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Digitalization
Module 8: This reading is meant to find and evaluate any problems related to digitization, along with solutions to the problems. What reading did you choose? I choose the following reading: Do Bureaucrats care? A Take on Talent in the Public Sector-Martin Stewart-Weeks Our collective privacy problem is not your fault-Fast Company Restorative Technological Practices-Neil…
Data, Evidence, and Decision-Making
In the first lecture we were taught about digital platforms. Platform in digital world can be defined as the tools based on modern technology. We learnt that government can use API to release data to third party, which in turn can be used to create and provide services. While the second lecture was about the…
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User Research: an important aspect of product development
User research is imperative for the product/service development. It provides an insight into the needs and requirements of the user or the customer. Excellent user experience can be achieved, if one conducts surveys, interviews, and use other methods to learn and inquire about what the user really wants.
However, during the class I was surprised to learn that Government agencies would create user products without even asking the user about the product.
The presentation by Xiaopu Fung, was interesting as it taught me how user can be sidelined, and a product can be created for them.
While, she highlighted the 3 main aspects of user research which are recruitment, consent and compensation. She also informed us about the usability testing which can be done using 5 respondents only. This was intriguing enough for me to learn more about how we can evolve the user experience and provide apt services using better usability tests.
With my prior experience as a Software Support Specialist, I could understand how the government and the private sector products differ in their user experience; the gap between the services provided by the two sector is wide because of how significant user acknowledgement is, for each sector.
I feel I can use my past experience in the IT sector and knowledge of how user research is considered a backbone for the product or service development, in the government sector to create products and services effectively designed for the user themselves.
To sum up, the presentation was a learning curve to understand how user research is part of the exceptional user experience. Also, I am more eager to learn and see how user research will be adopted in the public sector for product development.
Gaurav's blog 