Abstract

Implementing user experience (UX) methodologies within government settings is both possible and powerful – but fraught with systemic and cultural complexities. This report presents insights from the redesign of a government intranet for a prominent Australian emergency services organisation, using a human-centred design approach grounded in the Double Diamond framework. The research reveals a series of challenges: bureaucracy, opinion bias, overwhelming content volume with minimal organisational value, a governance paradox where design rules are desired but selectively applied, a disconnect in engagement from key stakeholders, and the impact of a design by committee approach. While these challenges were significant, they did not hinder progress; rather, they paved the way for valuable opportunities for UX practitioners. The study demonstrated UX methods can be used to enhance organisational self-awareness, governance can be restructured to support – not hinder – usability, and sustained stakeholder engagement can be achievable with the right methods and framing. The findings also highlight a broader lesson: although government environments often present greater resistance to change, user experience practices can serve as powerful catalysts when thoughtfully aligned with institutional constraints.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

3-1-2026

Volume

21

Publication Title

Computers in Human Behavior Reports

Publisher

Elsevier

School

School of Arts and Humanities

RAS ID

88809

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Comments

Pelham, S., Jung, J., & Kueh, C. (2026). User experience (UX) meets bureaucracy: Lessons from a government intranet prototype. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 21, 100946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2026.100946

Download

Share

 
COinS
 

Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1016/j.chbr.2026.100946