Enhance human diversity to improve user experience usability test for a public administration website

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, says “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect” [1]. Today, the accessibility of digital content is an increasingly relevant issue, especially if you consider that the European Union's Digital Strategy aims, by 2030, to achieve the digitalization of 100% of fundamental public services and to guarantee 100% of citizens access to their online medical records [2]. As long as more and more daily activities are delegated to a digital sphere, it is essential that all citizens, regardless of their digital skills, abilities, and propensity to use modern technologies, are enabled to interact with these systems. The study aims therefore to enhance digital usability and accessibility by analyzing and testing a public administration website, demonstrating that compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) [3] is a necessary but not sufficient assumption for the development of an inclusive World Wide Web. Thanks to the teamwork with all the professionals involved in the development of a web service – UX/UI designer, software engineer, web designer, software architect and the CEO of the company that provides the service – and thanks to the involvement of end users, the study managed to create a report of the main accessibility and usability issues of the online desk for Ligurian citizens, laying the foundations for the second phase of the research which involves the restyling of the site and its optimization.