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The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has announced that 17 government entities will subject their 32 government websites and smart applications to utilization testing through the User Experience Lab (UX Lab), which has been established by TRA as part of its role in enabling smart transformation of government entities. The UX Lab is one of the pillars of the Center of Digital Innovation (CoDI), established by TRA to support innovation, creativity and national capacities in the fields of digital transformation in general. The UX Lab implements advanced scientific concepts and methods, focusing on improving and developing websites and smart applications, based on the behavior and preferences of the users, and taking into account the entities’ needs to raise the services to the highest levels of ease and smooth use.
On this subject, H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, said: “In the UAE, under the directives of our wise leadership, we consider customer happiness our top priority and we strive to achieve this goal using the latest technologies and methods. The UX Lab reflects TRA’s efforts to enhance digital presence of all government entities, and to reach the highest levels of smart services to achieve customer happiness and meet their expectations. Furthermore, based on TRA’s role in enhancing digital transformation of government entities, we recognize the importance of utilization in achieving the objectives of the digital government projects, in light of the major investments and efforts of government entities in this regard.”
This initiative has received great attention from government entities wishing to develop their digital platforms. It represents a sophisticated mechanism that assesses the quality of websites and smart services by monitoring the human behavioral response of the services’ users, such as involuntary reactions like eye movements and motor reflex. The UX Lab has played a prominent role in the development of websites and e-services of many government entities. Moreover, TRA plans to apply this experience to all government services and websites in order to raise the quality of smart services, and enhance the UAE’s OSI ranking in the E-Government Development Index on a global level.
The UX Lab examines the behavior of a selected group of users while using a particular service or browsing a particular website, and monitoring their reactions using highly efficient techniques. Based on the results, the concerned entity is provided with a report showing weaknesses in the tested websites and e-services, in order to develop their digital platforms and avoid defects and problems, ensuring ease of use and encouraging the public to use the smart services.
On the UX Lab working mechanism, Eng. Maher Al Mulla, Manager of UX & Intelligent Solutions in TRA, said: “UX Lab develops government services and websites in a quick and accurate manner, leading to upgrading the services provided. The testing process covers all technical and technological aspects, such as overall design, dashboard, menus, colors and fonts used. The Lab examines the reactions of a sample of users selected according to the requirements of the entity’s wishing to develop its digital platforms. The relevant entity identifies the specifications of this sample, such as gender, nationality, language, social and educational backgrounds. In the Lab, we monitor the reactions of the group using the latest technologies in this field, such as the eye tracking system when browsing the screen. We also apply a globally proven scientific scheme to ensure identification of the typical behavior of users when attempting to search for information or obtain digital services. UX Lab tests are conducted by specialized teams with the participation of the relevant entities."
TRA launched the UX Lab in March last year, as part of its initiatives for International Day of Happiness, to enhance digital presence of government entities online or on smart phone or service kiosks. This initiative is based on TRA’s role in driving the digital transformation forward at the UAE Government level, as well as to improve the UAE's OSI ranking in the E-Government Development Index.
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