Insights

Goals/questions & answers

Understand needs/concerns of other software providers with regards to the editor & what it would take to switch to our editor.

Features all software providers have

  • Layout following corporate identity & basic layout abilities in editor

  • Customizable text blocks that are annotated (not the text)

  • Customizable sjablonen

  • Variables in text (might be automatically validated)

  • Ability to copy/paste from Word/Excel

General insights & themes

InsightSolutions / related product featuresSaid by

Theme: eenvormigheid, correctness & laagdrempeligheid

Eenvormigheid, following the corporate identity of a city council, in notules, uitreksels... is of utmost importance. For 3 reasons/target groups;

  • Eenvormigheid is important for publication online & how it will be perceived by citizens

  • Eenvormigheid makes it easy for gemeenteraadsleden to have an effective meeting.

  • For intenal city workers to know what is expected from them (cfr. vergunningen)

The consequence of lacking eenvormigheid or correctness is (1) less efficient meetings (2) blame and comments will travel through the gemeenteraad all the way up to the Secretariaatsleden. (3) Support requests for software providers

Eenvormigheid following corporate identity translates to usage of (1) custom styles, which means fixed lay-out following their own corporate identity of

  • Koppen (titles, fonts, sizes)

  • Bullet lists (including specification of which specific symbol to use on which level of a bullet list)

  • Numbered lists (including specification of which specific number/follow-up number to use on which level of a bullet list)

  • How articles should be listed

(2) Specification of whitespace (alineas) (3) Page breaks; ability to specificaty where the page should break.

(3) Visual corporate identity elements like logo, orgaan

CEVI, Remmicomm Mechelen, Ghent, St-Gilllis-Waas

Users write language mistakes that need to be corrected prior to publication of all agenda points Users make lay-out mistakes that need to be corrected prior to publication of all agenda points

  • Spelling editor (be it in browser or in the editor)

GreenValley & Cipal Laarne (layout-corrections) Ghent (spelling editor)

City councils use other tools prior/during using the software & editor. Upon copy/past'ing from other tools things might go wrong and lay-out might "break".

User's workflow is to

  • copy paste from Word

  • copy paste from Excel

  • copy paste from HTML pages

  • copy/paste pictures

  • Easily allow copy/paste from Word/Excel (and transform into the set corporate identity

  • City councils have written down guidelines such as disallowing inserting pictures & adding in attachments

CEVI, Remmicomm Laarne Ghent

Adding pictures to the right place in the text is helpful for vergunningen. Not being able to add pictures in the text, but as attachment decreases the quality of decisions as it's not placed near the relevant text.

  • Insert pictures in the editor

  • Inserting pictures in text can cause issues in editors & on publication

Ghent (pictures in text) Mechelen (pictures in attachments because of software constraints) Laarne (pictures in text)

Users struggle with change & ease of use is important

CEVI experimented with another editor functionality, didn't go through with it because it wasn't "laagdrempelig" genoeg.

Greenvalley, Remmicomm, CEVI Laarne, Ghent

There's a fine balance between giving people freedom and choices (with Word for instance) and correctness/reducing time needed to correct (taking away options)

CEVI Laarne

Theme; collaboration, correction, oversight

On (some) agenda points, different people need to collaborate and collect different data pieces. For instance, fixed procedures like granting visums/advies... This can go wrong content-wise (if information is missing leading to secretariaten having to chase other people) or lay-out wise (if pieces of data are inserted through over-writable placeholders, if there's not a clear flow an)

  • Variables & placeholders are signaled in a text

  • Automatic validation if variables are filled out

  • Free text variables can be overwritten with other info

CEVI, Remmicomm Laarne, Mechelen

Secretariaten might correct information or lay-out procedures in the software to ensure quality. They are "end responsible". Half or more of the input of others needs to be corrected, taking 0.5 - 1 day of time of 1 FTE

  • Full flow of people approving

  • "vrijgeven" van agendapunten can only happen prior correction & approval

  • Right system who can create which agenda points

  • Ability to see Alinea markering

CEVI, RemmiComm Mechelen, Laarne, Gent, Heusden-Zolder, St Gillis Waas

Users want to fill out as least information as possible

  • Every field only needs to be filled out once (and is taken over automatically where needed)

  • Variables being input once and filled out in all places in text

CEVI Laarne

Usersmight spend some time drafting their text. They might work in other editors if there's a risk they might lose their progress in the editor of software

  • Auto save

  • Ability to collaborate on the same document/field

St Gillis Waas

Theme; Customisation

Secretariaten want to make it easy for other people to fill out the necessary info. They create this ease of use by providing specific structures per city council "orgaan"; customisation of the structure of an agenda point/besluit/toelichting themselves, depending on their needs. If this is not possible

  • people providing input need to do more work

  • People correcting need to do more work

  • quality of decision & publication might go down

  • Sjablonen (City of Ghent has 800 active, up-to-date Sjablonen, Duffel 200)

  • Even in own embeddable, Duffell is using titles to make separate fields

GreenValley, CEVI, Remmicomm Laarne, Ghent (800), Mechelen, St-Gillis-Waas, Duffel

Data is linked, through the different text fields, NOT the content in the field (for instance; if there's a field "juridische context" it gets labeled with that data)

GreenValley, CIPAL

General insights & workflow

City councils create PDF reports, next to HTML files, to put in their own archives.

CIPAL

Software provider needs & asks

Quality: Software providers want to use external tools, only if they are correct, consistent and UX-friendly.

CEVI is no longer using Vlaamse Codex because search was too difficult, too slow. CIPAL noticed incorrect data in de Vlaamse Codex

GreenValley, CEVI

SLA's: Software providers want guarantees that products will be maintained, their issues will be resolved and want clear communication & release notes

GV, Cipal

Education: Software providers lack knowledge of open data & legal context and look at ABB to assist

CEVI doen't know what "besluiten" are meldingsplichtig

Greenvalley, CEVI

Persona: Other users & organen use the software as well for different goals and tool cannot be made more complex

GreenValley

Software providers want to know/see the roadmap of GN

GreenValley, Remmicomm

Non negotionables / nice to haves / concerns

We asked software providers directly what are non negationables if they were to switch editors;

WhatCountWho

Basic layout (opsommingen) + eenvormigheid

3

CIPAL, CEVI, Remmicomm

Copy paste from Word

3

GV, CIPAL, Remmicomm

Copy paste from Excel

3

GV, CEVI, Remmicomm

Spelling control

3

GV, CIPAL, Remmicomm

Ability to write plugins

2

GV, CIPAL

Placeholders

2

CIPAL, Remmicomm

"Model besluiten"

1

CIPAL

Stack compability

1

CIPAL

SLA; guarantee that issues will be fixed & security

1

CIPAL

Ability to correct before publication

1

CEVI

Add pictures in text

1

Remmicomm

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