition of money allocation for a scholarship which varies according to the technical The most important task for users is to ‘Apply for program. It is important to note that the scholarships are scholarship’. Users are requested to perform a set of sub- 12 DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden tasks to accomplish an application as shown by Figure 4. archetype that is mainly used to communicate requirements Notice that tasks can be performed either online or by other with the development team during the design process. A means, e.g. ‘provide paper-based certificates’ (B2). persona archetype can be synthesized from a series of field Apply for BRPE activities such as interviews and work observations resulting in a representation of an individual that embodies A: Request form the characteristics of a target user population [11]. For the B: Prepare application purpose of this paper, we have created user archetypes (i.e. fictional characters) for describing the main target B1: Fill in form population of students that might be interested in a BRPE. B2: Provide paper-based certificates (bank account and scholarship) User archetypes are named after a fictional character to C3: Monitor progress help designers to talk about a specific user profile without having to describe all their attributes. Table 2 and Table 3 Figure 4. Users’ tasks with the BRPE application. provide a example user profiling. 3.3 Indentifying Special Users’ Requirements Table 2: Persona “Rémi”: archetype of students with no Much of the success or failure of Information Technologies special motivation for using new Information implementation programs such as BRPE relies on the Technologies. adoption rate of the applications by the end-users. However, it is clear that some actors involved might have First name Rémi, the nature boy conflicting requirements. For example, citizens would like Age 16 years old to have a close contact with stakeholders which might Nationality French delay the treatment of requests. Table 1 presents some Family status Single, living with his parents in a farmer. requirements for the three main actors of BRPE. Some Education Repeating first year at the vocational high requirements such as “ensure eligibility of applications” school Saint Paul on Veterinary Scholar can be a common motivation to both stakeholders and Program after failing a first year in a citizens. traditional high school. Information He prefers to surf the Web at school because Table 1: Requirements affecting adoption of the BRPE. Technology skills of the low Internet bandwidth in the rural area Users Criteria where he lives. He gave up with cell phones RMP stakeholders Costs because of the poor mobile network in the farmer. Prevent frauds Motivation for He does not have any specific motivation but Time for checking eligible applications using new he knows how to use computer to check his Traceability of applications information assignments at the electronic kiosk available at High school’s Visibility on students applying for the scholarship technologies the school. principals in his/her institution Professional To finish high school and go back to the farm Time for checking eligible applications (e.g. no projects to work with his father. required information is missing) Time for assisting students to filling in the forms Table 3: Persona “Sarah”: archetype for students that like Pedagogical value of procedures in daily life new Information Technologies. Citizens Ensure eligibility of application First name Sarah, the blogger girl Time for filling in the forms Age 17 years old Time for obtaining the scholarship Nationality Lebanese Full transparency Family status Single, living with his uncle (30 years old) which is his legal tutor in France. Her parents Due to space constraints we focus hereafter only on a still live in Lebam. particular category of users, i.e. citizens. Once citizens Education Second year of cooking program in the agreed on the advantages of applying to a BRPE, we can vocational high school George Sands. start investigating how to better provide access to this Information She has created her own web site and she service and what would motivate them to move from paper Technology skills maintains a regular blog. based applications to procedures based on new information Motivation for She makes good use of IT for communicating technologies. Inside the community of users we can using new (e.g. email, skype) her parents and friends identify three main user groups: parents (or legal tutors), information staying in Lebam. Since she got an iPhone students under the majority age and young adults. In order technologies from her birthday, she is using it for surfing on to understand the diversity of users and capture their needs, the Web and read emails. we have created user archetypes using the “Persona” Professional She plans to open her own restaurant. technique [7]. A persona is a description of a user projects 13 DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden 3.4 Context of Use for the BRPE application Multi-platform scenario: refers to applications that The description of the BRPE application does not imply provide is available over many different platforms. In our any particular communication channel. However, we must example, we might consider an e-government service that ensure that implementations of BRPE will fulfill specific is available over the Web but can also be accessed via a users’ requirements. Hereafter we present some scenarios cell phone. This scenario illustrates adaptation to the that illustrate how the application BRPE could evolve over platform with effects on distribution and interaction styles. the platforms Web and mobile (i.e. iPhone) and according Figure 6 presents an adapted version of the application to to the users profiling described above. be displayed on iPhone. Notice that the form fill is Basic scenario: Rémi is informed about that BRPE system presented in several screens (i.e. 2.a, 2.b, 2.c). On one is now receiving new applications. He goes to the school hand, the limited number of form fields per screen reduces library that is equipped with computers and Internet access. the need of scrolling whilst keeping the text legible. On the He launches the web application e-BRPE and opens a other hand, the system can record the information filled session. Once registered, he fills in his personal data and across the pages so that Sarah does not have to start from selects a scholar program. The next part of the form has to the beginning if he is interrupted by a phone call. In be filled in by his parents as he is under the age of addition, a vocal service is offered with phone platforms. majority. Rémi saves his session. Once back home he can The e-BRPE service is also available over the Web, as finish the procedure. The system indicates that his presented in the basic scenario (Figure 5). application has been submitted to the