Gavin Atkinson, Government Gateway Manager, Smart Service Queensland, Department of Innovation and Information Economy [HREF1], PO Box 187, Brisbane, 4000. Gavin.Atkinson@iie.qld.gov.au
As part of its Smart State agenda, the Queensland Government is committed to enhancing the effectiveness of Government service delivery to Queenslanders through the use of new technologies. The Queensland Government Internet Gateway is a key component of this strategy.
The Queensland Government Internet Gateway project is a whole-of-Government project involving 26 separate Departments. Its key focus is the integration of products and services to the public. No longer do our customers have to manoeuvre between Agencies in order to find the information they need. Our internet framework is designed to be responsive to our customers’ requests.
Over the past twelve months, a small project team within the Department of Innovation and Information Economy has been redesigning the Gateway [HREF2] in collaboration with all Queensland Government Departments. Collaboratively departments are aligning their sites to provide a consistent format for presenting and delivering services and information across Government.
The redesigned Queensland Government Internet Gateway, based on a customer-focused service cluster model, was released on 30 May 2002. The Gateway now includes improved navigation, a consistent look and feel across a number of Agency sites, basic multi-lingual features, upgraded search facilities and the first online transactional services for vehicle registration renewals and camping permit applications.
In this day and age the community expects Government service delivery to keep pace with improvements taking place in the private sector, the Gateway is currently providing the first of many hundreds of transactional services. Information and services are presented in a way that is meaningful to the public and services and information are available to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ensuring that all Queenslanders with Internet access whether they live in the city or remote areas can access Government when they want. Statistical data of customer usage of the Gateway has shown that approximately 40% of visits are outside standard hours.
The Gateway’s integrated access to information and services means customers no longer need to know the name of a Department or service to access the information they require. As well, information and services from a range of Departments can be accessed in one interaction.
The Gateway project has involved considerably more than developing the necessary standards and establishing a whole-of-Government website. The successful implementation of the Gateway was dependent on maintaining a common vision across Government, taking a collaborative approach, breaking down silos and managing change. The use of a federated, collaborative model for the initiative as opposed to a mandated model has meant considerable effort by both the Gateway team and Agencies to achieve whole-of-Government agreement for the change process and alignment to a common look and feel for all Queensland Government Internet sites. Far and away the most significant feature of the project has been the active involvement and ownership of the project by many hundreds of public sector staff and the achievement of a demonstrated commitment to a shared direction by each Government Department.
The Gateway project encompasses a number of distinguishing leadership features which provide a model for other whole-of-Government projects. These include a demonstrated customer focus, a successful collaborative approach, effective change management and facilitation, a commitment of the principles of access and equity in service provision and achieving long term cost savings for Government. It exemplifies a balance between meeting the needs of the public whilst ensuring efficiencies in Government service provision.
In line with the Smart State objectives, the Queensland Government Internet Gateway provides a foundation for a long term, enterprise-wide view of service delivery and will enhance Queensland's move towards a knowledge-based economy where communication is a source of competitive advantage.
Importantly, the Gateway reflects a new strategic direction for Government, offering seamless and customer focussed service provision as “One Government” rather than as range of separate Departments.
The Queensland Government commenced the Access Queensland initiative in March 2000, and charged it with achieving the vision that the public can expect access to products and services anywhere, anytime through a variety of channels [HREF3].
In support of this vision, Cabinet recognised in October 2001 that all Queensland Government Agency websites should become part of a collaborative and integrated system of service provision. A key element underpinning this system is the Queensland Government Internet Gateway.
Under this system, Agencies are responsible for maintaining their own content, but will do so within an online environment that provides Consistent User Experiences regardless of individual Agency structures.
Access Queensland subsequently established its Internet Gateway Redevelopment project team, and assigned it the following key objectives:
The core project team was made up of three members based in the Department of Innovation and Information Economy, as well as a number of cross-Agency committees. A range of consultants were brought in at different times to undertake specialist tasks.
