RIA
Overview
The state’s information system is extensive and complex. The people who have to use it as part of their everyday work lacked a helpful overview of the system. The Help material that was available to them was worded in a way that was difficult to understand and was spread about the Internet in such a way that it was hard to find.
The system’s ‘roadmap’ introduced Estonia’s e-services to those who have to work with them as part of their jobs. As such, it is a professional environment with a rather narrow target group.
The roadmap describes the IT field in a language people grasp. It provides an overview of ways of cutting costs, improving cooperation between public departments and boosting people’s level of satisfaction with the state.
Values
- A key value of the project – and a very labour-intensive one – was replacing complicated text with simple diagrams and instructional videos.
- The project represents an effective tool for people who have to deal with the information system as part of their work and who need to know how it operates.
- The huge amount of information that was formerly scattered about the Internet has been brought together on one site, analysed in terms of content and restructured according to the needs of users.
- Complex legal language was replaced with simpler text, graphics and explanatory videos.
Goals
Many departments working with the system had been having trouble finding the information they needed. The information that was available was very official in nature and therefore hard to comprehend. The roadmap was designed to give people working with the system a clear overview of how it operated.
Content of agency’s work
- To collate all of the Help material available on the Internet, to analyse it from the point of view of users and to select the information most needed
- To rewrite this information in a language people understand
- To create an environment that was intuitively easy to use whilst providing an overview of a very large amount of information
- To create figures and other visual material to make the Help material easier to understand
Results
No indicators were set for measuring the success of the project, although the feedback obtained from users is being assessed to gauge results. The project has received uniformly positive feedback from users.
A proposal has been made to the client to have the site translated into other languages. The illustrations created for the roadmap have also found separate use in presentations, schools et al. On the basis of the feedback received, the client felt that the website had fulfilled its objective.
Client’s assessment
Rica Semjonova, RIA: What made the project so complicated was that the state’s information system as a field is a very specific one, connected to a number of public departments, and at times it’s hard to strike a balance between the language of specialists and the language of marketing. Our aim was to provide the information in a clear way but without oversimplifying it. In order to do this, it was very important to us that the site itself be as intuitive as possible and guided by the users themselves.
There was a perfect balance between what we wanted as the client and what the team thought in professional terms throughout the course of the project. We only had to come to a compromise where it was really necessary. I know for myself that the site is easy to use – we just have to keep working now to promote it and get more people using it.