An interesting comment below that I’ve pulled out because I think it needs wider viewing:
Interesting that success is still being measured in the number of services online – so what was the 100th service, the Gateway web site makes not mention of it – it was last updated with “What’s New” in March 05 and the list of services available on Gateway looks no way near 100 – sounds like people’s definition of what a service is and what is really a useable service by the public are something different – also, you say 7.5 million people registered on Gateway – sounds a little far feteched to think that over 7m people have logged onto Gateway and registered and then the uptake of services is so poor – typical government dept thinking to use stats such as number of services and number of registered users to demonstrate some measure of success – why not publish how many people are actually enrolled for each service and how many transactions go through each service on a monthly basis – bring real visibility to the success of Gateway
I agree that the metrics aren’t great, but they are what they are for now. But, it’s pretty harsh to say the other numbers aren’t published. I’ve commented on them several times here (for instance).
eDt’s October report, which contains every number you might want I suspect – and far more than I have ever seen from any other government department – is here, on the Cabinet Office website. I suspect November’s will be up any day now if it’s not already.
The numbers tell the story and they’re presented openly and honestly – you can see transaction flow year by year since the launch in 2001. You will also see that the Inland Revenue (now HMRC) can lay claim to the most used services and that other services are far behind. You can see what’s being used and what’s not. Draw your conclusions and comment here – constructively or not. Adoption of services is a big issue that needs to be addressed – I’m not sure that the population is “not ready” so much as not aware, not convinced or not enthused.
Fascinating .. the numbers reveal that if you take Revenue&Customs out of the equation, then the rest of eGov is a complete flop .. enrolment and transactions volumes are very poor and the types of services being offered are very low value (scary to see negative enrolment numbers !!!) .. why does every local authority offer Council Tax services .. what a waste of time .. a classic annual event that is more hastle to do online than phoning your bank or writing a cheque to setup the monthly debit .. the reason I keep ranting on about search is that is what people want and need .. the ability to quickly and easily find the information they need .. NOT the ability to check my council tax account .. what the government has created through the use of targets is a behaviour in depts to put any service, regardless of value, online .. until value enhancing services are offered, uptake will never occur .. your illustration of paying your congestion charge is a classic and brilliant example – very simple, very quick without the need to register with a central authority, get a userid, get a pin etc etc – remove the red tape, focus on simplicity, deliver value and uptake will soar !