The project team adopted a three-tiered approach to achieve its goals:
The project team acted as a facilitator on behalf of whole-of-Government. The Gateway project was not mandated by Government and therefore a solid and sustained collaborative effort was required to engage Agencies and ensure their participation. The establishment of six cross-Agency working Groups as part of the Internet Gateway redevelopment project ensured that Agencies shaped the functionality of the Internet Gateway, and the longer-term practices for managing their individual websites.
The major clients of the Gateway are members of the general public seeking information about the Queensland Government and its products and services. To support the holidaying needs of tourists and visitors to Queensland, the Gateway provides integrated access to leisure and cultural activities. The Gateway also addresses the needs of domestic and international business operators by providing easy access to business and industry services. The key stakeholders of the Gateway project are Queensland Government Agencies.
The Internet Gateway Redevelopment Project is a tangible demonstration of the Queensland Government’s effort to improve the way it operates and interacts with key stakeholders and customers. This project has contributed strongly to the quest to make Queensland the Smart State and ensure the Government delivers on its charter of social and fiscal responsibility.
The Project contributes to community engagement and a better quality of life through the provision of improved and integrated Government service delivery. Research has shown that the community is confused by Government and finds it difficult to access services (McDonell Philips 2002, p. 122). The presentation of information and services on the Gateway is based on demonstrated customer access requirements.
A central principle of the new design is that members of the public should not need to know the name of a Government Agency in order to access its services. The Gateway brings together Government information and services at a single point of contact and in a way which is easy for the customer to navigate and intuitive to understand.
The transformational change involved in the redesign of the Gateway from the previous “big long list” format for content presentation based on Agency lines to the current redesigned Gateway based on a customer focussed, service cluster model for content presentation [HREF4 - pdf].
The development and implementation of a set of standards to provide visitors to Queensland Government web sites with a Consistent User Experience will ensure a seamless transition between Departmental sites, and supports the view that a customer of Government should not need to know the name of a Department in order to access a service.
The Internet Gateway complements and reinforces the Queensland Government corporate identity, through the use of colours, fonts and other graphical elements, research has shown that the presence of the Queensland Government’s corporate identity generates significant credibility (McDonall Philips 2003, p. 55).
Like the Queensland Government corporate identity, the move towards a consistent look and feel across Queensland Government websites is indicative of the direction towards providing a unified Government experience and seamless service delivery.
The use of customer research in the re-design of the Internet Gateway is a key example of this project’s commitment to putting the needs of the customers first. The customer focus provided by extensive customer market research has ensured that the needs of the customer are met by making Government services more accessible.
In October–November 2001 research was undertaken to identify how Queenslanders accessed government services and their preferences for access into the future. A number of methods were used to determine what the residential and business communities considered to be the Queensland Government’s key market segments. This involved consultation with agencies to help provide an understanding of key client needs and information on potential segmentation methods already used, a scan of national and international trends in accessible Government service delivery, qualitative focus groups and quantitative telephone surveys.
This research was conducted using a series of 17 focus groups across Queensland, through interviews with 1780 Queensland residents and 500 business people from a cross section of metropolitan, provincial and rural communities and micro (less than 3 employees) to large business (more than 20 employees). Focus group findings were used to help design quantitative telephone surveys. In total, 25-minute survey of 1780 community members and a 15-minute survey of 500 businesses were conducted.
Quantitative surveys were designed to measure themes observed during qualitative focus group research and issues identified through a scan of existing national and international research.
The customer market research provided the foundation customer information on access preferences for service delivery from which a “Service Cluster Model” for the delivery of Government information and transactional services has been developed. The Service Cluster Model, groups services into meaningful clusters from the customer perspective, making Government services and information more intuitive and easy to find and negating the need for the customer to understand Government structure. The Service Cluster Model cuts across traditional Agency lines to group together related services. It is highly intuitive, and enables a customer to search for a service without needing to know the name of the Agency that provides it. The model offers a consistent format, and separates clear key entry points for ‘citizens’ and ‘business’. It also offers separate access for people who simply need to make a payment.
