Technical problems and suspension of transactions. Users request improvement of government application services

Users have demanded technical and design improvements in applications and platforms for digital government services to make them more smooth and efficient, especially after some digital services have recently witnessed remarkable development and an advanced technical transformation that has contributed to facilitating the completion of transactions and saving time and effort, noting that digital applications and platforms for the private sector, such as airlines, telecommunications companies, electronic stores, banks, food delivery services, and other digital service outlets, are characterized by ease of use and payment, clarity of services, and speed of completion of transactions.

They told «Emirates Today» that they faced challenges related to the slow completion of some transactions, and the emergence of temporary technical problems that sometimes caused the suspension of requests during the implementation of the process, in addition to difficulties in finding the required services when booking appointments electronically, due to moving between more than one page to reach the appropriate service. They also indicated that the arrangement and coordination of services within some government applications needs improvement, pointing out that the design of the home page, icons and colors plays an important role in directing the user’s attention towards basic services, and that organizing the submenus in a logical and tabular manner contributes to Facilitating navigation and reducing time, as the absence of this organization in some platforms made the experience take longer than expected.

Experts emphasized that government applications differ by nature from private sector applications, in terms of scope, integration, and sensitivity of the tasks they perform and the number of customers, as they deal with official data and documents and link multiple systems and entities to provide a unified service, such as using a digital identity or linking government agencies, which makes the development and operation processes more complex and challenging. Some of them are used daily by 100,000 visitors to obtain multiple services, while there are applications for private parties whose number of customers does not exceed 40 or more. 50 customers throughout the day.

They explained that relying on internal programming teams in some entities led to slowness and complexity in the design and development stages, compared to the private sector, and contributed to the emergence of what is known as “super apps,” that is, comprehensive applications that include dozens of services in one platform, which made them relatively heavy and complex for users. They also pointed out that some applications still reflect the traditional pattern of thinking in providing services, as the administrative procedures themselves were transferred to the digital environment, which made the experience lose its simplicity and speed, which represents the essence of integrated smart transformation.

They presented three technical solutions that would enhance the efficiency of government applications, raise the level of user satisfaction and speed up transactions, including “increasing the capacity of servers to accommodate large numbers of users, developing future plans extending for five years that take into account population growth and increasing demand for digital services, restructuring and archiving services, according to priority and most common use, and allocating applications and platforms according to the type of service, without grouping them within one application, such as an application for violations, another for parking, and others, so that each application is simple.” Directed and clear, stressing that successful smart transformation is based on simplicity and ease of access, and not on multiple services in one platform.

They pointed out that despite the great achievements in digital transformation, there are some entities or services that have not yet reached “full digital transformation,” which means that there are some services that still require human interaction or a field visit.

User experiences

In detail, Mohammed Al Khaja said: “Most of my transactions are easily completed electronically, and this is a major development that we all see, but despite this progress, some experiences still face technical challenges that need improvement.”

He explained that he recently encountered a problem while executing a transaction to extract one of the official documents, as the fees were deducted from the account without completing the transaction, leaving the request to remain suspended for 24 hours before the amount was recovered and the service was completed successfully after re-submission, indicating that the relevant government agency contacted him and explained that what happened was the result of a temporary technical glitch that caused some transactions to be suspended at the time of executing the process, and it was addressed. He continued: “We appreciate the efforts made in developing digital services, but it is important to enhance the speed of response to any technical defect, by increasing the number of specialized technicians and monitoring systems around the clock, to ensure continuity of service without interruption.”

Sulaiman Al-Rayes said: “While I was trying to book an appointment through an application, I had difficulty finding the required service. I moved between more than one page and the service was not immediately clear, which made the experience take longer than expected.”

He added: “Some applications need to rearrange and design their interfaces to be clearer and easier to use, especially for basic services such as booking appointments or quick inquiries,” stressing that digital government services are very advanced and presented in a distinctive way, but improving the way services are presented and simplifying access to them will make the experience more comfortable and smooth for all users.

Meanwhile, Jamal Al-Sawy said: “I experienced a delay in completing the process of booking an appointment required of me, and although the system is advanced, some services need to improve the speed of response in times of pressure.”

He added: “The digital system provides an excellent experience, but it needs greater flexibility in dealing with the volume of requests during peak periods, such as the weekend. Improving the speed of response and immediate update notifications will reduce confusion and help users obtain the service smoothly.”

While Abu Yassin stressed that the challenge lies in arranging and coordinating services within some applications, where priority must be given to the most used services, so that they appear on the main page without the need for lengthy searching.

