Dedicated to improving residents' quality of life, through digitization of accounts management and boost economic growth.
In today's world of technology, it's no secret that most services can be delivered online, and yet an overwhelming number of people still find themselves visiting their local municipality offices for services such as accounts statements, enquiries, and payments. This not only creates a logistical burden for the municipality, but it is also costly and time-consuming for residents. The problem is clear - there is a need for an efficient, cost-effective, and user-friendly way to deliver these services.
Our hypothesis for the RLM App is that by designing a user-friendly mobile application, Rustenburg residents will be able to access and manage their municipality accounts more easily and efficiently. We believe that the app will empower residents by giving them greater control over their accounts, allowing them to make payments, view statements, and report issues at their convenience.
Through our research, we have found that there is a demand for such an app among Rustenburg residents, and we believe that it will be well-received by the community. Overall, our hypothesis is that the RLM App will improve the customer experience for Rustenburg residents and help to modernize the municipality's service delivery.
The digitalization of municipal services presents new business opportunities and creates more job opportunities in Rustenburg. By discarding office stationery and transitioning to digital statements, the municipality can save on office supplies and rentals. The shift towards more digital services also means that the municipality can redirect its focus towards more field employees for infrastructure repairs and improvements.
With the RLM App, users can conveniently purchase electricity and city bus tickets, further streamlining city services. Overall, the RLM App provides benefits for both users and the municipality, ushering in a new era of digital innovation for Rustenburg.
We conducted brief on-site interviews with both potential users and staff members at the municipality offices. Our goal was to assess the services that are most in demand and whether or not they could be provided digitally, as well as to gauge interest in a self-service platform.
We also conducted a pop-up survey in which we asked potential users to indicate their preferences by answering yes or no to the following questions:
Are you interested in using an app to manage your municipality account(s)?
Would you like to use an app to report water, electricity outages, and other municipality-related problems?
Would you use a municipality app to read and upload your water and electricity meter readings?
The insights gained from our research indicate that the RLM App will be instrumental in reducing the traffic at municipality offices, as the majority of users (9 out of 10) only go there for accounts management and enquiries.
The implementation of digital services will create more job opportunities and entrepreneurship, rather than resulting in job losses.
Our survey revealed that:
90% of participants expressed a desire to use an app to manage their account(s).
100% would like a simple tap feature to report problems.
89% would use the app to read their meters.
"I have to take a day off work every month to visit the municipality either for incorrect meter readings or wrong power disconnection and really this can be discussed via phone or email, because a day off work cost me a lot."
To easily manage their municipality accounts and access statements anytime, anywhere.
To report problems related to water, electricity outages and other municipality related issues with just a few taps.
To read and upload their water and electricity meter readings easily through the app.
Limited access to internet or data.
Lack of digital literacy.
Concerns about the security of personal information.
Long waiting times and queues at municipality offices.
Limited access to municipality services outside of office hours.
Difficulty in navigating and understanding complex municipality account statements.
Our pre-research candidates requested a minimal, familiar, and user-friendly app. This meant that we needed to design a user interface that was not cluttered, but still included all the necessary features to help our users achieve their primary goals with ease.
Outlined below are some of the significant findings that we believe are noteworthy based on our research. Conducting additional research would possibly reveal additional valuable insights.
To ensure security, RLM will manage all security information. We have created a platform that allows homeowners to create an account with the assistance of the municipality office. They can then easily log in using a QR code. For users who cannot visit the municipality, they can verify their account ownership through Identity Verification.
The platform empowers users to manage their properties, including adding or reporting properties sold under their name. Users can easily access their property information such as plans and evaluation, and in case of any confusion, they can enquire directly with the respective department.
Given that the primary purpose of the RLM App is to enable users to manage their municipality accounts, we prioritized the "accounts" feature by placing it first on the homepage. Furthermore, we also provided users with the option to personalize their homepage based on their most frequently used features.
Designed and prototyped screens illustrating the concept of a mobile app with a hint of the tablet design
To improve the quality of living of residents of the city and help create more jobs in tech support.
