The SAO has concluded its audit aimed at evaluating the measures taken to improve e-administration, which included testing the user experience of the electronic interfaces for the most common administrative procedures. The audit found that major steps have been taken towards a full-scale implementation of digital citizenship, but it also revealed shortcomings in strategic planning and in consistent user-friendliness. It is noteworthy that some of the SAO’s findings have already been applied during the audit process.
The technological and information revolution have had major impacts on many aspects of the Hungarian state’s operations as well, including administrative procedures. However, remote administration is not only a matter of convenience and efficiency; it is also a key requirement for smooth administration. When designing the framework for electronic administration, it is essential to take user-friendliness into consideration, in order to ensure the successful and efficient implementation of administrative procedures. These factors have drawn the SAO’s attention to the importance of reviewing the matter.
During the audit, the SAO evaluated the activities of NISZ Zrt., the operator of the magyarorszag.hu portal and the Customer Portal as well as DMÜ Zrt., the key player coordinating the implementation of digital citizenship. The SAO also assessed the operation of the systems supervised by these companies, the systems’ effective contribution to electronic public administration, and the user-friendliness of the electronic administration interfaces developed.
The user experience was evaluated by testing the user interfaces of the most relevant public administration applications. This testing focused on the simplicity and clarity of administration and covered 25 types of administrative cases on the magyarorszag.hu central portal, as well as the applications used for the administration of these types of cases. In the course of these tests, the SAO evaluated accessibility, the systems’ ability to recognise the appropriateness of the administrative purpose, error-proofing user input, functionality, as well as the aesthetics and clarity of the user interfaces.
During the audit, the SAO found that the system was overall user-friendly in the design of its strategic framework, in the definition of the development directions for the relevant IT systems, and in the detailed descriptions of the related activities, providing an appropriate basis for the development of e-administration. However, during the audited period, the system for backtesting strategic objectives was not yet fully developed. In addition, user requirements were not fully assessed and integrated into the development of services, and the e-administration applications were not adequately tested regarding their user-friendliness.
Based on the testing, the SAO found that in order to improve the user experience and the effectiveness of electronic administration, greater efforts should be made to ensure the expected level of availability and to fully implement user-friendly features on the magyarorszag.hu portal and on the interfaces of the audited applications. Specifically, it would be important to provide a consistent structure, language, and visual identity across all applications.
On a positive note, the SAO’s findings were already utilised during the audit process. In the course of giving their opinion on the draft audit report both DMÜ Zrt. and NISZ Zrt. informed the SAO that they had already taken measures to correct the identified shortcomings.