[Interview] Continue to pursue usability and understandability without giving up
Contents
- Person in charge
- The goal is to create a website that everyone can use without hesitation.
- I never wanted to give up on "no one will be left behind"
- Sharing knowledge freely to improve government web operations
- The deeper the mutual understanding, the easier it is to create good services.
- Understand "why" rather than "what"
- Related Pages
Person in charge
Deputy Director Akihiko Sakamoto
He was appointed as Deputy Director of Digital Agency in January 2022. He is in charge of a wide range of fields, including the Government Common Website Project. He is actively involved in promoting the digitalisation of administrative services and projects involving multiple ministries and agencies.
*The affiliation and job title are those at the time of the interview.
The goal is to create a website that everyone can use without hesitation.
- What are the objectives and characteristics of this initiative?
SAKAMOTO At the time I entered Digital Agency, the website itself had already been launched. In charge of its operation, we decided to renew it, including the top page. At that time, it was designed with priority given to smartphones and adopted a mechanism in which new information was displayed in chronological order. At the beginning of the site's construction, it seemed that they were considering introducing a personalization function (* 1), but I heard that they had to give up the personalization function due to the impact of regulations and other factors.
One of the things I was particularly aware of while operating the Digital Agency website and building the content management system, which is the behind-the-scenes mechanism, was not just meeting standards and criteria, but also "ensuring Web accessibility in the essential sense." In Digital Agency, there is a Web accessibility expert team from private sector personnel, with the participation of Web accessibility experts who themselves are visually impaired. In addition to these, information design experts and engineers belong to this team, and the project was advanced in close cooperation with them.
A specific example of our efforts is the improvement of hamburger menus (* 2). We needed to create something that would allow visually impaired people to understand the opening and closing of menus, mainly when browsing websites on smartphones. The accessibility team, designers, and business operators all held discussions to create an accessible hamburger menu.
* 1 Personalization function: A function that optimizes the display of information according to the user.
* 2 Hamburger menu: A type of menu display used on websites and applications.
I never wanted to give up on "no one will be left behind"
- Please tell us the background of your focus on web accessibility.
SAKAMOTO There are people with various visual, auditory, and physical disabilities in the world. Many administrative services cannot be replaced, and if you can't use them well on digital, you have to go to the counter. However, it is a much bigger burden for people with disabilities to go out and do the procedures than for people without disabilities. I believe that the "user perspective" should originally include such people.
In the age of paper, we had no choice but to give up on consideration for various disabilities as "something we couldn't do anything about." However, in the modern age, where digitalisation has advanced, the assumption that "we have no choice but to give up" has changed. With digital, we can realize a service that does not give up anything and does not leave anyone behind. I think that we should do whatever we can because we can see such hope.
Sharing knowledge freely to improve government web operations
- How do you make use of the experience gained through the project?
SAKAMOTO At present, based on the knowledge gained from this project, study meetings, workshops, and information sharing opportunities are being set up for people in charge of web operations at each government agency. In addition to sharing knowledge on website renewal, opinions are being exchanged on how to reduce the cost of updating content on a daily basis and how to proceed with appropriate procurement. In addition, with the help of private sector specialists in Digital Agency, we are conscious of the contents that are useful for practical work, such as sharing the points of information dissemination from a public relations perspective. In cooperation with each government agency, we are working to realize better information dissemination on the website for the entire administration.
The deeper the mutual understanding, the easier it is to create good services.
- What are the benefits of working with designers?
SAKAMOTO Compared to us administrative officials who work based on laws and systems, I think designers who have worked based on the ease of use of users have a perspective closer to that of ordinary people. Therefore, I feel that it is a great advantage that by cooperating with them, it is easy to find out what is difficult to notice from the perspective of administrative officials and to get new ideas. In addition, the more we communicate, the more designers become aware of the circumstances and mechanisms of the administration and the administrative officials become aware of the "user's perspective."
I believe that such mutual understanding will lead to services that are both "administrative requirements" and "user-friendly." As a result, it will be easier for everyone to use and create better services.
Understand "why" rather than "what"
- Please give advice to administrative officials who aim to create better services
SAKAMOTO Administrative officials are often transferred every two years, and there are many cases in which they are engaged in their duties without being able to receive sufficient explanations from their predecessors. Therefore, I think the reality is that it is difficult to fully understand the background and intent of the measures if they are simply carried out as work. To put it bluntly, anyone can do the work procedures themselves as long as they are taught. However, administrative officials are required to understand the essential parts, such as "Why this method?", "Why this system is necessary?", and "Why it is still in place." In addition to the establishment of the system and the applicable laws and regulations, they will also be able to have a perspective that goes beyond the framework of mere work by deeply knowing the history of its operation.
In doing so, they will be aware of fundamental ways to solve problems, such as "If this system is revised in the first place, this work itself will not be necessary." I believe that it is important to always consider not only "what to do" but also "why to do it" when conducting business.