As we continue building a digital-first Maldives, one truth has become increasingly clear: public services must be designed with people at the centre. 

It’s not just about putting services online. It’s also about making them easier, faster, and more inclusive for everyone who needs to use them.

At the heart of this transformation is human-centred design. This is an approach to design that focuses on real people, their needs, and how they interact with government systems in their everyday lives. 

It is this philosophy that drives how we build and improve oneGov. So let’s explore what it means and how it guides our work.

Putting People First

Traditionally, government processes have been designed from the inside out. That is, they reflect how the government is structured, not how people actually live and work. 

Citizens often find themselves navigating a maze of departments, forms, and requirements, just to get something simple done.

With human-centred design, we turn that thinking around. We start by listening to users, the citizens, residents, and businesses who rely on public services. We try to understand their goals, pain points, and expectations. 

Then, we build digital services around their real-life experiences, not just our internal processes.

This results in services that feel more intuitive, take less time to complete, and don’t require a degree in bureaucracy to understand.

Testing with Real Users

A key part of this approach is continuous testing and feedback. Before launching any service on oneGov, we conduct hands-on testing with real users, ranging from those in Malé to those in outer atolls. 

We observe how people interact with the system, where they get stuck, and what they find confusing. This feedback directly shapes how the service is designed. 

Sometimes it means rewording confusing instructions. It can also mean changing the layout entirely. Every small change is made with the same goal in mind: making the service simpler and easier to use.

Importantly, this is not a one-time effort. Even after a service goes live, we continue gathering feedback and making improvements. In our view, design isn’t just a phase. It is an ongoing commitment to better service.

Accessibility and Inclusion

A human-centred approach also means recognising that not everyone interacts with digital services in the same way. That’s why accessibility is a core principle in the oneGov design process. 

We consider a wide range of users. This includes those with limited internet access, those with disabilities, and those more comfortable in Dhivehi. 

We believe that inclusive design is good design, and we are actively working towards making oneGov more usable for everyone.

This includes things like:

• Ensuring services work well on mobile devices

• Making interfaces screen-reader friendly

• Offering content in plain language

• Developing a Dhivehi version of the platform

Our goal is to remove barriers to public service application, not to create new ones.

Building Trust Through Simplicity

When services are hard to use, it’s not just frustrating, it also erodes public trust. People begin to feel like their government isn’t built for them.

By designing services that are clear, helpful, and easy to complete, we aim to rebuild that trust. We want people to feel confident when they use oneGov. We want them to know what to expect, how long things will take, and what to do if something goes wrong.

This also means being transparent about what we collect, why we collect it, and how their data is protected. Simplicity doesn’t just make services better, it makes them more trustworthy too.

Success in Action

The oneGov platform is delivering real, measurable improvements to how citizens interact with government services. By adopting a human-centred design approach, we’re making public services simpler, faster, and more accessible. This approach focuses on streamlining processes and removing unnecessary steps to create a more efficient and user-friendly experience.

One of the key improvements is in how we handle application forms. In the past, if an error was found in any part of the form, the entire submission would be rejected, requiring citizens to fill out a new form from scratch. With oneGov, we’ve made it easier. Now, only the specific fields with errors need to be amended, reducing the need for a full resubmission. This small change saves significant time for citizens and helps them complete their applications more quickly.

We’ve also simplified the application process by ensuring that forms only ask for the information that’s truly necessary. This eliminates redundant questions, making it easier for citizens to provide the right information without delay. As a result, we’ve reduced errors, saved time, and improved the overall efficiency of service delivery.

In addition to this, we’ve streamlined services that previously had overlapping processes. For example, tasks such as applying, renewing, changing, or cancelling permits were once treated as separate services, each with its own process. Now, we’ve brought these functions together under a single service, making it easier for citizens to complete what they need in one go. This change not only simplifies the citizen experience but also improves efficiency for the agencies involved.

We’ve also worked to improve services that were previously bundled together in ways that caused confusion. By separating them and clarifying their processes, we’ve reduced the number of documents applicants need to provide and made it clearer which actions are required at each step.

These improvements demonstrate the power of rethinking government services from the citizen’s perspective. By simplifying processes and reducing duplication, we’re creating a better experience for everyone. With oneGov, we are making public services faster, easier, and more responsive to the needs of the people they serve.

Design That Grows With Us

The Maldives is changing, and so are the needs of our people. Human-centred design gives us the flexibility to keep up.

It allows us to adapt services as situations change, whether it’s a shift in policy, a new public health need, or feedback from a citizen in a remote atoll. With oneGov, we’re building a platform that grows alongside the nation. A platform that is responsive, inclusive, and always improving.

We’re not just digitising services. We’re rethinking how they should work from the ground up, with the people who use them at the centre.