The success of Singapore’s digital government is no secret. This small Southeast Asian country has long been one of the leading examples of a nimble country serving a small population beyond its demographic weight.
98% of homes are digitally connected, and more than 99% of government transactions are “completed end-to-end digitally.”
Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) is a pioneer in delivering digital government services and interoperable government technology stacks that cut across key moments of life and daily life.
I first spoke to Gabriyel Wong, director of Moments of Life at GovTech Singapore, who was moderating a panel discussion on government super apps. There, Mr. Wong spoke about his LifeSG, a “Swiss Army Knife” of digital government designed to serve citizens and residents through their daily lives: birth, parenting, death, and everything in between.
First launched in mid-2018 as an app to support parents with children under 6 years old – Originally called Moments of Life – LifeSG currently offers 200 services, from applying for social housing to confirming medical appointments and reporting local government issues.
During the panel discussion, Wong talked about how changing user expectations played a key role in his team’s app creation. He reminded the audience that many of us start our day in an app by scrolling through Facebook or watching YouTube, and said, “A well-maintained website can work just as well, but our purpose… The goal is to reduce the user’s cognitive load as much as possible.”
I recently interviewed Wong again, and this idea of capturing current trends was again central. When we spoke, Singapore had recently introduced a government chatbot powered by LLM, making it one of the first countries in the world to do so.
“Where AI acts as a force for good”: Singapore is ahead of the curve
Artificial intelligence in Singapore is not new. The country’s National AI Strategy envisions Singapore “where AI acts as a force for good” and is used “to improve and empower people and business,” and GovTech Singapore uses AI in its work developed by Matching platform from 2021.
But just like LifeSG, Singapore is ahead of the curve when it comes to LLM-driven chatbots. Built in conjunction with Google’s Vertex AI and Microsoft Azure’s OpenAI service, the bot helps solve the user’s initial challenge, “deciphering his LifeSG user’s intent by recommending relevant services” To do.
After converting all 88 government chatbots to LLM-based systems, the GovTech team is looking to develop “transaction-based chatbots that allow end users to fill out forms and book rooms in community spaces.” doing.
In our interview with Wong, we want to dig behind these use cases to find out what is enabling GovTech’s continued success in staying ahead of the curve. The answer seems to lie in creating a culture of serendipity and a continuous growth mindset.
The former is developed through innovative teaming practices, sharing technical architecture, and creating spaces for collaborative ideation.
The Smart Nation Fellows program is a hallmark of GovTech Singapore’s commitment to multidisciplinary teaming, offering “mid-career private sector technologists” three to six months to co-develop digital and engineering solutions within government. We offer working opportunities.
Engineers will be paired with experienced staff to learn from each other’s backgrounds and help them deal with the “frustration of working in bureaucracy” such as the procurement process.
Community of practice forums and internal “open source”
Mr Wong said GovTech Singapore also “deploys teams to ministries to identify opportunities to address product challenges” and has community of practice forums across government to help civil servants stay on top of ongoing digital efforts. He said he is trying to make it possible.
One of the reasons these community of practice forums work so well is GovTech Singapore’s famous Tech Stack. That means common infrastructure, standardized development tools, and reusable code being deployed across government to power things like Singpass digital ID and digital wallet module GovWallet.
Over the past two years, the government has consistently pursued an “inner source” strategy. This is the cultivation of internal open source practices to break down project silos and make it easier for developers to find “off-the-shelf” or “off-the-shelf” components. …You no longer have to develop everything from scratch using custom code. ”
Wong said there will be “cross-sharing of best practices and source code,” as well as “government-wide design standards, design thinking processes, and service journey design with stakeholders.”
Efforts to continually incorporate ideas and common technology components from outside the public sector include “internal ‘ideathons’ to encourage team members to try out creative ideas and collaborate across different teams.” It is complemented by “use”.
The Community of Practice forum is one space where these conversations can take place, but the Singapore Government Developer Portal provides a “one-stop resource hub for government and private sectors to collaborate and collaborate,” along with brownbag sessions and meetups. There is also an up. -Create solutions for citizens and businesses. ”
Whole of Government (WOG) Growth Mindset
In addition to his role at GovTech Singapore, Wong is also an avid writer and runs a Medium blog. Her recent articles provide a framework for identifying user problems and a guide to identifying whether your organization is product-driven.
He told me that government employees across the agency are encouraged to “develop keen observational skills,” which is also the goal of this blog. “Cultivating a rhythm of regular reflection is something we encourage our teams to do as part of developing a growth mindset,” he says, adding that “a progressive and growth mindset is always fostered at GovTech.” told me.
This kind of thinking also seems to permeate GovTech Singapore’s approach to user engagement, which is at the heart of its digital development strategy.
The breadth of their work in this field is astonishing. Mr Wong cited initiatives such as citizen roadshows and exhibitions, feedback through the LifeSG app and website, in-depth interviews, surveys and task-based user testing “with a diverse audience of Singaporeans and permanent residents”. I am.
The government also utilizes an end-user community group called Tech Kaki, which was established in 2016 to encourage citizen participation in the development of GovTech Singapore’s products and services.
The cumulative impact of all these outlets leaves governments determined to continually learn and adapt their products, even with seemingly small adjustments. LifeSG Users In one of his tests, Wong’s team discovered that some users were unable to book barbecue spots. Therefore, the agency has consolidated all barbecue reservations.
Adjusting the barbecue booking process may seem like a small thing, but it is truly a testament to the growth mindset that has been the basis of GovTech Singapore’s success.
More analytics, more opportunities with AI and WOGAA
Looking to the future, as AI becomes more integrated into Singapore government practices, it offers clear opportunities for user engagement. Singapore already has a Whole of Government Application Analytics (WOGAA) platform.
Launched in 2018, the platform enables civil servants to access useful data points to make data-informed decisions and improve digital services. Approximately 100 government agencies currently use the platform.
Broader and more advanced analytics, outlier detection, and better data visualization capabilities are likely to transform Singapore’s backend capabilities.
But my main conclusion after my interview with Mr. Wong is that whether it’s pursuing more data than ever before or fostering collaboration across the agency and among users, we must continue to learn. None of this would be possible without an underlying culture of an agency obsessed with improvement. community.