State Administrated Internet Communication: Usability Barriers in the State Revenue Service Homepage

Ksenija Mirošņika, Diāna Lūkina This publication brings attention to usability issues in the homepages of state administration agencies. Those homepages should serve as a tool to allow people to more easily access agency information and services, and ensure meaningful and universally understandable communication with these agencies, which is required by the state administration policy development guidelines for 2014–2020. This study identifies several problems at the communication and institutional level, which should be taken into account when developing communications guidelines. Most people in Latvia who have had contact with the State Revenue Service (SRS) first tried to access information directly from their homepage, indicating this as their primary source of information. Therefore, it is important to determine its usability and identify problems that affect it negatively. To do so a homepage structure analysis, user testing and electronic social media polling, as well as a partly structured interview with a SRS public relations employee were carried out. During the study as a whole, we concluded that the SRS has falsely assumed that the homepage target audience includes all residents of Latvia. A productive and user friendly homepage should be divided into various socio demographic groups, in which content is adjusted to their needs and abilities. Secondly, providing all state administration agencies with the same homepage structure and content decreases homepage usability. Likewise, all semantic communication barriers must be taken into account. The circle of people involved in homepage development is so broad, that it includes some who do not have the special communications proficiency required to prepare universally understandable information. Agencies must pay special attention to this, because not all website users have an extensive enough vocabulary, for example in accounting, to successfully use the e-service meant for them. Finally it must also be emphasized that website maintenance, incorporation of new information and adjusting services offered by new technical tools also require legal advice and consultation with other institutions This would  guarantee effective interaction between all specialists who provide internet communication for state administration agencies.

Ksenija Mirošņika, Diāna Lūkina This publication brings attention to usability issues in the homepages of state administration agencies. Those homepages should serve as a tool to allow people to more easily access agency information and services, and ensure meaningful and universally understandable communication with these agencies, which is required by the state administration policy development guidelines for 2014–2020. This study identifies several problems at the communication and institutional level, which should be taken into account when developing communications guidelines. Most people in Latvia who have had contact with the State Revenue Service (SRS) first tried to access information directly from their homepage, indicating this as their primary source of information. Therefore, it is important to determine its usability and identify problems that affect it negatively. To do so a homepage structure analysis, user testing and electronic social media polling, as well as a partly structured interview with a SRS public relations employee were carried out. During the study as a whole, we concluded that the SRS has falsely assumed that the homepage target audience includes all residents of Latvia. A productive and user friendly homepage should be divided into various socio demographic groups, in which content is adjusted to their needs and abilities. Secondly, providing all state administration agencies with the same homepage structure and content decreases homepage usability. Likewise, all semantic communication barriers must be taken into account. The circle of people involved in homepage development is so broad, that it includes some who do not have the special communications proficiency required to prepare universally understandable information. Agencies must pay special attention to this, because not all website users have an extensive enough vocabulary, for example in accounting, to successfully use the e-service meant for them. Finally it must also be emphasized that website maintenance, incorporation of new information and adjusting services offered by new technical tools also require legal advice and consultation with other institutions This would  guarantee effective interaction between all specialists who provide internet communication for state administration agencies.