Websites of Government Agencies

Many people told me that they had a difficult time in applying for passes at the website of the Ministry of Manpower. I recently encountered a lot of difficulty in making a submission. The website was designed from the perspective of MOM but was not friendly to the general public.

The difficulties include the following:
- hassle of getting the PIN
- a lot of detail to be entered into one form (from the employee and from the employer).

Some common sense solution include the following:
- allow the applicant (i.e. person to be employed) and employer to enter their details separately
- simplify the process of getting a PIN
- allow one PIN to be used for all services in MOM, instead of separate PINs for different types of applications.

I encountered similar difficulties in using the website of IRAS. They seem to be advised by the same consultants who approach the design from the perspective of the agency and not the general public.

I like other readers to share their experience in using the websites of government agencies.

Tan Kin Lian