The old website of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay (MIEM) linked each one of the executing units, which had different designs and content, and provided a query service called Red MIEM (MIEM Network) which was initially restricted to certain entities and now is open to the public to make technical queries online.
According to the Information Center Manager, Patricia Romero, "
the problem was that our website wasn't up to today's dynamics and, in terms of communication, changes are more than dynamic. If something is not updated at the right time, it becomes obsolete." The Information Center at the MIEM wanted to achieve the communication agility provided by the TICs.
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In the past we had a 'rigid' website, to call it somehow. Our visitors could query some information online but there was no interactivity among all the areas managed by the MIEM; our objective was to communicate with people in a more professional manner." This objective was the basis for the project aimed at providing users with adequate and timely information, as well as improving how queries received through the portal are handled.
A portal had to be built that was capable of integrating all those information needs with the knowledge background and structure of the Web. This portal, above all, had to be dynamic and support the services provided to citizens. GXportal was selected to undertake this ambitious project because it can be adapted to changes and is able to maintain scalable portals by easily loading content data.
Today, through the MIEM portal built with GXportal, citizens can have their enquiries answered without going in person to the corresponding office –which can be troublesome for people who live away from the capital city- because they now have a wealth of online information which is organized following usability parameters that make reading more intuitive and information more accessible. In addition, people can use other communication channels to receive an answer within 24 -72 hours. Among other GXportal tools, the Information Center uses the publisher as well as the Newsletter, queries and FAQ. GXportal's ease of use is combined with the reduction of development and maintenance costs and acceleration of time-to-market.
New logos and the creation of a new portal were part of the strategy to unify the MIEM's institutional image. A consistent design was used throughout the portal and all the websites of the executing units related to the MIEM were centralized, thus optimizing how the administration communicates with citizens –and vice versa- making it more effective and measurable.
However, they didn't know how the big change would be received, not only by the users who were expecting it but also by the employees who would work with the new portal. The teamwork developed by the designers, and the GXportal and MIEM teams was very positive.
Training was provided to the employees, who quickly adopted the tool without difficulties.
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This success was made possible by the fact that everything worked and we could involve everyone. The first stage has been very positive; for the first time we've succeeded in creating a space for the MIEM, a portal to publish its activities and meet the needs of its users." She also added that
"the site statistics reveal that we have many visits from Uruguay, and also from the region and other countries."
Patricia Romero also highlights the possibility of adapting fixed data, information about legislation and other static content, including applications that the MIEM already had: "
the advantage of GXportal in this context is that we didn't have to rebuild things that we already had. All our old databases –DINAMIGE, Industrial Property, DINAPYME, records and online proceedings, to name a few-
were incorporated through GXportal, optimizing everything we had. This allowed us to reuse data and change their appearance with a professional design. All this could be achieved thanks to a professional and helpful team; we were able to create a synergic team with Artech's developers and the designers that supported the strategy, the IT Department of the MIEM and the Information Center, and all the Executing Units," concludes Patricia Romero.
MIEM |
The MIEM is the Government Department responsible for the public policies related to industry, energy, mining, industrial property and MSMEs, and is the nuclear regulation authority.
Its portal –the main channel for disseminating policies, strategies and instruments- is built with GXportal.
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