The trade-off between usability and security in the context of eGovernment

Alshamsi, Abdulla Juma Abdulla Ali

Abstract

Electronic government (e-government) implements a wide range of online services that are supported by the latest information communication technology (ICT) and accessible by devices that have great mobility in delivering services to citizens. The ongoing rapid advancements of these portable devices make user centred service design more challenging and complex as citizens’ demands, needs and preferences are varied and become more complicated over time. Also, existing research reveals that e-government still experiencing the challenge of creating better users’ interaction in terms of accessing online information and using electronic services. Among a variety of reasons for this challenge, usability and security have been recognised in previous research to be the main reasons in users’ decisions to use e-government services and need to be investigated. In addition, to the limited attention given to users’ preferences and human-centred design guidelines, creates more unusable and unsecure services.
This research attempts to investigate the trade-off between usability and security from a user perspective, in order to understand how users, perceive the usability and security of e-government services by focusing on three elements of e-government. The research investigates three aspects related to e-government services, when new service being introduced, new devices being integrated, and new technology adopted. Each research study examines one of these aspects to explore how users or citizens perceive them in term of usability and security. By conducting these three studies, the researcher seeks a clear and comprehensive picture of users’ attitudes, opinions and preferences, and a rich insight into users’ needs. This research tries to explain user requirements for new services, devices and technology implemented in e-government settings, in terms of usability and security features. A mixed methods strategy, using quantitative and qualitative methods, is used capture users’ experiences and attitudes to the use of e-government services in terms of usability and security. These methods help us understand the three, related, aspects of e-government through the eyes of the participants rather than in categories predetermined by the researcher. Therefore, a questionnaire survey is used, with open-ended questions, and focus group research. A broader landscape view on the present state of users’ perception and attitudes about the trade-off between usability and security was studied and reported according to the findings from the three studies. The three studies findings and the literature review help the researcher to propose a set of usability and security guidelines to improve e-government services, which in turn would improve e-services usability and security aspects. The proposed set of guidelines complement the general usability guidelines or heuristics by considering user concerns and insights. The author presented some recommendation based on the findings of each study. These guidelines can be useful to guide designers to develop a usable and more secure e-services that match with users’ requirements.

Citation

Alshamsi, A. J. A. A. (2019). The trade-off between usability and security in the context of eGovernment. (Thesis). Keele University. Retrieved from https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/415214

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2023
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/415214
• Award Date: 2019-12