Reimagining Public Services

A Case Study on Improving the Austrian AMS through UX & Service Design

If you find yourself unemployed in Austria you will interact with the AMS (Public Employment Service Austria). It is the legally mandated, state operated, single point of contact for all unemployment and income supports, state welfare benefits and employment services. Interfacing with the AMS is done via its online e-government platform; the 'eAMS'.

With a recent proposal by the Ministry for Labour to move all interaction with the AMS to an entirely digital format, this research shows that there is a clear and pressing need for improvements to this digital service.

Using a mixture of desk research, user interviews and focus groups I came to the conclusion that the eAMS does not meet currently meet the needs of those who must use this 'e-government' service, and began explorations into how to improve this service using a mixture of co-design workshops, needs analysis and prototyping.