Hope that UK Local Government will make 2005 Online Service Delivery Target

Local e-Government Minister Phil Hope has declared his confidence that British local councils will all meet the 2005 deadline for e-enabling their services. He said that most councils have already made good progress towards the target, which includes expected savings of £1.2 billion by 2007/2008 as a direct result of e-government investment. His announcement stressed the financial aspects of the transition, rather than any consideration of the delivery of services.

He was speaking as the publication of "Implementing Electronic Government 4" revealed that the average council is 79% ready. There will be support till the end of the year for councils to make the target. After that, there is a schedule of intended savings through efficiency. Critics have suggested that Hope's vision is short on quality, effectiveness and service development.

Meanwhile, a new report suggests that the Government is slowly getting its own house in order, with an improvement in usability in many sites. The report by Porter Research, is an annual assessment of the state of key UK Government websites and it suggests that design and navigability are improving, with more consistency of approach. The redesigned Department of Health website achieved the highest score of 85.6%.

But some sites that were meeting the Government's own targets last year have suffered from poor maintenance, as pages get longer and other guidelines are flouted.

Six Metrics for Managing UI Design
Source: Russell Wilson, 28 August 2008
 
A proposal of six metrics to be used for managing a user interface design department.

Don't Judge a Form by its Cover
Source: Formulate Information Design, 27 August 2008
 
The saying "don't judge a book by its cover" reminds us that looks are deceptive. It turns out that this idiom applies to forms too.

Beijing Olympics - special State of the eNation report
Source: www.abilitynet.org.uk, 26 August 2008
 
In this special report AbilityNet asked disabled users to try out the Beijing Olympics website in our interaction lab.

It's Who You Know (Or Don't)
Source: Stanford Magazine, 23 August 2008
 
Online social networks are powerful and ineffectual all at once.

Winning Considerations for Interactive Content
Source: UXMatters, 22 August 2008
 
Rich options for interactively presenting content also come with a challenge.

Microsoft sees end of Windows era
Source: BBC, 20 August 2008
 
Microsoft has kicked off a research project to create software that will take over when it retires Windows.

News you can Use
Source: Gerry McGovern, 18 August 2008
 
When the homepage is dominated by news you are not necessarily communicating more.

Feeling Through your Computer
Source: Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science, 16 August 2008
 
A newly designed device lets computer users feel the texture and movement of what they are seeing in front of them.

User interviews - A basic Introduction
Source: Webcredible, 15 August 2008
 
It's surprising how few people have a real understanding of who's using their site.

Helping Visitors find Information
Source: UN, 13 August 2008
 
A new report outlines the key findings from surveys that explored factors which influence the quality of online experience.