Focus on the Citizen: User Research in the Rural Areas of
the Western Cape Government
Marco C. Pretorius
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University
Department of Computing Sciences
Summerstrand South Campus
+27 21 483 5064
Marco.pretorius@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The number of worldwide e-Government users is growing
significantly and their expectations for improved services are
continuously increasing. The Internet has become a crucial tool to
disseminate information to citizens, however poorly designed
websites can drive a wedge between a government and its
citizens. Research has shown that the poor usability of
government websites is problematic in several countries.
Problems experienced with website usability can prevent people
from accessing and adopting technology, such as e-Government.
A deep understanding of the users’ needs is crucial for building a
successful digital service. User research can be used to understand
how people live their lives, in order to more effectively respond to
user needs with informed and inspired design solutions. The focus
of this paper is on user research conducted in rural areas to inform
the design of a Government website. Focus groups and one-on-
one interviews were conducted at Cape Access e-Centres in the
Western Cape. This paper illustrates the method used to conduct
the user research and explains the results of the study. Results
provided insights on the use of smartphones; multiple languages;
accessibility; the identification and need for e-services; services
required at the e-Centres and services and information required on
the website. This was the first user research conducted in rural
areas to inform website design in the Western Cape Government.
Categories and Subject Descriptors
Human-centered computing: Human computer interaction (HCI)
Applied computing: E-government
General Terms
Design, Human Factors.
Keywords
User experience; Usability; e-Government; User research; Focus
group; Interviews.
1. INTRODUCTION
E-Government is fast becoming a priority in Sub-Saharan Africa
with many governments using digital platforms [13]. This
growing importance stems from the fact that e-Government has
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SAICSIT2014, September 29 - October 01 2014, Centurion, South Africa
Copyright 2014 ACM 978-1-4503-3246-0/14/09…$15.00
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2664591.2664625
the capability of promoting better governance, transparency,
raising service performance and eliminating bottlenecks in the
service delivery process [13]. The theme of the SAICSIT 2014
conference is “Powered by Technology”. The premise of this
paper is to demonstrate the value of user research in order to take
advantage of what technology, such as e-Government, can offer.
A website that does not meet the user’s needs and requirements
increases the frustration of the user and the difficulty and
complexity of the successful completion of tasks [24]. It has
become increasingly common, perhaps even required, for
organisations and governments to include user research in their
design and development process [14]. The goal of user research is
to learn “as much as you can about who your users are and what
motivates them so that you can design products that meet their
needs” [3]. Any thinking about a service, whether online or
offline must start with the question: “what is the user need?” [9].
Low citizen participation is one of the challenges leading to e-
Government failures in Sub-Saharan Africa: “failures attributed
to technology planners failing to account for user expectations”
[13].
The use of user research to guide the development of websites is
not a new concept [9], [14], [21]. However, it is a concept that is
not implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa Government websites,
specifically South Africa. The lack of citizen inclusion is found to
be key in inhibiting e-Government initiatives [12]. The lack of
utilisation stems from little inclusion of the populous in the
implementation and thus not capturing their true needs in e-
Government implementations [12]. User Experience (UX)
activities, such as user research, are typically not included in the
Systems Development Lifecycles (SDLC) of South African
Governments (National and Provincial) [16]. Pretorius conducted
a gap analysis of UX activities in a South African Provincial
Government which demonstrated that user research is not
conducted on a regular basis [16].
The lack of ICT skills in the public sector is a major challenge for
e-Government initiatives [13]. This is one of the reasons why the
Western Cape Government (WCG) Cape Access programme was
created. The WCG has Cape Access e-Centres in rural areas
throughout the Western Cape. Cape Access is a programme that
provides access to information and communication technologies
(ICT) to less privileged and rural communities across the Western
Cape [4].
The Cape Access programme required a new website, as their
website was out-dated and on a platform with limited capabilities.
A new website (phase one) was created with a strong focus on UX
activities such as wireframing, prototyping, web design, heuristic
166
evaluations and usability testing. The website was developed with
the intention to improve and enhance the website over several
phases. These phases were informed by the results of user
research. The focus of this paper is on the user research conducted
in order to inform phase two of the Cape Access website.
Additional motivation and purpose of this research is to
demonstrate the value and importance of conducting user research
in government.