Following additional stakeholder consultation, the following Service Clusters were developed and now appear on the Internet Gateway:
The Service Cluster Model was implemented in the 30 May 2002 release of the Queensland Government Internet Gateway. It will also be applied to the Contact Centre and counter environments.
Fine tuning of the Service Cluster Model, based on emerging customer needs and knowledge gained from usability testing, is planned for mid 2003.
This usability review investigated:
Usability testing, conducted in December 2002 involved 50 people with average computer and internet skills including youth, young adults, business owners, seniors and other demographic groups participating in one on one, task driven scenarios. Each respondent was paired with a facilitator and encouraged to provide feedback on ease of completion, preferences and improvement priorities. Non-verbal responses were recorded also to assess task difficulty.
Results from this testing confirmed the direction of the Consistent User Experience and suggested further refinement options. The testing also identified opportunities for fine tuning the Service Cluster Navigation Model and strategies for community and business access to the Gateway.
Another testing session is scheduled for mid 2003 to gauge if changes implemented from recommendations were successful and to further refine the Consistent User Experience and Service Cluster Model.
The Service Cluster Model implemented on the Gateway for the provision of services and information demonstrates a clear commitment to innovation and customer focused service delivery. Whilst there were a number of models for information provision available within Australia and overseas on which the Gateway could have been based, the Access Queensland team chose to model the Gateway on the demonstrated needs of its customers. The Internet Gateway team did not simply copy an existing model, but organised the presentation of information and services on extensive customer research and developed a more commonsense, user-friendly model of its own, tailored for its own audience.
Statistical data shows customers are visiting deeper into the site using the newly launched service cluster concept to find specific Agency content. The average time spent engaging with the site has increased by 24%.
The Internet Gateway redevelopment project has:
The redeveloped Internet Gateway now offers improved services to the public by:
“If each Agency site looks and feels different from every other one and is organised uniquely, the customer faces a frustrating and confusing hunt for information. No matter how good any individual site may be, if there is no consistency or coherence among the multitude of sites the customer must search, the overall effect is one of complexity and confusion.
To hide the complexity of Government structure from the customer is therefore not simply a matter of placing a Gateway on top of existing websites. It requires all Agency websites to become part of a coherent and co-ordinated system of service provision. Each Agency therefore has a responsibility for integration with the Gateway and all other Agencies within the overall structure established (IBM Global Services Australia 2001, p. 13).”
In order to provide the customer with a seamless experience of Government via the Internet Gateway it was necessary to facilitate the transition by Agencies of their websites to the common look and feel, and consistent content management principles and navigation of the Gateway. The change management plan for the Gateway encompassed two key elements:
Key strategies included:
The Consistent User Experience Working Group is made up of web development professionals from across the Queensland Government that meet regularly to share learnings and technical expertise and to problem solve and provide mutual support to colleagues moving to the Consistent User Experience. Support for the adoption of the standards throughout this group and other areas across government has ensured a ‘whole-of-Government’ approach when developing and managing individual websites, representing a significant behavioural change.
Although alignment of Agency sites to the Gateway look and feel and navigation
has been incremental, the Internet Gateway Redevelopment Project has successfully
provided a solid framework for the evolutionary growth of the site. All core
Departments have committed to alignment to the Consistent User Experience as
they reinvest in their Internet sites with the majority of the sites migrating
to the Consistent User Experience by February 2003.
This achievement across government reduces confusion for visitors through standard
screen layouts, consistent location and functionality of navigation and consistent
visual and design elements such as branding, graphics and fonts whilst strengthening
the identity and presence of the Queensland Government on the Internet.
The Government Gateway and Consistent User Experience template has been designed to a high level of accessibility and is in line with maximum practical application of World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines for accessibility [HREF6]. Accessibility is a fundamental right of all citizens and a guiding principal of the Access Queensland initiative. The Gateway can be utilised by visually impaired people using screen readers and its use of graphics has been minimised to cater for people in remote areas with poor telecommunications facilities. It has a number of features specifically designed to deal with the needs of people with various disabilities. Basic multi-lingual access is also provided.
