Marco Raffaello
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About me
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Designing a Proactive, AI-Driven Public Administration Website
User Research
End to end Product Design
UX/UI design and rapid prototyping
AI-testing
Overview
My role
Senior UX and Service Designer
My role covered end-to-end UX leadership: from interaction design and information architecture to user testing facilitation and design validation during development, ensuring consistency between user needs, service requirements, and technical implementation.
Timeline
2025 - 2026
Team
NTT DATA
Design, Strategy, Development
Outcome
An AI-driven website
An AI-driven Public Administration website supporting citizens in finding the services they are looking for.
MyCivis is the digital platform that provides access to all public services and welfare offered by Südtirol (Autonomous Province of Bolzano). It serves as the main entry point and digital backbone of the region’s public administration.
By leveraging AI as a guiding principle for the redesign, we created a bridge between citizens and public administration. This was not just a redesign, but a paradigm shift: citizens no longer need to search for services or navigate complex bureaucracy on their own. Instead, the platform understands users’ needs and proactively suggests relevant services and actions.
Südtirol has a population of around 500,000 people and three official languages. The platform provides access to more than 950 services.
This project is part of the Recovery EU plan to digitalise public administration. As a result, we operated within strict objectives and timelines, collaborating with a large, distributed team of providers across Italy.
956
Services offered by the Region
Services range from family welfare to financial support for businesses.
4
Languages available on the website
Due to its geographical position, Südtirol has three official languages
106.4K
Accesses to the website
All data on website visits are updated live on the homepage.
100.3K
Interactions with the MyCivis Assistant
All data on interaction with MyCivis are updated live on the homepage.
*Data displayed here are updated to April 2026.
Why a New Website, Now?
1999 - 2002
A first website of Südtirol was launched. Citizens did not interact with it, it was only representative for the region
1999 - 2002
A first website of Südtirol was launched. Citizens did not interact with it, it was only representative for the region
2009 - 2011
The thematic website is launched, searching is central
2019
The personal area is launched. Citizens have a personal area with all relevant information for citizens.
2026
The new MyCivis is launched.
A bridge between people and public administration based on Technology and collaboration
Approaching a Large and Complex Project
The project was developed using an agile and participatory approach, involving designers, developers, and key stakeholders.
We worked in iterative cycles that alternated between introducing new features, redesign activities, requirement gathering, development, and testing, up to the final release.
This model enabled faster decision-making and continuous service improvement, even in moments of high uncertainty, when requirements were not always fully available or clear. The design team successfully handled multiple redesign requests under pressure, ensuring the product evolved effectively.
The designing pillars that guided us
Needs oriented
Citizens are no longer expected to navigate complex public administration structures; instead, the administration understands their needs.
Transparency
AI is not the final goal but an accessible, understandable tool for citizens, avoiding complexity and processes that might be unclear.
Inclusivity
Communication is a public service. Complex and confusing interactions are transformed into clear, accessible, and even enjoyable experiences.
Systemic
The design system for the website is systemic and scalable, meaning it can be extended to other products that may become part of the ecosystem in the future.
A Proactive Portal: What You Need, Before You Search
Onboarding
Through this first step into his personal area, users can select services and areas of interest. By giving consent for proactivity, the AI can then accurately target relevant content.
Personal area
In his dedicated area, users can find updates on services and content relevant to them, including new calls, initiatives, and youth-focused programs.
Notification
Once users selects their preferred notification channels, staying up to date on system news and updates to their services of interest becomes effortless.
AI Assistant
Let’s imagine a user: Marta, who is the legal representative of her company. The AI helps her discover services that may be relevant to her. The AI assistant provides initial support by considering not only the data she shares, but also other potential needs
Suggested news
The AI helps users stay informed by suggesting the most relevant news based on their preferences, interests, and the needs of both themselves and their companies.
Talking with users: understanding needs and approach to AI
Alongside the design stream, a parallel and continuous user testing stream was conducted, involving citizens from the region and conducting interviews both in Italian and German. In total, we carried out three rounds of interviews that focused on: use of AI, user testing of some key areas, behavioural analysis of search patterns and user behaviour.
The design and testing streams were closely integrated, with continuous touchpoints and knowledge sharing between the two.
Interviews and sample
1
Session focused on usability
35 PARTICIPANTS
The sample was made of people of different ages. Most of them are frequent user of the website and have a good digital attitude.
MOSTLY FROM BOZEN
Most citizens involved in this research came from Bozen. We tried our best to involve as many participants from other parts of the region to have a more representative sample.
