1 Poor perception by non-professional users
Rigsrevisionen’s tests show that none of the nine examined solutions are perceived as being user-friendly from start to finish by non-professionals. The inadequate usabil ity manifests itself in various phases of the solutions and the seriousness of the ensu ing problems varies. Generally, the solutions are not sufficiently responsive to the users’ need for guidance and assistance.
2 Interlinked to a limited degree
The examination also shows that only the service for registration of an entrepreneur company (IVS) provided by the Danish Business Authority offers a partly user-friendly link to other relevant services. The services provided by the Danish Agency for Digi tisation are to a very limited degree interlinked with other relevant digital services in cluded in the study, whereas the digital services provided by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the Danish Police do not provide user-friendly links to other relevant services. We have not examined this aspect of usability concerning the four remaining services, since the users of these have no obvious need to be directed to any of the other services included in the study.
3 Joint public user testing may help
Taking into consideration the identified shortcomings in usability, Rigsrevisionen finds it encouraging that all five government authorities and Local Government Denmark, on behalf of the Danish municipalities, have stated that they intend to use the results of the tests to improve the usability of their respective services. According to the au thorities, some of the changes have already been implemented.
Based on the outcome of the examination, it is Rigsrevisionen’s assessment that the usability of all the phases in digital services that the users must go through to com plete a task in a digital self-service solution should be evaluated. The Danish Agen cy for Digitisation has informed Rigsrevisionen that it will seek to ensure the devel opment of a standardized joint public user test for evaluation of digital services from start to finish. The authority has informed Rigsrevisionen that the test will be develo ped based on an evaluation of lessons learned from using the current standardized joint public user test of the solutions that become mandatory as per December 2015. The agency expects that the outcome of the evaluation will lead to other adjustments in the test.
Background
This report concerns the usability of e-government services as seen from a business per spective. Today it is not possible to run a business in Denmark without using digital services. For instance, all businesses must have a digital mailbox (Digital Post) and VAT can only be reported online.
If the digital services are not user-friendly, businesses will waste time and money searching for the right websites and entering the required data correctly, or they will be forced to buy professional assistance. At worst, the businesses risk making errors in their reports and ap plications. Inadequate usability may have the consequence that the authorities offering the service have to invest resources in providing assisted online support and correcting errors and deficiencies in reports, applications, etc. that could have been prevented.
Taking into consideration the identified shortcomings in usability, Rigsrevisionen findsBased on the outcome of the examination, it is Rigsrevisionen’s assessment that the
Objectives
We have examined how non-professional users like, for instance, the owners of small businesses who handle reports to the authorities themselves, experience the usability of var ious digital services. We have conducted usability tests where we have asked the test per sons to use the services to incorporate, for instance, an entrepreneur company and register it as a food firm.
The objective of the examination is to assess whether digital services aimed at businesses are user-friendly. The report answers the following questions:
- Are the individual digital services user-friendly from start to finish?
- Are relevant digital services aimed at businesses interlinked in a user-friendly way?
Taking into consideration the identified shortcomings in usability, Rigsrevisionen findsBased on the outcome of the examination, it is Rigsrevisionen’s assessment that the