Egovernment with an End-User Focus (NO0026)

The Agency for Public Management and eGovernment’s (Difi) strategy is to have user-centric approach to digital service development. Service innovation and implementation
will be based on knowledge derived from contact with end users. By 2014 Difi will
develop guidelines for the screening of digital public services with a user-centred
approach. Difi will also conduct user-centred studies to analyse obstacles to use and
suggest improvements. Results and resources will be made available to all stakeholders
involved in service innovation, production and implementation.

15. eGovernment with an end-user focus

Commitment Text:

 […]

Commitment Description
The Agency for Public Management and eGovernment’s (Difi) strategy is to have a user-centric approach to digital service development. Service innovation and implementation will be based on knowledge derived from contact with end users. By 2014 Difi will develop guidelines for the screening of digital public services with a user-centred approach. Difi will also conduct user-centred studies to analyse obstacles to use and suggest improvements. Results and resources will be made available to all stakeholders involved in service innovation, production and implementation.

Key Impact Benchmark
Difi will develop guidelines for the provision of digital public services with a user-centred approach.

Responsible institution: Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi)

Supporting institution(s): None

Start date: Ongoing           End date: 31 December, 2014

Editorial note: The text of the commitments was abridged for formatting reasons. For the full text of the commitment, please see http://bit.ly/1QlVIja.

Policy Aim

Digital government services have been a priority area for several recent Norwegian governments, and surveys such as those referenced in commitments 9 and 11 have suggested areas for improvements on the usability of digital services. The commitment aims to generally improve the usability of eGovernment services.

Status

Mid-term: Substantial
The Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi) has developed guidelines for the evaluation of digital services, which are available online.^{[Note 92: ”Kriteriesett,” Agency for Public Management and E-Government (Difi), accessed September 4, 2016, https://kvalitet.difi.no/kriteriesett. ]}  However, after reviewing the guidelines and the government’s self-assessment and conducting interviews with government representatives, the IRM researcher could find no evidence that user studies had been conducted.^{[Note 93: Tom Arne Nygaard and Terie Drystad (Senior Adviser, KMD), interview by Christopher Wilson, in-person interview, Offices of the Ministry of Local Government and Modernization, September 31, 2016.]} Although the quality of guidelines can be important for setting standards, this commitment did not introduce any changes in access to information or public participation.

End-of-term:  Substantial
The Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation (KMD) reports that all activities and user studies described under this commitment have been completed in 2015,^{[Note 94: Ibid. ]} though the focal points responsible for this commitment in Difi did not respond to requests for information. The usability guidelines developed for the quality screening of government websites are available at https://kvalitet.difi.no/kriteriesett, and, according to the website, 62 public agency websites had been screened and rated according to these guidelines as of January 2016.^{[Note 95: Results are posted on the agency’s website: ”Kvalitet på Nett: Offentlige digitale tjenester og nettsteder,” Agency for Public Management and E-Government (Difi), accessed September 4, 2016, https://kvalitet.difi.no/resultat.]} The IRM researcher was unable to consult with the multiple agencies listed on the website, but the descriptions of activities included on the website give no indication that user studies contributed to these efforts, nor any evidence that these ratings led to efforts to improve web design or public service delivery. The agency focal point for this commitment did not respond to IRM researcher requests for further information.

Did it open government?

Access to information: Did not change

The IRM researcher has not been able to uncover any evidence that the screening and rating of public agency websites has resulted in any changes made to the quality or quantity of information released on government websites.   

Carried forward?

This commitment has been carried forward in the Norwegian government’s third national action plan, under the following commitment heading: 

All state agencies shall map the users’ experiences.

All state agencies shall: a) Survey how the users perceive the enterprise; b) Assess the results of the survey; c) Optionally initiate actions to follow up on a) and b); d) Report on the outcome of a) - c) in the Annual Report for 2016.

The action plan is available on the OGP website.^{[Note 96: ”Norway’s third action plan Open Government Partnership (OGP),” Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, accessed September 4, 2016, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Norway_2016-17_NAP.pdf.]}