The intended audience of the Cape Access website was identified
as new and existing members (citizens) using the Cape Access e-
Centres. Four Cape Access e-Centres were identified based on the
first languages of citizens at these e-Centres. Focus groups and
one-on-one interviews were used to conduct user research with 23 Figure 1: Citizen Channels offered by e-Government for
participants. The majority of the participants had Internet Citizens in the Western Cape Government
experience (ranging from one hour to several hours per day).
Citizens who do not use the Internet on a regular basis (not at all Citizens can apply to become members of Cape Access (at
or only a few hours per week) were identified as future research. facilities called e-Centres), where they have access to free:
The results, as well as the method used, will be of value in South  Use of computers;
African Provincial Government environments. The results of this
study have implications for government officials, information  Access to the Internet;
technologists, website designers, usability evaluators and  Access to e-mail;
specifically e-Government website designers. A theoretical
background on Cape Access, UX in the WCG and user research is  Printing (maximum of 10 pages per person per day);
provided in Section 2. The methodology of the user research is
 Basic computer training (e-Learner);
provided in Section 3. Section 4 illustrates the results. Section 5
concludes and contextualises the findings and provides  Accredited computer training (International Computer
suggestions for future research. Driving License (ICDL));
 Access to government information and services;
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
 Access to job, business and research information.

2.1 Cape Access The Cape Access Project has established over 40 e-Centres across
The WCG is aware of the current digital divide and therefore the Western Cape, illustrated in Figure 2.
provides information through different channels. E-Government
for Citizens (e-G4C), a Directorate in the Western Cape
Government, offers various channels (illustrated in Figure 1) to
access government information, including:
 WCG Citizen Portal (Internet):
www.westerncape.gov.za;
 Internal staff website (Intranet);
 Contact centre: Walk-in Centre, e-mail, telephone,
presidential hotline and social media;
 Cape Access.
The focus of this research will be on the Cape Access channel.
Cape Access is an initiative that makes ICT more accessible to
rural and less privileged communities throughout the Western Figure 2: Cape Access e-Centres in the Western Cape
Cape [4]. These communities are often marginalised and
Figure 3 and Figure 4 illustrate citizens using the Internet
economically excluded, due to their limited access to information
facilities at the Cape Access e-Centres. Figure 5 illustrates the
sources and modes of communication [4]. Additionally, the
Mosselbay e-Centre, one of the e-Centres used in this study. The
resources available to them are often out of date. Cape Access
Sao Paulo State Government has a similar concept called “service
aims to create opportunities for social change and economic
rooms” where citizens, supported by staff, can access e-services
growth by making state-of-the-art ICT more widely available.
(such as police incident reports, vehicle license registration).
Cape Access provides local rural communities with computers
These rooms also function as observatories of service usage and
and Internet access, which they can use for a wide variety of
population profiles [7].
purposes, including school projects, job applications, Internet
banking, SARS e-filing and CV creation.

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Figure 3: Citizens using the Internet Facilities at the
Bongolethu e-Centre
Figure 4: Citizens using the Internet Facilities at the
Swellendam e-Centre
Figure 5: The Mosselbay Cape Access e-Centre
Cape Access launched a new website in April 2014
(http://www.westerncape.gov.za/capeaccess/). The previous
website was very limited, was not adequately maintained for
several years and only worked on desktops. The goal of the new
website was to provide a responsive website in order for the
website to be available to more citizens. Responsive web design
(RWD) is a web development approach that creates dynamic
changes to the appearance of a website, depending on the screen
size and orientation of the device being used to view it [18]. RWD
is one approach to the problem of designing for the multitude of
devices available to customers, ranging from feature phones to
desktop monitors [18]. Figure 6 illustrates the Cape Access
website on several devices. The focus of this research was to
obtain insights and user requirements for the second phase of
development of the Cape Access website.
Figure 6: The Cape Access Website Designed using
Responsive Web Design
2.2 User Experience at the Western Cape
Government
The challenge at present in the UX design field is the
institutionalisation of UX [19]. Institutionalising UX in an
enterprise demands the establishment of routine practice; the use
of best practices and the supply of tools, methods and resources to
people. Pretorius [15] proposed a methodology that supports the
institutionalisation of UX in a South African Provincial
Government, named the “Institutionalise UX in Government
(IUXG) methodology”. The need for the study was based on the
premise that UX processes, including user research, are not
mature and institutionalised in South African Provincial
Governments [16]. The IUXG methodology can be used to
institutionalise UX and it will assist Provincial Government
officials to develop increased UX maturity levels. The IUXG
methodology provides Government officials with a step-by-step
method on how to institutionalise UX by following the six phases
of the IUXG methodology namely: startup, setup, organisation,
method, standards and long-term (more details available at
uxstrategy.co.za). The methodology was applied in a case study
focusing on the Western Cape Government (WCG).
