Content redesign:
Israeli passport application page
Challenge
Redesign the content on gov.il's most popular service page to reduce the number of denied passport applications
This will:
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save users time, money and frustration
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save the Population Authority money and improve their service and relationship with users
Methods
Solution
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Use a wizard to let users go straight to their use case, without having to sift through irrelevant information
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Restructure content over 8 shorter service pages instead of one massive page
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Re-write the content to make it clear, simple and useful
Background
gov.il is the Israeli government website for government services and information.
Service pages give the public:
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information about government services
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guidance on how to apply
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a way to apply or start the application
The problem
Although the passport page gets hundreds of thousands of hits a year, many applications are denied.
Applicants apply without the correct documents or too late to get the passport in time to travel.
Identifying user pains and friction
To find out what wasn't working on the page I:
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did a content audit of the page
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checked what users were doing - usibility tests and interviews
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made user journeys to visualize and pin-point pain points
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talked to stakeholders and the service providers to get their perspective and align goals
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interviewed applicants at the passport office before and after applying for a passport
Content audit
Key points
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Too many words - 2270!
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15 different user cases
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Lots of content that is not useful
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Content is accurate but sometimes incomplete
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UI leads users to leave the page and get started without getting the information that they need.
Conclusions
The CTA near the top of the page works well in taking the user away from the content really fast. This is bad design, as many of the users need to read the content to know what to bring and where to apply to get their passport.
The page covers all the 15 possible scenarios, based on:
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who is applying
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who they are applying for
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how soon they need the passport (urgency)
Overall, users are encouraged to leave fast. If they stay, they have to sift through a lot of content.
Usability testing
I conducted usability testing with 12 users, aged 18 to 60, male and female. All had above high school education.
Each was given a user case and told to apply for the passport.
After completing each test, I asked each user to look for the information for their user case within the content.
I videoed their actions and followed up with an interview.
Results
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10 out of 12 users pressed the CTA without reading the content, and continued to pay for the application and schedule an appointment
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None could tell me accurately what documents they needed
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All said that it was easier to press the CTA than read the content (2270 words)
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The CTA leads to payment and scheduling an appointment. Users will get a text telling them what to bring, but it does not include information for complicated user cases. These users never get the information they need
Usability testing clearly showed:
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UI doesn't support reading the content
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most task orientated users will take action rather than read content
Conclusions
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Users must get critical information before being called to action
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The CTA needs to be taken out (in gov.il templates the CTA element cannot be moved)
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Content needs to be divided by user case and give specific relevant informaton only
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Users must be able to find their user case fast
Journey maps
This customer journey map illustrates how not getting the correct information can double the time it will take to get a passport, and cost in wasted work hours. It helps to pinpoint the key user pain.
When the user gets the correct information, their journey is simpler and faster. They are far more likely to succeed on their first try.
Meeting with stakeholders
I met with stakeholders from the Population and Immigration Authority to get more information about the service, their customers and align goals.
I also suggested the redesign and got permission for interviews at the passport office.
I asked:
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what are the main reasons for denying a passport application
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is there any BI or statistics I can use to guide me, for example, what percentage of applications are denied because the applicant didn't bring their ID card
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what is the cost of a denied application to the authority
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what feedback do passport office clerks give (if at all) on the current situation
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is the Population Authority happy with the current situation and what they think can be improved
I learned:
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most applicants (estimated 85%) don't have any problems. Most eventually get the passport. This is considered success.
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2 types of applications often get denied because the applicant comes unprepared; urgent applications and applications for child passports by parents who are not married (because they need consent from the other parent)
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There are no BI or statistics - no one knows how many applications are initially denied or how much this costs the authority
This confirmed the conclusions from the usability tests - users with special cases don't get the information that they need to successfully apply on the first try.
I already had a clear plan to redesign the content and got sign-off to go ahead with a draft. I also got permission to interview users at the passport office.
Content architecture
Wizard - First iteration
My first wizard included all possible 15 types of application based on:
Urgency - When are you travelling?
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Not urgent - later than 3 weeks
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Urgent - within 3 weeks
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Very urgent - within 2 working days
Who are you applying for?
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Myself
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My child
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I am married to their other parent
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I am not married to their other parent
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Someone else (I am their guardian)
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Child
- Adult
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Wizard - Second iteration
I reiterated the wizard based on input from the Population and Immigration Authority.
They wanted to put less emphasis on urgency and create a separate service page for the high urgency option which they consider a slightly different service.
We also decided to merge the content for some applications types that were almost identical.
The result was a cleaner, leaner wizard. This will make maintaining the content much easier.
Interviews with applicants at the passport office
I went to speak to applicants at the passport office. This was key to understanding what information they had when applying and how useful it was.
I wanted to find out if they had:
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looked for information online
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visited gov.il's passport application page
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found what they were looking for
I also wanted to find out:
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what they had done on the page
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whether the page was useful
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what was their overall experience of the page
Almost all the applicants I spoke to (around 25) had searched online and visited gov.il's passport page.
Almost all of them said the page was problematic for any one of the following reasons:
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too much information - they gave up fast and found information elsewhere
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they pressed the CTA (Pay securely online) which took them to a payment form. From there they continued, but didn't get all the information they needed
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they wanted to schedule an appointment - they couldn't find the information easily, so they left the page
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they couldn't find the information they were looking for, even when they persistently read through the content
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the process was not clear
These insights were very useful in pointing out to stakeholders how important it was to focus on making the content simple, easy to read, easy to find and useful. It also helped write better content.
Microcopy from my users
When I interviewed users at the passport office, many told me they were trying to schedule an appointment to get a passport.
They'd heard that you can't get a passport without an appointment (quite a recent change) and this was stressing them out - it was creating a major user pain.
Although most users did find the information eventually, they had to work too hard, and some just gave up.
They weren't searching for "How to apply" and didn't think about getting a passport in those terms.
The current content had these headers:
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Who can apply
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What you need
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How to apply
This is all clear and simple language that directs the user to the information they need and are looking for, but the busy, task orientated users were skimming and scanning for 'Schedule an appointment', and when they didn't find it fast they got frustrated or gave up.
I changed the content, using their words, to give them what they were looking for, summing up the whole process in one header, at the very top of the page.
Summing up
This redesign of gov.il's most important service page has the potential to improve millions of users experience, save them time, money and frustration. It will also potentially save millions in tax payers money by reducing the number of denied applications.
Auditing the content, meeting with stakeholders, testing with real users, and talking to users on-sight, all were crucial to understanding the existing user pains and redesigning the content to meet their needs.
Users are now led to the specific information that they need and can easily find what they are looking for.
Content per page has been reduced by between 25 to 60 percent (depending on the type of application.)