high school principal. X Rémi then provides the principal with specific paper-based certificates. One week later, Rémi is interested to know the Request Monitor progress state of his application. He goes to the kiosk in his high school where e-BRPE is available. The system indicates that his application is complete and that it will be sent to the RMP. One month later, Rémi receives a letter telling Y.a him that his request will be funded. Figure 5 shows the UI [ for this scenario. The UI remains classic in that it is form- based and centralized in a unique desktop. There is neither adaptation to the user nor to the environment: adaptation is limited to the screen size. It is performed when the user launches the application. The state recovery is the user’s Y.b session. Monitor progress X Request Monitor form progress Y.c Z Y Receipt [ Figure 6. BRPE as it is available on iPhone. Advanced scenario: in this scenario, the application was Z Receipt conceived to support continuous interaction across more than one interaction technique (e.g. command-line in the web-based version and speech recognition on the cell phone version). The context of use should take into account Monitor progress the changes on user tasks accordingly to the platform. The adaption of the user interface might take into account some unplanned tasks that occur accordingly to, for example, environmental conditions. In this scenario, users can not only decide which platform to use to access the service (the Figure 5. BRPE as it is available on the Web. Web browser or a cell phone) but also to interrupt a task on a platform (for example fill in an application form over the 14 DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden Web) and resume it in another one (for example, monitor These scenarios could evolve to integrate even more progress of applications on a cell phone). For example, the advanced interaction techniques, such as the user interface student is informed about the availability of the BRPE at migration from devices. User interface migration refers to the school and on his way back home he uses his iPhone to smart applications that can migrate via the network from a apply for a scholarship (Figure 7.1). He starts filling the platform to another [10, 17]. Such as application can adapt forms (Figure 7.2.a) but as his battery was too low, he the user interface according to the devices constraints (e.g. could not fill in all the forms fields. Arriving at home, He screen resolution, input devices available, etc.). In this decides to resume the BRPE using the Web version context, the application becomes distributed onto several because his computer desktop provides her with a larger devices, with different levels of interaction style. The screen (Figure 7.3.b). adaptation specifications are weaved into the UI and the X user is able to specify the distribution organization. Figure Request 8 shows the continuous interaction across theses form Monitor progress adaptations. This scenario addresses early adopter’s needs Y that are keen to explore the full potential of interaction techniques and devices. 4. DISCUSSION AND FUTURE WORK In this paper we have presented a case study describing [ user needs and technical constraints related to the development of multi-target user interfaces for the e- government domain. As we shall see, deploying services on Receipt multiple communication channels is not just a matter of Z.a Monitor progress technological platform. On one hand it requires a deeper Z.b understanding of user needs to propose solutions that fulfill their needs and thus has a better chance to get adopted by the community. On the other hand, there are many platforms available and the best user interface depends on Print specific the adaptation of services accordingly to platforms physical documents constraints. Currently there is no single answer to the questions such as: ‘Which is the best the user interface?’ or ‘Which is the best communication channel for deploying e- Figure 7. UI migration in BRPPE application. government services?’ So that we need a multidimensional space for supporting decision-making. End-user requirements and user interface are useful criteria for X grounding decisions but they certainly should be Request Monitor progress considered in a larger picture than presented here. form However, user interface is a key aspect that it worth to be Y.a studied on its own dimension before be aligned with business processes constraints, political/social wills, and so on etc. Faced to the complexity of such as tasks, it seems clear that [ deciders need some help to find the most cost-effective solutions to delivering services. In the present work, we have grounded our research on a deep review on end-users’ Complete form Monitor requirements which are formalized by the means of Y.b progress Persona archetypes. One of the main advantages of Persona Y.c is that archetypes can be easily understood by all people Z involved in the development of e-government services, from administrative stakeholders, IT experts, decision- makers and even citizens. Based on such as description we Print specific physical documents can assess credible scenarios that worth the investment on new development. Receipt The case study for the development of the BRPE has lead to successful implementations on two platforms (i.e. mobile and Web). The scenarios presented in the present case Figure 8 Continuous interaction with BRPE across devices. study allow us to visualize the continuous interaction 15 DEGAS 2009 | Proceedings August 24th 2009 | Uppsala, Sweden across different platforms. However, it is clear that the 7. Cooper, A. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. development of such as multi-target applications is not Sams Eds. 1 edition (1999), 288 pages. seamless and requests an intricate composition of services 8. ECOTEC Research & Consulting. A Handbook for hosted and distributed among the platform used by the user Citizen-centric eGovernment. December 2007. At: (e.g. mobile) and on the server. As we shall see, such as http://www.ccegov.eu/downloads/Handbook_Final_031207.pdf distribution is also subject to administrative constraints (in 9. EU IDA Programme Report. Multi-channel delivery of our case study the need of paper-based certificates) that eGovernment services. June 2004. At: might prevent any kind of electronic process and thus some http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/servlets/Doc?id=16867 task should be composed with more traditional administrative procedures. 10. Ghiani, G., Paternò, F., Spano, L. D. Cicero Designer: An Environment for End-User Development of Multi- Our goal is not propose a definite solution to the problem Device Museum Guides. IS-EUD 2009: 265-274 but rather to exemplify some challenges one is faced to whilst trying to conceive multi-target user interface for e- 11. 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