UX research and the application of the IUXG Methodology have
made several practical contributions in the WCG. These include:
an improved UX maturity level; UX activities, including surveys,
wireframes, Web design, templates, usability laboratory testing.
Heuristic evaluations became standard in the WCG e-Government
website environment; the SDLC was updated to incorporate user-
centred design and became standard; UX policy, strategy and
guidelines were documented; the first usability testing facility for
a South African Provincial Government was built; improvements
to the WCG e-Government website were implemented and the
number of visits to the WCG website was improved.
Pretorius [15] compiled a gap analysis for the WCG based on the
IUXG Methodology. The gap analysis identified that user
research was included in the SDLC, but that most projects do not
conduct user research. The current research study addresses the
need for more user research in the WCG as identified by the gap
analysis.
2.3 User Research
User research is the systematic study of goals, needs and
capabilities of users so as to specify design, construction, or
improvement of tools to benefit how users work and live [20].
The user research process includes [14]: studying people deeply,
ideally in their context; exploring not only their behaviour, but
168
also the meaning behind the behaviour; making sense of data
using inference, interpretation; analysis and synthesis; and using
those insights to point toward a design, service, product or other
solution.
A step (D6) of the Pretorius IUXG Methodology (Figure 7) is to
conduct user research [15].
Figure 7: Conduct User Research – Step in the IUXG
Methodology [15]
The sub-steps of the user research step in the IUXG methodology
are [10],[15], [26]:
 What information and levels of knowledge about the
subject matter are required?
 Ways of working, planning, grouping and organising
information;
 Expectations about the site;
 Levels of experience with the Web and similar types of
sites;
 Technology available to the potential users (Internet
access, devices, physical environment). The five items
listed above were determined by means of the screening
questionnaire and the user research questions;
 Consult customer support to understand customer
problems. This point was addressed by including Cape
Access e-Centre managers (staff) as participants in this
study;
 Collect analytics/trends about the website. The previous
version of the website was too old and not often used;
hence this point was not included as part of this
research;
 Techniques that are available include: usability testing,
contextual interviews, surveys, individual interviews,
focus groups and card sorting.
A combination of focus groups and one-on-one interviews were
selected for this user research study. Focus groups and one-on-one
interviews are useful techniques for exploring and mapping
reasons for attitudes and behaviour, understanding of how target
audiences approach issues [8]. They also enable participants’
reactions to be monitored and the moderator to probe interesting
issues when necessary.
Interviewing can be used in combination with other techniques
[14]. Interviewing can be used to help identify what could be
designed, to help refine hypotheses about a possible solution that
is being considered, or guide the redesign of an existing product
that is already in the marketplace [14]. The following section
discusses the methodology used for this research study.
3. USER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A combination of the methodologies by Pretorius and Calitz [17]
and Portigal [14] were used to conduct the focus groups and one-
on-one interviews. Table 1 provides the methodology of the user
research conducted. The following sections elaborate on Table 1,
by providing the specific steps for this research study.
Table 1: User Research Methodology
1. Define goals
 Why is the user research being conducted?
 What will be learnt from the user research?
 What actions will be taken based on the results of the user
research?
2. Determine user profiles
3. Plan the user research
 Facilitator;  Equipment required;
 Assistance;  Documents required;
 Number of participants;  Pilot study (with
stakeholders);
 Number and length of the
sessions;  Costs and budget;
 Timeline.
4. Run the session
Preparation before participants arrive:
 Check that the room is available;
 Make sure you have all materials to be handed out.
The session:
 Introduce project members (if applicable);
 Give an overview of the project;
 Establish that the participant(s) are helping you. State
what you want to learn. State that you are interested in
hearing their stories and experiences;
 Let participant(s) know what to expect: Type of
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 questions; length of the session; it is not a test; managers of each Cape Access e-Centre. The manager provided
confidentiality; the questionnaires to citizens using the e-Centres and returned the
completed questionnaires to the interviewer. The majority of
 Let participant(s) introduce themselves; respondents were selected for the research study. The main
 Answer related question they may have; criterion for selection was the main language spoken at each e-
Centre. The intention was to interview mainly Afrikaans and
 Let participant(s) sign informed consent forms; Xhosa citizens (with English as a second language). English is the
main language used on the website and used to train citizens at e-
 Facilitator runs the session from the discussion guide.