He explained that coordinating and arranging services according to priority will make it easy for users to access what they need quickly, explaining that the design of the home page, icons, and colors play a major role in directing attention towards basic services, and organizing submenus in a logical and tabular manner facilitates navigation and reduces time significantly.

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Technical challenges

An information technology expert, Dr. Moataz Kokesh, confirmed that smart applications belonging to government agencies are witnessing rapid development in the level of services and quality of performance, despite the technical challenges associated with the volume of users and the diversity of services provided.

He explained that these government applications differ in nature from private sector applications in terms of scope, integration, and the nature of the tasks they perform. They deal with official documents and sensitive data, and link several systems to provide a single service, such as using a digital identity or linking more than one government agency, which increases the volume of technical operations required and makes the development and operation experience more challenging.

He pointed out that complaints related to slowness or difficulty in use are not due to a weakness in government services themselves, but rather to the significant increase in the number of users compared to private applications.

He explained that some private applications do not have more than 40 or 50 daily visitors, while government applications and websites receive more than 100,000 visitors daily to obtain multiple services.

He added that the scope of government services is much broader than its counterpart in the private sector, as some entities, such as the Roads and Transport Authority, may provide more than 50 various electronic services, which makes comparing the two parties in terms of speed or simplicity illogical.

He presented a number of technical solutions that would enhance the efficiency of government applications and raise the level of user satisfaction, most notably “increasing the capacity of servers” in order to accommodate large numbers of users, while developing future plans extending for at least five years, taking into account population growth and increasing demand for digital services, and “restructuring and archiving services,” so that services are arranged according to priority and most common use, and facilitating access to them from the main interface of the application.

Traditional thinking

The expert in artificial intelligence, Faisal Al-Jundi, explained that many applications in their beginnings followed the traditional thinking model for customer service, that is, the same mechanism by which services are provided in customer happiness centers or through electronic windows, which made the use experience in these applications somewhat difficult for users.

He explained that this approach led to the transfer of the same administrative complexity to the smart application environment. The user who used to request a paper from one employee and then move to another within the service center now faces the same steps digitally within the application, which makes the service lose its simplicity and speed.

He pointed out that when many entities began developing their applications, they resorted to internal programming teams, whether in the design or approval stages, which made the process of building applications more slow and complex compared to private companies, and that this approach led to the emergence of what is known as “super apps,” that is, comprehensive applications that include dozens of services in one platform, which made them heavy and complex for users.

He said: “When we try to collect more than 40 or 50 services in one application, we burden it beyond its capacity, and move away from the concept of ease that the user is looking for.” He pointed out that applications such as “Dubai Now” and “Tamm” are considered among the best government experiences in the region, but they still face challenges related to the multiplicity and ramifications of services, as most customers use a large percentage of their functions for limited services such as paying fees or violations, while the rest of the services remain unknown or unused.

He believes that the ideal solution lies in allocating applications according to the type of service, and not collecting them within one application, explaining: “It is better for each main service to have its own independent application, such as an application for violations, another for parking, and others, so that each application is simple, targeted, and clear in its goal, as successful smart transformation does not mean collecting everything in one place, but rather providing a simple and effective user experience that puts the user’s needs in the first place.”

He explained that this model is what the United States and European countries are moving towards, which are gradually moving away from the idea of ​​the “Super App” in favor of specialized applications, while maintaining a unified entry system that connects them all, such as digital identity.

Comprehensive services

For his part, researcher and academic in information technology, Dr. Obaid Saleh Al-Mukhtan, said that it is natural for the user experience to differ between government and commercial platforms, because the goal of each is different, as government platforms do not aim for profit, but rather to provide comprehensive and secure services to millions of users at the same time, taking into account the highest standards of privacy and data protection, which sometimes makes their procedures more organized and secure than commercial applications, pointing out that government agencies are constantly investing in developing these platforms through artificial intelligence, cloud transformation, and smart user experience.

He explained that the user today is accustomed to an experience from the private sector (payment, delivery, and instant communication applications) that are often very fast, and the user interface has an attractive design, and these services are often linked to the digital cloud, and sometimes the cost of the service is higher or is operated by a commercially flexible party.

He added that government services often include considerations broader than privacy protection (data integration between multiple parties, legislative compliance), and sometimes manual verification or human approvals, which can reduce the speed or smoothness of applications, compared to private commercial applications.

He continued: “Despite the achievements, some entities or services have not yet reached complete digital transformation “end-to-end,” which means that there are parts that are still “partial” or require human interaction or a field visit.