GovTech turns seven: Staying connected with you to continuously improve our services

GovTech turns 7 this year! It did seem just like yesterday when we were formed with the goal of helping Singapore reach its Smart Nation objectives.

Since then, we’ve created many services and products that many Singaporeans find invaluable today. Some of these you’ll definitely recognise: think Singpass, CrowdTaskSG, ScamShield and GoBusiness.

Behind every one of these apps is a team that works tirelessly behind the scenes. You would think that this refers to only the engineers and UX designers in GovTech.

But nope! Users also play a crucial role in our product design where they provide valuable feedback to improve the services for users. On our 7th birthday, we took the opportunity to ask some of our product teams how the everyday user impacts their final products.

Singpass: Redesigning for enhanced vigilance

The design team at Singpass collects feedback and conducts surveys, interviews, and usability testing regularly to better understand users’ behaviour during transactions and continually improve the Singpass service for 5 million users. Since 2022, Singapore has seen a surge in scams, including phishing for Singpass login details and misusing Singpass accounts.

To better protect users against evolving scams, the Singpass team examined the effectiveness of the Singpass app consent screen in helping users spot fraudulent activities during transactions. The team conducted a 2-week user research study with selected Tech Kaki community members, where participants performed login tasks with different design prototypes, to observe user behaviours when logging in and inspire design changes.

The login screen was redesigned in August 2023 to display only pertinent information, like the e-service name and colour-coded approval buttons, to encourage users to check the details carefully and clearly communicate the security significance of this screen. Sometimes, less is really more.

CrowdTaskSG: It doesn’t get more user-centric than this

Get rewarded for your feedback, what could be better? Sharing your thoughts through CrowdTaskSG allows users to earn virtual coins that be used to redeem real-life rewards!

CrowdTaskSG, if you haven’t guessed from the name, is a crowdsourcing web portal which taps the collective intelligence of Singaporeans through crowdsourcing tasks, such as surveys and polls.

Upon completing tasks, citizens are rewarded with virtual coins that can be used to offset purchases at any retail, food and beverage establishments, and major supermarkets accepting NETS QR payment mode.

It’s a way for citizens to share their perspectives about government initiatives, allowing agencies to consider such feedback when creating programmes. During its beta launch in 2022, one of the most common pieces of feedback was that it was challenging for users to redeem rewards. This led the team to revamp the reward system.

Previously, users had to accumulate a minimum of $5 worth of virtual coins in value, before the coins could be exchanged for NTUC vouchers.

Today, with the integration with GovWallet, users can simply use any amount of their coins to offset their purchases at any NETs QR participating merchants immediately.

Earlier this year, CrowdTaskSG also worked with the Singpass team on a Scam Quiz campaign to educate and equip citizens with the knowledge to protect themselves from potential phishing scams. As this was not the typical survey task type, the CrowdTaskSG team had to create and support quiz functionalities on the portal to support the campaign.

But it was well worth it – the quiz received around 200 responses a day, and more than 2,600 responses in total which came in invaluable to the Singpass team

Public feedback: Front and centre of the ScamShield Bot

Scams are becoming more sophisticated, making it increasingly difficult for citizens to discern what is genuine. Recognising this growing threat, Open Government Products, in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force and NCPC, brought the ScamShield App and more recently, the ScamShield Bot, to life.

What role did the public play? A big one.

For starters, the ScamShield Bot puts powers in the hands of the public, enabling users to conveniently check and report scams received from across multiple platforms directly to the Singapore Police Force, all neatly within WhatsApp.

In addition, ScamShield Bot can check against crowdsourced information – it can tell you how many others have also reported a similar message or contact.

This was a direct result of multiple rounds of user testing, knowing that others have reported a similar scam reinforces public awareness and caution.

Finally, ScamShield Bot also has a feature that allows users to see the impact of their actions, showing statistics on the number of scams reported, and how their reports have helped others to identify these scams.

This level of transparency and acknowledgement acts as a motivator for continued community participation in scam prevention.

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the ScamShield Bot is an example of how we can harness technological innovation and community engagement to create a safer, more secure Singapore for our citizens.

GoBusiness: Helping Singapore become more business-friendly

Now, Singapore is already one of the easiest places to start a business in the world. But part of the GoBusiness team’s remit is to make it even easier. To do so, the team regularly gathers feedback from users via multiple channels such as the GoBusiness websites, from our partner government agencies and from businesses directly. To get a more in-depth understanding of businesses’ needs, the team also place an emphasis on on-the-ground engagements.

That’s why the team has also expanded their outreach efforts by engaging with trade associations and chambers, as well as participating in business conferences. Call it qualitative research!

These efforts enable the team to gain a deeper understanding of the various regulatory challenges that businesses encounter throughout their business journey.

For example: One frequent feedback was that users were unsure about the grants available to them or which ones they were eligible for.

In response, the team created an e-Adviser for Government Assistance. This is a tool to help businesses narrow down the relevant assistance schemes that they can apply for.

We want to be better – so give us feedback!

As we celebrate our 7th year, we are more committed than ever to keeping you — our most important stakeholder — at the centre of everything we do.

Your feedback is not just welcomed; it’s essential. So, here’s to another year of creating better, more inclusive experiences for all Singaporeans. Thank you for being an integral part of our journey towards a Smart Nation.