Centres. 23 participants were selected for the study, of which 14
Closing: spoke isiXhosa, eight spoke Afrikaans and one spoke English (a
manager of an e-Centre). The majority of participants indicated
 Indicate that all the questions have been covered; that they had Internet experience and that they had smartphones.
 Ask if there are any final comments/questions; Portigal [14] recommends that “rather than asking people to
come to you to be interviewed, go where they are.” Citizens were
 Emphasise confidentiality;
interviewed at the Cape Access e-Centres situated in rural areas.
 Provide incentive to participants; The user research was conducted at the Swellendam, Mosselbay,
Bongolethu and Robertson e-Centres. Each participant was asked
 Ask if the participant(s) would like to be included in to complete an informed consent form.
future user research studies.
Table 2: User Profile
5. Analyse the results
Number of 23
 Write up the session as soon as possible; participants
 Include what participant(s) said, not just the Language isiXhosa: 14
interpretation;
Afrikaans: 8
6. Report the results
English: 1
7. Use the results
Age Below 20: 4
21-25: 7
3.1 Define Goals 26-30: 6
The goals of the user research are defined first. Why is the user
research being conducted? The primary goal of the user research 31-40: 4
was to interact with citizens using the Cape Access e-Centres and 41-50: 2
to determine user requirements to inform phase two of the Cape
Access website. The focus groups were also used to demonstrate How often do you use Once a week: 1 (blind user)
the value and importance of conducting user research in the Internet?
Once a day (+-1 hour): 8
government.
Several hours a day: 14
What will be learned from the focus groups? The experience of
citizens at the Cape Access e-Centres; what they need on a Which phone do you Smart phone: 18
website for Cape Access: whether it is covered already or if it have?
should be included in the next phase; gathering initial feedback on Basic/feature phone: 5
the new website.
What actions will be taken based on the results of these focus
groups? Enhancements and additional user requirements will be 3.3 Plan the User Research
implemented during phase two of the website. Lessons learnt The author of the paper was the facilitator during the user
about the Cape Access e-Centres will be presented to Cape research. Focus groups and one-on-one interviews were
Access management. conducted without assistance, due to travel and logistical reasons.
23 citizens participated in the study. The length of the sessions
Smillie [22] states that “no matter what you learn, you can’t go ranged from 45 minutes to one hour. A laptop was used to capture
wrong”. If convictions are wrong, something new is learned that participant comments and a video camera was used to record the
helps to evolve thinking and build a better product. If convictions session.
are correct, one has more data to back up these convictions. User
research is a “win-win situation and it is never too late to start” Documents required during the sessions included an informed
[22]. consent form and print-outs of relevant screens of the Cape
Access website. A pilot study was conducted with stakeholders of
3.2 Determine User Profiles the Cape Access programme. Portigal [14] recommends that the
The main target audience for the research included everyday users first interviews should be with the stakeholders of a product. Cost,
of the Cape Access e-Centres. Managers and trainers (staff) at the budget and timelines were determined and agreed to, before the
e-Centres were also interviewed. Table 2 lists the user profile for study commenced.
this research study. Screening questionnaires were sent to the

170
3.4 Run the Session
Figure 8 illustrates a typical setup of the study, an informal setting
with the facilitator and the participants.
Figure 8: Citizen Research Setting: Facilitator with Citizens
at a Cape Access e-Centre
Participants were grouped together or interviewed individually,
based on their role (staff member or citizen), age and Internet
experience. User research questions were identified to ask during
the user research and are illustrated in Table 3. These questions
intend to provide more clarity on the steps illustrated in Section
2.3. The facilitator (author of this study) used the questions as a
baseline and had the freedom to ask more in-depth or related
questions as required and dependant on participant answers.
Portigal [14] describes the vital role of “listening” when
conducting interviews as the most effective way to build rapport
with participants. Relate to participant answers with phrases such
as “Earlier you told us that…” and “I want to go back to
something else you said”. This shows that the facilitator is paying
attention to what the participants are saying [14].
Table 3: User Research Questions
1. (Background of the study). Who I am; what we are doing
here today; interested in hearing your stories and
experiences; informed consent form.
