Agustina Casale - UX & UI Designer

AGUS CASALE.

Buenos Aires Ciudad

UX Research, UX/UI Design, Testing

2023

The Challenge: Simplifying a Complex System

Working with the Government of Buenos Aires City, the goal was clear but challenging: improve the tedious process of requesting birth, marriage, and death certificates for citizens. As a point of interaction between citizens and the government, this website was in clear need of a user-friendly redesign.

Discovery Phase: Listening to the Users

We started by understanding the pain points on the current website through a heuristic analysis, but that was just the beginning. Also, the user journey map allowed us to visualize the full path of the user, from frustration to completion, and then we focus on the people who matter most: the citizens. Conducting moderated in-person user tests, we observed first-hand how individuals navigated the system. We watched as they struggled through each form, one click at a time, and listened to their frustrations when they couldn’t find the information they needed.

We conducted a thorough analysis of the current website, identifying pain points in the process. Through in-person user testing and tree testing, we pinpointed areas where the website's organization and critical information were unclear. With these insights, we undertook a comprehensive redesign aimed at streamlining the process for Buenos Aires residents, making it faster and more intuitive.

We began by conducting a heuristic analysis of the current website, supplemented with a user journey map. This thorough examination uncovered several pain points in the existing procedure. To gain deeper insights, we also conducted moderated in-person user testing to observe how people completed the process and to identify the issues they encountered.

Additionally, we conducted a tree testing to evaluate the website's information architecture, aiming to understand whether users could easily navigate through the site's

structure and find key information without confusion. This approach helped us identify areas where the website's organization was unclear or where critical information was

hard to locate, further informing our design and restructuring strategies.

Using the insights from this research, we proceeded with a comprehensive redesign to address the identified areas for improvement. Given that many residents of Buenos Aires

City use this process, our goal was to streamline it, making it faster and more intuitive for users to understand each step from start to finish.

Restructuring: Bringing Clarity

After gathering the usability test data and our initial hypotheses, we were able to identify a number of significant issues. One of the main issues was that, with so much information available and no obvious call to action, users found it difficult to decide which step to start. In order to solve this, we added an action button that takes users straight into the procedure and asks them to indicate whether or not the request was urgent.

Using a one-page questionnaire to streamline the entire process was another crucial choice. This one page helped users avoid cognitive overload because it made it possible for them to see their progress as they completed the stages. As users made their choices, the interactive form grew dynamically, simplifying a previously challenging activity into a straightforward, step-by-step process. This method not only minimized the amount of clicks and uncertainty people had to deal with in the past, but it also kept them interested.

The first change we implemented based on our findings was to create a one-page questionnaire to simplify the process of gathering information. Rather than having multiple sections spread across different pages, this single-page approach allows users to visualize all the fields at a glance. As they progress through the questionnaire, additional fields expand in response to their selections, providing a streamlined and intuitive experience. This design minimizes the need for excessive clicking and reduces confusion, ultimately making it easier for users to complete the questionnaire in a shorter amount of time.

Results: Expanding Access to Online Services

The results and feedback from citizens suggested that the process now felt controllable and easy to do. We observed a large increase in user visits and engagement. Previous buried or complicated information became easily accessible, speeding up and streamlining each interaction. In addition, the entire process is now accessible to all citizens, increasing its efficiency and inclusivity. The success of the redesign is also demonstrated by the noticeable rise in use of the generic certificate request process.

Due to contractual agreements, I am unable to display all screens and design processes. Therefore, only a limited selection is presented in this project. If you’re curious to dive deeper, feel free to reach out!

Check out the live site buenosaires.gob.ar/tramites/solicitud-partidas

Thanks for reading!

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Made with

by Agustina Casale

Made with

by Agustina Casale

Made with

by Agustina Casale