City of Amsterdam
Municipal support for the introduction of the NL-Wallet
UX Research
UX Design
UI Design
Overview
With the arrival of the European EUDI Wallet, every Dutch citizen will soon receive a digital identity wallet: the NL-Wallet. This is a significant change that may raise many questions for the people it affects. For my graduation project, I investigated the role the Municipality of Amsterdam can play in supporting its residents during this transition.
Using behavioural science as a starting point, I designed and tested a support product that aligned with the concerns and needs of the end user. Based on sixteen in-depth interviews with Amsterdam citizens, five experts interviews, and eight usability tests with baseline and follow-up measurements, I investigated its effect. The results showed that the product, a digital interactive kiosk called the NL-Wallet Dissector, noticeably reduced resistance among users. If implemented, the product could reach more than 794,000 citizens of Amsterdam. The final prototype achieved a WCAG AAA accessibility rating.
My Role
UX Researcher &
UX/UI Designer
Responsibilities
UX Research
UX Design
UI Design
Team
Stakeholder’s team
(2 clients from the Municipality of Amsterdam)
Duration
6 months
My Role & Responsibilities
I worked end-to-end on this project, from concept to the final digital product. My responsibilities included understanding the client’s brief, conducting desk research and field research, applying user-centered design methods to synthesise the research findings, developing creative solutions, and managing the project timeline between the first client meeting and the thesis defense.
I collaborated closely with the client to translate their goals into the final product.
Opportunity Space
The client was the Municipality of Amsterdam. The municipality has a responsibility to communicate new government regulations to its citizens, so that they are well informed about future changes that could impact their lives. This presented an opportunity to develop a digital product to communicate about the NL-Wallet and give citizens access to clear information from a trustworthy source.
Problem & Key Concerns
Managing the project timeline: 18 weeks to complete a full Double Diamond framework process.
Researching possible behavioural barriers, so that citizens could come to see the value of the NL-Wallet.
Simplifying laws and regulations without spreading misinformation, requiring a thorough understanding of the NL-Wallet and the functionalities of the mobile app.
Goals
Present a digital interactive product to the client and different multidisciplinary teams.
Apply behavioural design to foster a positive attitude towards the functionalities of the NL-Wallet.
Research the friction points of Dutch citizens in order to reduce resistance whilst using the interactive product.
Discover
Understanding the client, the project and the possible target audience
I began by meeting with the client to understand their brief: what their wants, needs, and requirements were for this case. After taking notes, I created a spider map about the NL-Wallet to map out its functionalities, the key problems it solves, and how it connects to existing digital services. I then attended EDI events held by the government to stay current with real-time updates and changes to the legislation whilst the project was underway. After this initial orientation, I developed a stakeholder map identifying both direct and indirect stakeholders and their level of influence on the project.
The laws and regulations behind the EU Wallet and the NL-Wallet
The European Union's final approval of the legislation for the European Digital Identity (also known as the eIDAS 2.0 Regulation) took place in March 2024. According to the legislation, every Member State must make at least one certified digital identity wallet available to its citizens free of charge by the end of 2026.
The NL-Wallet is a secure, open-source, and free Dutch app under development by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. From the introduction date, citizens can freely choose from various government-supervised ID wallets. The wallet offered by the government itself is the NL-wallet, but following approval, multiple wallets may enter the market from both public and private organisations, including banks and other certified commercial providers.
Adoption processes and the role of emotions
The literature research covered three main areas: comparable adoption processes, emotions and feelings around new technology, and the current relationship between Dutch society and the government.
On adoption processes, the transition from cash to debit card payments offered a number of useful lessons. Vulnerable groups tend to be identified later in such processes, and products designed for them follow suit.
Freedom of choice is important to the Dutch, even if they end up making greater use of one particular option. The rapid adoption of Apple Pay after its introduction at ING in 2019 showed that NFC-based payments were accepted more readily than QR codes, primarily due to convenience, and security concerns play a particularly important role for people over the age of 40.
In depth interviews with the target audience
To find the target audience that best fits the design challenge. I conducted sixteen in-depth interviews with a broad range of Amsterdam citizens, ranging from 23 to 64 years old. The sample was carefully constructed to avoid bias: participants were recruited across different age groups, genders, levels of education (MBO, secondary, and HBO/WO), income levels, occupations, and lifestyle, using a variety of recruitment methods including visits to community centres and Amsterdam Public Library branches.
Because Amsterdam is one of the most diverse cities in the world, with approximately 59% of residents having a migration background, this was deliberately reflected in the sample. Of the 16 participants, 81% had a migration background. This representativeness was an important methodological choice to ensure the research would hold across the full breadth of the target audience.
Expert interviews
To deepen my understanding of the challenges in this case, I interviewed five experts across a wide range of fields. The director of an organisation, Behaviour Design Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam, Digital Security Expert, Senior UX Designer at the Municipality of Amsterdam, and a Digital and Physical Interaction Designer at the Municipality of Amsterdam.
After conducting the interviews, I transcribed and analysed the data using several methods, including an affinity diagram, an empathy map, the SUE Influence Framework, and personas.
Define
Creating affinity diagrams based on the different types of data collected
Finding the common thread across the data was the central challenge of this phase. After a meeting with a behavioural designer at the municipality, I was advised to create subclusters within different themes, which led to the final version of the affinity diagram. In this diagram, quotes from the sixteen participants were clustered by theme. The same approach was applied to the data from the expert interviews and the literature review.