2. (Participant background). Tell me about yourself: what do
you do; computer/Internet background; websites you have
used; language.
3. What mobile phone do you have? What mobile phone are
you going to buy next?
4. What do you do at the Cape Access e-Centre?
5. Tell me about the training you have received at Cape Access
(if applicable).
6. Where did you hear about Cape Access?
7. (Explain the concept of the new Cape Access website.) What
would you like to do on this website?
8. (Show website screenshots. Observe how participants react.)
What are your thoughts? (Ask follow-up questions).
9. Dream question: If I came back year next year to have this
conversation again, what would be different?
10. Dream question: If you could build this yourself – your ideal
experience – what would it be like?
11. Wrap-up: Is there anything you would like to add? Is there
anything you would like to ask me?
The facilitator made notes as the participants were interviewed, in
order to provide provisional results as quickly as possible.
Themes of the findings were categorised after each round of
interviews. Video recordings of the sessions were captured and
were highlighted in the initial notes. The facilitator went back to
the video to capture data. Common themes and results were
captured in a Microsoft Word document. The results (step five,
six and seven) are discussed next.
4. RESULTS
The results of the user research study are discussed next. They
focus on the main themes found: mobile phones; language; e-
services; accessibility; citizen needs of the e-Centres and the
website results.
4.1 Overall Results
The overall results of the study are explained first. These results
pertain to questions not specific to the website.
4.1.1 What Phone Are You Buying Next?
The user profile noted that 18 of the 23 participants had
smartphones and only five had feature or basic phones. Two
participants who currently had feature phones noted that the only
reason they had one was because their smartphone was stolen.
Participants were asked what phone they are purchasing next. The
results are displayed in Table 4. The participants listed a variety
of smartphones, with not one participant stating that they would
buy a feature phone as their next purchase. One participant noted
that he will keep his feature phone, because he is only interested
in making phone calls and sending text messages (SMSs). This
raises the question: will these users ever use online services? This
is an important question that raises the need for more research.
Even though many South Africans still have feature phones, how
long will it be before they have smartphones? The growth of
smartphones has significantly grown, with an estimated 11
million smart phones in South Africa in 2013 [23]. A higher unit
price has often been the key setback in demand growth for
smartphones but this is slowly changing as cheaper options enter
the market [6]. The overall result has been a drop in volume sales
growth for feature phones as consumers continue to shift towards
smartphones which give them better access to the Internet and
provide a bigger screen size and a better experience on the Web
[6].
The WCG website (www.westerncape.gov.za) has seen a
significant spike in traffic from mobile and smart devices [1]:
 2011: 4.34% of traffic;
 2012: 11.91% of traffic;
 2013: 19.63%;
 January to April 2014: 28.88%.
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 Table 4: Participant Mobile Phone Results  “I want to learn English. English is used in the world”;
What phone are you buying next?  An e-Centre trainer (teaches the e-Learner and ICDL
courses) made the following remark: “I explain in
Samsung 12
English. If there are specific questions I switch to their
Nokia Lumia 5 language”.

iPhone 2 Initial results indicated that the younger generation prefers to

view the website in English, whereas older people require their
Blackberry 2 own language. It is clear that three of the official languages are
Sony 1 required on the website; however, translation of English content
to Afrikaans and Xhosa is expensive and e-G4C do not currently
Not captured 1 have the resources to achieve this. Additionally, different dialects
of Xhosa exist throughout the Western Cape. More research is
Why these phones? required on how to efficiently achieve this goal.
• Better picture quality;
4.1.3 Identification of e-Services
• Bigger size;
The United Nations e-Government maturity model has the
• Big screen; following steps: emerging presence; enhanced presence;
transactional presence and connected presence [25]. In order to
• Touch screen; move to a transactional presence, e-services need to be offered.
• WI-FI; The following e-Services, specific to the Cape Access project,
were identified through this research:
• Can access online “better”. Has Internet;
 Apply online for Cape Access membership;
• Download apps;
 Apply online for training (e-Learner and ICDL);
• Fast;
 Book an Internet session online.
• Not that expensive.
Currently, all these services are done manually and will be
investigated for inclusion during phase two.