Following on from positive feedback and customer confirmation of direction (McDonnell Phillips 2003), the Consistent User Experience will be expanded this year to include guidelines for commercial business units, project sites and youth web sites further strengthening the seamless experience of Government on the Internet. Special Interest Groups have been formed to identify issues and develop recommendations to accompany the standard which will involve considerable consultation with stakeholders to ensure an agreed upon set of guidelines.
Agencies using the Consistent User Experience standard can now focus their web publishing activities on content rather than on graphics and design. By providing design and navigation templates and a predetermined site layout, Agencies implementing the Consistent User Experience are ensured website compliance with whole of government Internet standards and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) accessibility guidelines, if implemented correctly. The Web Gateway redesign has facilitated the redirection of Agency resources away from design challenges to improving the relevance and currency of their content.
The Queensland Government is positioned as the leader in the Asia/Pacific region in developing this consistent user experience for customers. A recent review by KPMG identified that the Queensland Government had attained one of the highest levels in consistency in ‘look and feel’ when compared to other Australian and international online Government projects (KPMG Australia 2003).
Clearly the success of the Gateway project was dependant on the cooperation and active participation of all Government Departments. The desired outcome of having all Agency websites aligned with the Gateway was an ambitious objective. Strong leadership was required to manage the challenges of the project and ensure a “whole-of-government” perspective was embraced by 26 separate Departments, many of which had competing agendas and priorities. Effective communication, change management and facilitation strategies were pivotal to this leadership approach.
Effective change management strategies have underpinned Agency ownership of the project and supported the transition by Agencies to a Consistent User Experience.
The Gateway team ensured whole-of-Government ownership of the project by establishing reference groups to guide its development from inception. These reference groups assist agencies when undertaking the considerable change required to transition from existing website design to the look and feel and navigation prescribed by the Gateway was facilitated by extensive consultation and resourcing. This was supported by the development of necessary resources and materials to support the implementation by Agencies of the Consistent User Experience standard. A key component of this strategy has been the Queensland Government Web Centre available via the whole of government extranet comprising:
An additional site has also been made available on the Internet [HREF7] targeted specifically at external suppliers and will also assist agency project managers.
In addition to comprehensive resourcing, meetings of the Consistent User Experience Working Group continue to occur regularly. Minutes of meetings and directions are posted to the Web Centre. Communication strategies also include a regular update newsletter and letters to Directors-General and Ministers to ensure high level understanding and support.
The Gateway team has an ongoing role to assist agencies in implementing the Consistent User Experience, providing advice on the standard and facilitating whole of government approaches to web development.
It was acknowledged that financial implications for Agencies would occur in relation to the implementation of agreed whole-of-Government standards. However, where possible, implementation of standards is being aligned with individual Agency plans for investing in their existing Internet sites in order to minimise the cost implications.
Screen captures of the:
websites are provided [HREF4 - pdf] as examples of successful transitions by Agencies from their former “unaligned” websites, to their current websites which successfully balance the identity of the Department whilst aligning to the Consistent User Experience standard.
The Queensland Government is one of a select few Governments in the world to achieve alignment across Government of Agency websites and provide a Consistent User Experience. Few other jurisdictions have achieved the same depth of consistency in terms of navigation, content and design.
The Consistent User Experience standard is available on the Queensland Government Web Centre [HREF8].
The Internet Gateway redevelopment project offers the following benefits:
The Gateway project has met all documented objectives. It has:
The outcomes of the Gateway project will ensure greater participation by Queenslanders in the information economy and broader and more equitable access to Government information and services.
Credit for this achievement lies with each Government Department for their commitment to whole-of-Government outcomes and enhanced customer service delivery.
It is recognised that the Internet Gateway will not remain static but will continue to respond to changing customer expectations, business requirements, service maturity and technical possibilities.
Relationship building has been pivotal to the Gateway’s successful implementation. Strong business relationships and demonstrated ownership has been established with Agency Stakeholders across Government. This will provide a solid foundation for the continuing redevelopment and enhancement of the Gateway.
A range of enhancements are planned for the Gateway over the coming year, including: