Design thinking is a structured and collaborative process to engage staff and multiple stakeholders to co-create services and improve service experience. The effective application of design thinking in the delivery of public services would further enhance service quality and efficiency and meet the public's needs.
We have participated in the following design thinking projects
Office of the Government Chief Information Officer – “iAM Smart” Mobile App
The “iAM Smart” mobile app was launched by the Office of the Government
Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) in late 2020. It provides a one-stop
personalised digital service platform to enable citizens to log in and use
online services more conveniently with their personal mobile phones.
During the system development, we worked with OGCIO to conduct “user
experience design” and invited citizens of different age groups, education
levels and occupations, including people with disabilities, to participate
in a number of co-design workshops so that we could understand their habits
on using mobile apps, and views and expectations on “iAM Smart”. We
co-designed with the participants the workflows for registration and
operation of “iAM Smart” as well as the user interface of the system to
provide better user experience. Examples of the co-design outcomes include a
better physical design of the self-service registration kiosk to allow
wheel-chaired users to easily operate the touch screen and use the
registration services; automatic reading of the Hong Kong Identity Card data
by optical character recognition (OCR) without manual input during
registration; and provision of voice navigation to assist citizens to
register, etc. via the mobile app and a self-service registration kiosk.
Better Support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
In July 2019, we assisted the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in
organising a workshop which brought together the Government and the trades
to apply design thinking to explore how the Government could better support
SMEs to cope with challenges of the external economic environment and the
pressure of economic downturn.
Through the workshop, government representatives gained a deeper
understanding of the challenges faced by SMEs and the user journeys in
applying for different government funding schemes. On the other hand, SME
representatives also provided suggestions to the Government for
consideration about enhancing various funding schemes and support measures
to better meet the needs of SMEs.
Design of the Hong Kong Exhibition Area in China International Import Expo 2018
Under the theme of “Hong Kong In”, the Hong Kong Exhibition Area (HKEA) was
set up in the first China International Import Expo held in Shanghai in
November 2018. Before detailed design and construction, 12
bureaux/departments were brought together to collaborate and co-design the
design principles and key design elements from the perspectives of visitors.
The project deliverables contributed a lot to shaping a memorable journey
for visitors of the HKEA.
Apart from bringing the best visitors’ experiences, the process enabled a
group of public officers to experience and practise a new way of solving
problems that stresses on empathy, collaboration, and innovation.
Hongkong Post User Research and User-Centred Design Pilot Project – Mongkok Post Office for Hongkong Post
Together with Hong Kong Design Centre, Hongkong Post revamped one of their busiest post offices which is located in Mongkok. By adopting design thinking, they looked into and mapped out the user journey of the citizens from entering the post office to completing the services they required. Improvements were made such as installing clearer signage, setting up new reception windows, widening customers’ aisle, etc., so as to provide better customer experience, enhance operational efficiency, and broaden the scope of Hongkong Post’s business development.