Mobile traffic in 2014 is already almost three times what it was in
2012 [1]. The January to April 2014 statistic equates to 1,134,682 4.1.4 Accessibility
sessions (where a session is the period time a user is actively Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the
engaged with the website). Blind, said: “Blind Americans are outraged that the government
These are very important considerations in the decision to create is failing to comply with its own guidelines to make government
websites catering for smartphones and up (tablets, desktops, etc.) information and services available to citizens with disabilities...
using responsive design; or if it is still required to create websites given the fact that use of the Internet is critical to education,
specifically for feature phones. employment, access to government benefits and services, and all
other aspects of modern life, there is no excuse for failure to
follow and rigorously enforce these guidelines.” [5],[11].
4.1.2 Language
During training, participants were asked about their language One of the participants of the study was a blind user. The
preference on the website and how their friends or family would participant noted that he brings his own laptop, with screen reader
perceive it. The following remarks (several are translated to software to an e-Centre (where he would be provided with
English) are quotes from the study: Internet access). The participant however noted that his laptop
was in for repairs and that he now no longer has access to the
 “Our people are Afrikaans. Especially the older people Internet as the PCs provided by the e-Centre do not have screen
reject English information”; readers. An internal research project is currently in progress to
determine how the WCG can cater for blind users at these e-
 “Some people feel shy speaking English”;
Centres. The research project aims to determine what screen
 “Reading and writing English is easier than speaking readers are the most popular, are the most useful and what the
it”; technical considerations are.

 “We understand that the language of computers are
English – we don’t say ‘skoot rekenaar’ (Afrikaans
term), we say ‘laptop’”;
 “We prefer an English website – Xhosa is very difficult
to read” (from a younger participant);
 “People here are Afrikaans. If they can they need to
make it bilingual. This is important for older people, not
so much for younger people”;
Though accessibility guidelines, such as the use of alt text, were
used for phase one of the Cape Access website, it has not yet been
tested on a screen reader. Future research includes specific
accessibility testing of the website.
The blind participant also noted that since his laptop was not
functional, the e-Centre Manager has been very helpful by typing
and editing his CV for him, applying for jobs and reading and
sending his e-mails. The e-Centres currently do plan for other

172
accessibility consideration, such as making sure that all desks can demonstrates that six of the 13 listed services were already
be used by citizens in wheelchairs. covered. The remaining seven services were captured and will be
addressed in phase two.
4.1.5 What do you do at the Cape Access e-Centre? After showing the participants screenshots of the website, the
Table 5 illustrates what participants indicated that they do at Cape overall impression was positive. Comments included: “I like the
Access e-Centres on a daily basis. Most of the results were simplicity”; “I like what is going on”; “It is great that you can
expected, but two main lessons were learnt that impact the find an e-Centre”. Additional results of the website are beyond
website: the scope of this paper and will be reported in future publications.
 Staff members spend many hours assisting citizens to Table 6: Participant Website Needs and if they are Currently
create and type CVs. A few of the e-Centres use CV Covered
templates. These CV templates could be provided on
the website; What do you want to do on Is it currently covered on the
the Cape Access website? website?
 Certain e-Centres also provide assistance in terms of
business templates, such as invoices and quotations. Show what Cape Access is Introduction information on
These templates can also be offered on the website. about and what it offers homepage. More detailed
(services). information on About Us.
Table 5: Participant Tasks at Cape Access e-Centres Services are shown on the
• Training (e-Learner and • Compile business homepage and on all e-Centre
ICDL courses); paperwork, such as pages.
invoices and quotations Say that it is free. The homepage states that it is
• Search for information
(make use of templates free, but after showing the
using Google;
where available); screenshots to participants,
• Social media: Facebook, they noted that it was not
• Research;
Twitter; visible enough. To be
• Children – schoolwork; investigated for phase two.
• Search for and apply for
jobs; • Projects for my children; Job listings. Not currently offered. To be
investigated for phase two.
• Search for and apply for • Search for
bursaries; Accommodation; Events (what is happening Not currently offered. To be
• Type CVs (make use of • What I can do in the area; today). investigated for phase two.
CV templates where Galleries. Show the training Galleries are included.
• News;
available); graduations. Show the people Participants were very positive
• Print; who work there. about the screenshots shown.
• View e-mails;
Training graduations are
• Socialise.