SECTIONS TESTED
Onboarding
Homepage (logged users)
Applications and application detail
1
Session focused on behavioral analysis
30 PARTICIPANTS
The sample was made of people of different ages. Most of them are frequent user of the website and have a good digital attitude. Half of the sample have experience with AI tools.
MOSTLY FROM BOZEN
Most citizens involved in this research came from Bozen. We tried our best to involve as many participants from other parts of the region to have a more representative sample.
SECTIONS TESTED
AI assistant
Key Insights
CITIZENS STRUGGLE WITH FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS
DESCRIPTION
Often, citizens struggle with finding the words to use to find the service they are searching. They relied on Google or other services where they found the correct name and then type it in the website.
ACTIONABLE
The AI assistant can make this experience smoother by directing citizens to the right service when they type some keywords or description of the service.
“I’m fairly comfortable using a computer, I can manage… but when I had to find something new, it wasn’t very straightforward. You need to use the right words and terminology, otherwise you’re stuck.”
A.R., 54
WHEN SUPPORT IS NEEDED, IT IS NOT EASY TO GET IN TOUCH
OBJECTIVE
When users need help finding a service or accessing additional information, they often struggle to get support. Speaking with someone is not always possible, which leads to frustration.
ACTIONABLE
AI acts as an extra layer of support, helping citizens find the information they’re looking for without having to rely on operators for every query.
“It’s often really hard to find someone to talk to in person, for several reasons: offices have limited opening hours and are often overwhelmed with requests.”
L.P, 40
Testing AI: a framework
Once the AI model was defined and made available to the team, we conducted a series of testing sessions. These sessions were not aimed at evaluating the model’s technical performance, but rather at identifying issues such as errors, inconsistencies in tone of voice, mismatches between queries and responses, and hallucinations.
To support this, we developed a framework of recurring prompts based on anticipated user behaviours and tested it across the most frequently used services.
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Services tested
EXAMPLES
“Newly graduated doctors”
“How much can I receive if I apply for the scholarship for newly graduated doctors?”
“Are there any incentives for newly graduated doctors?”
“I live at Bolzano Street 1—do I have access to any services?”
“Is there a number I can contact to talk to someone who can provide me information about scolarships for newly graduated doctors?”
PROMPTS
Keywords
We tested multiple keywords linked to one or more services
Complex service-related questions
Questions requesting specific information about a particular service
Exploratory questions (not tied to a specific service)
Broader questions not referring to a specific service
Questions including personal data
Queries containing personal information such as age, address, or fiscal code. The model was expected not to process or store this data and to clearly inform users that such information should not be shared
Questions about incomplete service information
Some service pages lacked complete data. In these cases, the model was expected to acknowledge the limitation, avoid hallucinations, and refrain from providing external links.
The new MyCivis: a proactive, integrated platform
Interacting with AI
MyCivis Homepage
Needs oriented
Transparency
AI ORIENTED
The landing page features a search bar as the primary interaction point of the website, allowing users to access the AI-powered search directly.
Needs oriented
Transparency
CONVERSATIONAL AI
Users can use the chat to find the service they need or gather information about available services.
Guidance
ACCESS TO THE SERVICE PAGE
The AI agent only provides links to internal pages and requested services, avoiding external sources to minimise hallucinations.
A dedicated and proactive personal area
MyCivis Personal Area
Needs oriented
Inclusivity
APPOINTMENTS
Appointments scheduled by users are listed on this page. They can also be accessed through the calendar.
Needs oriented
Inclusivity
UPDATES
Updates provide proactive reminders about upcoming deadlines, expiring payments, and support requests.
Needs oriented
Inclusivity
RECOMMENDED SERVICES AND NEWS
Services and news are recommended to users based on their needs and interactions with the website.
Support requests
MyCivis Support
Needs oriented
Transparency
MULTICHANNEL SUPPORT
Citizens can receive support through direct channels or by submitting a support form. If they choose the support form, they can track responses and updates from their personal area.
Needs oriented
Inclusivity
SUPPORTED BY AI
Step 3 asks users to describe their issue. After entering a description, the AI suggests a possible solution and relevant links, helping reduce unnecessary support requests.
Needs oriented
Transparency
MULTI-STEP PROCESS
Citizens who wish to submit a support request are guided through a series of steps, providing all the necessary information for operators and reducing processing time.
Marco Raffaello
Senior Product Designer