Developing solutions with How Might We questions
After completing the affinity diagrams, I began developing HMW (How Might We) questions. Before formulating each question, I defined the problem clearly with a concise problem statement so that the core of the challenge could be outlined. Problem statements were placed in a table, turned into HMW questions, and a potential design solution was identified for each.
Further research and synthesis methods
In addition to the above, I developed an empathy map, a SUE Influence Framework, a programme of requirements using the MoSCoW method, and three need-based personas, each accompanied by an empathy map showing how the NL-Wallet launch might affect them. The programme of requirements was built from three separate data sources (depth interviews, expert interviews, and literature research) and resulted in 53 requirements spanning user needs, business requirements, and product and technical specifications.
The SUE Influence Framework identified efficiency, convenience, and security as the three key factors for the target group to understand and trust the NL-Wallet. These became recurring themes throughout the product.
Defining the target audience
Based on multiple methods and a scale that I developed, the target audience was identified: Amsterdammers between the ages of 25 and 34. To gain further insight into the reasoning behind this decision, feel free to email me at tyneisha@live.nl.
Develop
Crazy Eight’s to generate as many different concepts as possible
Crazy Eights is a method for quickly sketching eight ideas to solve a problem, each given one minute to develop within a total of eight minutes. Four of the eight concepts were digital experiences in public spaces; the other four were experiences on a smartphone or desktop.
Based on the data, concepts focused on freedom of choice, transparency about data, and visual learning showed the most potential.
Developing the final concept
Three concepts were taken forward: Jouw Digitale Tuin (an interactive screen explaining new government technologies through a nature metaphor), the NL-Wallet Dissector (an interactive public screen that breaks down the cards stored in the NL-Wallet), and Jouw Digitale Waarde (a tool showing users the monetary value of their personal data).
The final concept was selected through a combination of four methods: a How-Now-Wow Matrix, Stuart Pugh’s Concept Selection Matrix, an ethical reflection using the Tarot Cards of Tech framework, and a concept voting session with four external stakeholders from the Municipality of Amsterdam and the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG). All four stakeholders chose the NL-Wallet Dissector. It was the concept that could address the most requirements (46 of the 53) whilst remaining technically realistic and ethically sound.
Presenting research findings to the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
During the project, I was able to present the key research insights directly to the team responsible for building the NL-Wallet. This was an unexpected but significant validation of the relevance of the work, and several insights from that session were incorporated into the further development of the prototype.
Lo-Fi
The first version was tested with a 26-year-old man from Amsterdam. The participant was asked for his initial thoughts following a brief explanation of the NL-Wallet. The key insights were incorporated into the first Me-Fi version.
Me-Fi
Based on feedback from the test participant, the first Me-Fi screens were developed. The interface was revised to more closely resemble a familiar element in the user’s daily life, such as the Apple Wallet, drawing on the principle of familiarity bias.
Hi-Fi
Eight Hi-Fi versions were created in total, with usability tests, accessibility checks, and expert reviews carried out between each iteration. The final prototype incorporated a range of named behavioural science principles, each applied to a specific design decision:
Cialdini’s Authority principle was applied by displaying certified partner organisations throughout the product, allowing users to transfer existing trust to the NL-Wallet. Claidini’s Commitment principle was applied through a checklist that users could save to their smartphone, creating a small commitment that increases the likelihood of follow-through.
Social proof was built into the profiles section of the citizens of Amsterdam, where users could read stories from people like themselves and recognise their own situation. Familiarity bias shaped the card interface, which was designed to resemble Apple Wallet so that the interaction model would feel intuitive.
Jobs to be Done were embedded in the profiles of Amsterdam citizens, grounding the product in real-life situations such as always having official documents to hand or not worrying about forgetting a physical card.
The product was designed in six languages (Dutch, English, Arabic, Spanish, German and French) to reflect Amsterdam’s linguistic diversity, and all UX copy was written at B1 language level in line with municipality guidelines. The cross-media design meant that the experience did not stop when a user walked away. The QR code allowed the kiosk experience to continue on a smartphone, and a desktop website.
An accessibility button was added to the kiosk interface, allowing users to adjust text size, colour contrast, and animations, and to activate a screen reader. The kiosk was also designed to support a tactile keypad via USB, so that it would not be dependent on touchscreen alone.
Deliver
Expert reviews and final validation
The final phase included expert reviews with different roles of the Municipality of Amsterdam. Such as the Head of User Experience, Senior UX Designer, and two Behavioural Scientists. Feedback from each review was incorporated before moving to the next iteration.
The final validation session was held with the client and key stakeholders. The client said the following: “Because of the results you delivered, it shows that it is good that we as the municipality play a role in this.” One of the key stakeholders said: “When I received the email and went through the screens, I noticed that I myself was triggered to want to download the NL-Wallet. You did an incredibly good job.”
Digital Interactive Kiosk
Credits
Concluding Thoughts
The NL-Wallet Dissector proved to be an effective support product for the target group. By the final round of usability tests, the target audience were able to understand the NL-Wallet through the Dissector, said they would use it at launch, and expressed trust in the product after the experience.
By combining in-depth user research with behavioural psychology, this project produced a cross-media product that puts transparency and user control at the centre.
It was developed in close collaboration with the Municipality of Amsterdam as a contribution to the national communication strategy around the rollout of the NL-Wallet.
Services
UX Research
Interaction Design
Visual Design
Cross-media design
Project management
Tools
Figjam
Figma
Craft
Notion
team
Clients
Municipality of
Amsterdam
Student
Tyneisha van Veltum
School
University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam
