Ekata (एकता) — Android App for Central & State Governments — UX Case Study
Project Brief
The central government wants to develop an application for the Indian populace, primarily targeting people in rural areas. It will be used both by State & Central Governments and the key objectives will be to — improve the overall citizen experience, eliminate usage of paper, maintain centralized electronic data and bring efficiency in tracking and significantly transforming end user experience — for the mostly rural populace and urban citizens as well, where applicable.
Key Services
- Know services launched by the government
- Avail benefits that are entitled to
- Receive LPG Subsidy
- Mother & Child Care — Book appointment with Health Workers
- Receive Pension
- Receive Ration though PDS
- Enroll in Mid-Day Meal
- Work & Receive wages for NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee)
- Other services that can be plugged can be
- Public Health
- Sanitation
- Roads & Buildings
- Electricity
- Water Resources
The UX Design Process
The core question in almost any creative or design project is how to get from point A — “Don’t know” or “Could be” — to point B — “Do know” or “Should be”. This process might seem finite and straightforward at first sight.
The Double Diamond is a structured design approach to tackle challenges in four phases:
- Discover /Research — insight into the problem (diverging)
- Define/Synthesis — the area to focus upon (converging)
- Develop/ Ideation — potential solutions (diverging)
- Deliver /Implementation — solutions that work (converging)
Stage One: Discover
Discovery
I started by answering 5 questions that helped me clear the hazy goals of the project
- Who are the main users of the product?
Users who reside in rural areas who have a smartphone of their own (but their expertise in using a smartphone is unknown), less proficient in English but literate in mother-tongue. India currently has a smartphone user base of over 300 million, with smartphone penetration reaching Tier III and IV cities, due to the availability of more affordable smartphones. - What type of product are we designing?
An Android application for the Indian populace, primarily targeting people in rural areas. It will be used both by State & Central Governments and the key objectives will be to — improve the overall citizen experience, eliminate usage of paper, maintain centralized electronic data and bring efficiency in tracking for government rolled out services - Where is the product being used?
Population scattered across rural areas are accessing government launched services by visiting the respective government offices or shakha. They are informed about new services either by radio, television or newspapers. There is a lot of paperwork involved to get a service addressed to a user. User repeatedly needs to visit government offices to inquire about their status of the application. - Why does this product need to exist?
Addressing a service to a user is a time taking process, also considering the ratio of government officers to users ratio, each government officer is entitled to serve 400–800 users. This becomes difficult to systematically handle the requests. There are a lot of paperwork involved and maintaining centralized data becomes difficult - How will the product be used?
Users can directly opt for service from their smartphone and track their requests efficiently. They are also notified on recently launched government services. - Where will the product be used?
Indian population, primarily targeting people in rural areas.
Challenges
- Physical Constraints
Addressing a service to a user comes with heavy paperwork. - Limited Electricity and Network Connectivity
Limited Electricity and GPS availability form crucial bottlenecks for rural applications. They use basic cell phones (not smartphones), which they charge using solar charging stations located in central areas of villages. There is also next to no network connectivity which makes it difficult for the application. - Localization & Multi-lingual Support
The application is intended to be used throughout multiple states of India. Each state has its own language. Some villages within a state may even use multiple dialects. - Ease of Use
This app will live in remote villages of India, where it is very little or no access to technology. They are used to basic cell phones, i.e. no smartphones. I had to be cautious about not having a higher learning curve for the application for them, so they don’t face issues when they are using this application
Stage Two: Defining
Identifying Users
Users who reside in rural areas who have a smartphone of their own (but their expertise of using a smartphone is unknown), less proficient in English but literate in mother-tongue.
Target User Age Group: 18–60 years (assumption)
Understanding users with four important points:
- User needs: Does the user has unique needs?
- User Goals: What is the user’s goal?
- Constraint: What are user constraints?
- Assumptions: understanding what, where, how and why of the users.
User Interviews:
To understand and empathize with the users, I conducted telephonic interviews with few people from my village in Kerala. I decided to talk to them for insights because they are working with local bodies and interact with village offices frequently(yes, they use smartphones), also because they have recently experienced digitization in their sector. I believe I could empathize with the possible users and understand their reluctance towards digitization. Taking advantage of newly digitized Passport Seva process greatly:
- How Digitisation has changed your routine?
- Do you like making entries on digital platforms?
- How the digital medium is different from paperwork?
- How efficient is your work while working on a digital platform?
- Is working on smartphone desirable?
- How often you use your smartphone and for what purpose?
- How much is your expertise in using smartphones(especially typing)?
- If you are made to work on smartphones, what are your needs and complaints?
- In which language mode do you use your smartphone?
User Research & Persona
Based on user research & interviews and certain assumptions I was able to come up with a couple of personas.
Stage Three: Develop
Rough user’s flow:
Paper Sketches:
Wireframes:
Stage Four: Deliver
Link to Clickable Prototype: https://nu7e77.axshare.com/home.html
Conclusion
It’s necessary to learn about Rural India and gain insights about their lives. They are the emerging community and new users of technologies. Designing for rural India is a practice of helping people to make their lives better by bridging the gap between rural India and all the information out there.
References
http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/area_and_population.aspx
https://digital.gov/2015/05/04/helpful-resources-to-help-make-your-content-mobile-friendly/
http://digitalindia.gov.in/writereaddata/files/3.UMANG_IT%20Secy%20Meet_120218.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12348092
https://archive.india.gov.in/citizen/health/health.php?id=59
http://www.nhm.gov.in/nrhm-components/rmnch-a/child-health-immunization/child-health/schemes.html
https://www.nhp.gov.in/hospital/mother-and-child-care-centre-kanpur_nagar-uttar_pradesh
