7. SERVICE USERS: EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS
7.1 Overview
This chapter of the report presents an analysis of data derived from telephone interviews with service users of the Scottish iDTV Pilot. The interviews explored service users' experiences and perceptions of the pilot service. Two service users were interviewed. The presentation of service user research findings under topic headings reflects the structure of the topic schedule agreed with the PAG. The service user interview topic schedule is presented at Appendix F. More detailed information about the process of completing the service user interviews is contained in chapter 2.
The main findings for this part of the report are that:
- Despite efforts to recruit users to participate in the research (documented in chapter 2), the data discussed is derived from just two service users who cannot be taken as representative of the wider user base
- Both respondents have a high level of familiarity with and use of iDTV services generally
- Both can only recall that information hosted in the pilot which was pertinent to their own local area - Dumfries and Galloway
- Only one made a return visit
- While content was judged to be useful, it was perceived as incomplete when compared to information available from alternative sources, such as, the Internet
- Respondents felt that iDTV is best suited to interactive services rather than for information provision
- Both viewed iDTV as a potentially important addition to complement other electronic services channels
7.2 Interviewee Details
The individuals who agreed to take part in the service user interviews were identified as users through being entrants in the competition included in Dumfries and Galloway Council's section of the pilot. Interviews took place on Thursday 7 July 2005. One interviewee was male and one female. Both were in their early forties. Respondent opinion is attributed to 'respondent A' or 'respondent B'.
7.3 Experience of iDTV
Both interviewers reported that they were early adopters of iDTV, having subscribed to Sky Digital when the service was first offered to them. Neither could recall when this was. Their motivation for adopting iDTV was that it would provide them access to a wider range of broadcast channels at no greater expense. Neither interviewee identified a wish to use interactive services as motivation for adoption.
Both interviewees were clear about the distinction between services available through the 'red button', which are associated with programme content, and services available through the interactive button, which are not generally associated with programme content, but related to interactive services.
Both users found navigation through menus using the handset to be easy. Neither had considered purchasing a keyboard, or knew the cost of a keyboard. Both also had access to the Internet. Nether used Teletext based services. Both preferred the Internet as an information channel, and both found interactions and transactions on the Internet to be simpler and more convenient than iDTV.
7.4 Using the Pilot
Neither interviewee can recall precisely when they looked at the pilot. Respondent A reported that their first visit occurred before the service was officially launched in September 2004. Respondent A came to look at the service as a result of being employed by a company that provides digital television services. This respondent had been involved with discussions on behalf of his company with the 21 st Century Government Unit around possible participation in an iDTV project. Respondent B had moved to Dumfries and Galloway during the pilot period, and found the service while browsing for local information.
Accessibility and Duration
Both found it quite easy to find the pilot. Respondent A made one visit which lasted around ten minutes. Respondent B made two visits of 'a few' minutes duration each. Both visited the pilot during the daytime. Respondents only recalled looking at the information from Dumfries and Galloway Council. Nether recall any information from any other content provider.
Usability
Nether respondent could remember the content in sufficient detail to report their opinion on usability. Neither remembers being particularly impressed or frustrated by navigation, page design, lack of specific information required, or speed of page upload. They had no recollection of font colours or sizes or template design.
Usefulness
Respondent B recalls being pleased at having seen content relevant to the local area, and commented that the content appeared to be useful. The respondent remembered information on local events. The respondent did not write any information down, discuss it with anyone else, or use it in any way, and commented that s/he knew where it was if s/he needed it.
Respondent A was less sure on what the content had been about, other than that it was based on events in the area and had featured a competition which s/he had entered. The respondent recalls that s/he felt the information was scant in detail and not likely to be a complete representation of what was going on in the area. S/he commented that iDTV was a far poorer source of information than the Internet. S/he commented that iDTV information often highlighted small bits of information rather than giving access to a wide range, and was typically lacking in depth and detail.
Interactivity
Both users felt that the main benefit of iDTV was being able to access locally-based interactive services rather than in providing access to public information. Neither felt that iDTV was a suitable platform for just providing information. Neither was able to make any comment about the extent of interaction provided by the service, other than that they were glad to be able to participate in a competition.
7.5 Motivators and Inhibitors
Both respondents reported that additional costs for accessing iDTV services were a disincentive to their use of these services. Neither reported that they remember whether there was a charge involved in using the Scottish pilot system.
Both described the use of interactive services via iDTV as a solitary activity which was unsuited to family or group use because such use reflected the preferences of an individual rather than a group. Respondent A commented that s/he was the only member of the family who would consider pressing the interactive button as the other members valued television programmes over interactive services. Respondent B reported that other members of the family used interactive services separately, for example, for playing games or entering the lottery.
Both thought that iDTV would be a good medium for certain transactions. Both felt that certain transactions would be more valued than others, for example, the ability to book an appointment with a doctor was valued over being able to make online council tax payments. Both viewed iDTV as a potential supplementary channel to other ways of accessing public services. Both preferred face-to-face or telephone communication, but have communicated with public agencies by email in the past and would do so again in the future.
7.6 Comparisons with Other iDTV Service Users
The limited evidence of service users' experiences and perceptions of the iDTV pilot make a detailed comparison with other iDTV pilots and the 2003 Lambda research inappropriate. The evidence base presented in chapter 3, section 3.7, provides a general overview of service user attitudes towards iDTV.
The views expressed by the two service users interviewed are not dissimilar to those recorded in the broader emergent evidence base. In particular, evidence suggests that service users with previous iDTV experience are comfortable with the technology and find it easy to use. Also, it is evident that service users are typically interested in local information and in being able to undertake transactions, such as booking appointments and making payments. This was the case for both the INtouch kirklees evaluation (Smith and Webster, 2003a, 2003b) and the research conducted for the National iDTV Project Board ( RBA-Research, 2004). Also, in line with other research, the service users recognised the potential importance of being able to access services through iDTV and recognised that iDTV will complement other service delivery mechanisms.