• View videos: YouTube; shown, but it is important to
maintain and upload new
4.2 Website Results graduations. Staff galleries are
not very obvious and will be
The Cape Access website was designed to be responsive, in order
investigated for phase two.
for the majority of the target users to be able to use the website on
their mobile phones. Mobile services provide an opportunity to Course duration. Course duration is shown, but
cross the digital divide where many citizens lack access to after screenshots were shown,
traditional PC technology [2]. Creating usable mobile services for it was noted that it was not
government is difficult [2]. Achieving success with mobile clear enough. To be
applications requires clear user data by identifying actual user investigated for phase two.
needs and prioritising ruthlessly on the major features that will be
needed [2]. Focusing on the wrong services will lead to failure. What times the centre is open. Opening and closing times are
The results of the responsive website are beyond the scope of this available on e-Centre Contact
paper; however, highlighted results are presented next. Us pages.

The new Cape Access responsive website takes an iterative Contact information. Contact information is
approach which will include several phases of improvements available on the homepage;
based on user research. The focus of this research was to obtain Contact Us page and e-Centre
feedback on phase one and to obtain requirements for phase two Contact Us pages.
of the website. Participants were first asked what they wanted the
Show that all ages can come. Not specifically stated. To be
website to do. Table 6 lists the participant responses, whether the
investigated for phase two.
website currently offers these services and what the phase two
steps entail. After these responses were captured, selected Information about the town and Not currently offered. To be
screenshots of phase one of the website were shown to events in the town. investigated for phase two.
participants. Participants were also given the opportunity to view
the website on a Blackberry 9700 mobile device. Table 6

173
CV template. Staff assists citizens with CV
templates at the e-Centres, but
they are not currently offered
on the website. To be
investigated for phase two.
Business templates (such as Staff assists citizens with
invoices). business templates at a number
of e-Centres, but they are not
currently offered on the
website. To be investigated for
phase two.
Fresh content The website was designed to
only show critical content, due
to the lack of content resources
during phase one. Phase two
will include the procurement of
content resources as well as
how to display fresh content
(such as new galleries and
success stories).
5. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
Users interacting with government websites often experience that
not enough has been done to anticipate their needs or make
information easily available and locatable [24]. Citizens’ higher
perception of the usefulness and ease of use of e-Government
websites directly enhanced the level of intention of citizens to
continue to use e-Government websites [27]. The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) describes the need for a dual
role of citizens in a citizen-centric approach: citizens as clients
and citizens as stakeholders [28]. The results of this research
assisted in motivating the citizen-centric approach for the WCG;
specifically in having the citizen as a stakeholder. Citizens from
rural areas were consulted as part of interviews and focus groups,
in order to understand their needs for Cape Access. The results
were presented to top management.
The goals of this research study were to interact with citizens
using Cape Access e-Centres regarding their experience of the e-
Centre; what they need on the Cape Access website; and
gathering initial feedback on the new website. The methods for
the user research included one-on-one interviews and focus
groups. The user research was conducted in four Cape Access e-
Centres in rural areas, with a participant sample of 23. The results
indicated that participants intended on purchasing a smart phone
as their next mobile phone purchase. The website must be offered
in the official languages of the Western Cape (Afrikaans, English
and Xhosa). Three e-services were identified that would assist
citizens and staff members: applying to become a member;
applying for training; and booking an Internet session online.
Accessibility was identified as an area that needs more research,
including the usage of screen readers at Cape Access e-Centres.
The need for CV and business templates were identified as current
services offered at e-Centres that is not on the website. These
templates will be included in phase two. Finally, additional user
requirements for the website were identified, including job
listings and fresh content.
The user research study demonstrated value by identifying many
user requirements for the Cape Access website, as well as user
needs for the Cape Access e-Centres. The lessons learnt from this
study will also be useful to similar initiatives, such as the
Thusong Centres (www.thusong.gov.za), throughout South
Africa. User researchers conducting studies in rural areas would
be able to use the proposed method (Table 1) as well as the user
research questions (Table 3) to plan user research studies. User
research plays a crucial role to ensure that the promise of
technology, such as e-Government, is realised to its full potential.
Future work will include citizen research at more Cape Access e-
Centres across the Western Cape. This research will also include a
wider user profile, specifically citizens who do not use the
Internet on a regular basis (or at all). Additional research will also
include a usability study of the Cape Access website in a formal
usability laboratory.
6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
E-Government for Citizens in the Department of the Premier of
the Western Cape Government is thanked for their support to
make this research possible. Clayton Wakeford and Kelvin
Groeneveldt are specifically thanked for their support of this
research.
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