Personalized e-service to enhance digital customer experience

Senate Properties (Senaatti) in Finland is a state-owned real estate expert and workspace partner. Senaatti is responsible for state-owned properties. They maintain and develop state property assets and take care of cultural and historical sites. Additionally, they collaborate with government agencies to create shared work environments that support their operations and are responsible for their maintenance. 
Senaatti’s operations involve several different digital services used by their customers. However, the services were separate, and each required a separate login.  

The project’s goal was to clarify the user journey and create the most straightforward and easy way to interact with their services. At the same time, the various services and systems were to be integrated into Senaatti’s website, making the site a “home” and the primary place to interact with Senaatti. The target groups for the services included both users of the spaces, professionals managing the spaces, and service providers and partners. 

To ease the user journey and meet the identified challenges in the user experience, we designed a new e-service that could be accessed straight from their website.  The e-service is easily found in the same place as other Senaatti’s content, and the login works with SSO (Single Sign-On). Using SSO allows users to move between different systems with a single login without having to log in to each service separately.
 
The service definition was done together with Senaatti. First, the user paths were created through workshops, followed by a wireframe model detailing the necessary functionalities. Finally, the visual appearance of the service was derived from the wireframes. The design was based on elements and functions already in use on Senaatti’s website to ensure a seamless user experience between the site and the customer service. 

The service was also personalized for each user, with views based on user roles and permissions created behind the login – users only see the services relevant to them and can easily access the systems they are authorized to use. 

The start of technical development was preceded by performance testing conducted on the existing site as part of the project, providing baseline data for technical implementation choices and highlighting areas to consider. 

The technical implementation was carried out in four two-week sprints, each working on a predefined part of the service. Several different stakeholders were involved in the project, who were actively informed throughout. The division of responsibilities established at the project’s start was crucial, clarifying roles in communication and project execution.  

The customer service was decided to be built as a separate site within Senaatti’s existing WordPress multisite installation. Utilizing WordPress allows for smooth maintenance and further development alongside other Senaatti sites. 

The necessary views and authentication were customized for the service. An integration was built for authentication with Senaatti’s access management, bringing in user information and system-specific rights and roles. The interface created a list of “cards” for different services, presenting basic service information, possible contact details, and a direct link to the service. 

Additionally, the service was designed to display disruption notices, embedded forms, and other necessary links. The maintenance of the service and its views was made flexible, allowing Senaatti to manage and update almost the entire site themselves, enhancing content management and maintenance. 

At the beginning of the project, a security assessment was conducted to review potential risk situations in the service’s use and how to prepare for them. Additionally, a test plan was created during the design phase, according to which the service was tested by both Senaatti and Knowit. Security was emphasized throughout the project, and all solutions were implemented with security as a priority. At the end of the project, the implementation was audited for security by a third party before launch. 

The new customer service was launched in spring 2024, and since its release, it has had over a thousand monthly users.

Senaatti continuously aims to develop its services, and with the launch, a custom-configured Piwik Pro installation was introduced in the customer service. The data collected by Piwik and the customized configuration for the service allow for anonymous monitoring of service usage and further development towards an even more user-centric direction. 

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