This document discusses building perfect council websites and focuses on putting users first. Some key points: - It is challenging to build perfect websites due to the diversity of audiences, legacy infrastructure, and bureaucracy. - Websites should focus on user needs, understand context, and use evidence from data. - Users were tested on tasks like finding equipment information and many struggled, showing online social care has a long way to go. - Testing with users is important to understand their experiences and how to improve websites for their needs.

1. Building Perfect Council Websites 2014
Perfect for your users
10 July 2014
Martin Greenwood Insight Programme Manager
Socitm
Caleb Tang UX and Accessibility Consultant
UXPA UK | Treasurer

2.
2 @calebtang
Perfect!
• How to be Perfect?
• Test with users
• Questions

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Perfect is Challenging
Diversity
of audience
Legacy
inheritance of infrastructure
Bureaucracy
can be barrier to change

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Where do we
Start

5. 5 @calebtang

6. Why users?
Users, users, users
6 @calebtang
One of the 7 Digital Principles was Putting Users First
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/benterrett/7041509709/

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Perfect is
Possible
Users
How can they help?
Focus
on user needs
Context
awareness
Evidence
through data

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8 @calebtang
Focus on user needs
Learn from
GDS Design Principles
1. Start with needs*
2. Do less
3. Design with data
4. Do the hard work to make it simple
5. Iterate. Then iterate again
6. Build for inclusion
7. Understanding context
8. Building digital services, not websites
9. Be consistent, not uniform
10. Make things open: it makes things better

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City of Westminster

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10 @calebtang
Context awareness
1. Start with needs*
2. Do less
3. Design with data
4. Do the hard work to make it simple
5. Iterate. Then iterate again
Learn from
GDS Design Principles
6. Build for inclusion
7. Understanding context
8. Building digital services, not websites
9. Be consistent, not uniform
10. Make things open: it makes things better

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Salford City Council Birmingham City Council

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12 @calebtang
Evidence through data
1. Start with needs*
2. Do less
3. Design with data
4. Do the hard work to make it simple
5. Iterate. Then iterate again
6. Build for inclusion
7. Understanding context
8. Building digital services, not websites
9. Be consistent, not uniform
10. Make things open: it makes things better
Learn from
Government Digital Service Principles

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Kent County Council

14. Get closer to your Users
Access to users
Easy
Home visit
1:1 interviews
Street interview
User panel
Focus group
Observation
Remote user testing
Personas
Diary study
Limited
Surveys
Social media
interactions
Web analytics
Front-line staff
interviews
Customer
feedback log
@calebtang14

15. Perfect
is Challenging but Possible
Diversity
of audience
Focus
on user needs
Legacy
inheritance of infrastructure
Context
awareness
Bureaucracy
can be barrier to change
Evidence
through data

16.
• How to be Perfect?
•
• Questions
Perfect!
16 @calebtang
Test with users

17. Test with users
Three customer tasks
• Find information about equipment for the elderly
• Find out about respite care
• Apply for blue badge
Testers invited to comment and rate the experience:
1 = poor 2 = satisfactory 3 = very good

18. Test with users
And now three video clips….
The first one starts after user has already spent 8 minutes
searching for information about equipment for the elderly to
arrive at ‘My Care, My Choice’ on www.stockport.gov.uk

19. Stockport – Find out about equipment for the elderly
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Test with users

20. Test with users
The second clip….
This user spent 20 minutes searching for information for
carers about respite care, and is then asked to give a score
on www.haringey.gov.uk

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Haringey - Find out about respite care
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Test with users

22. Test with users
The third clip….
It’s not all bad news. This is how another user responds to
applying for a blue badge on www.newham.gov.uk

23. Newham - Apply for blue badge
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Test with users

24. Test with users
More information about the tests
• Two sets of 18 councils
• Each set tested for two tasks
• 5 testers in each ‘test’ (council/task)
• 360 people testing in all
• Councils selected have good websites (3 or 4 star)
• Tasks taken from councils supplying visit data

25. Test with users
Why this research?
• ‘Social care probably the poorest part of most councils’
websites’ (Better connected ).
• New legislation on social care will require surge in online
information and services.
• Many councils spending lots on online social care,
arguably too much, too early.

26. How users rated each task
Test with users

27. How users rated each task per council
Test with users

28. Users rating tasks as ‘very good’
Test with users

29. Test with users
Why so different?
Blue badge
• National requirement
• Recent new national facility
• Specific requirement
• Clear navigation
• Not part of social care mainstream
• Not impacted by Social Care Act
Equipment / respite care
• Local requirements
• Lots of options
• General requirement
• ‘Messy’ navigation
• Part of social care mainstream
• Impacted by Social Care Act

30. Test with users
Conclusion
“ Digital services so good that all who can
use them prefer to use them ” - GDS
A long, long way to go for online social care!

31.
• How to be Perfect?
• Test with users
•
Perfect!
31 @calebtang
Questions

32. Thank you.
32 @calebtang

33. Public Announcement
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