Adaptive Governance System
AGS sits alongside a participant during a guided online task, watches their interaction in real time, estimates how they are coping, and decides — at every interaction — whether to offer support, what kind to offer, and whether it helped.
/openapi.json as the API contract. This page explains intent, evidence, limits, and research operations.The problem AGS solves
When an older adult tries to use eCitizen or Afya Yangu for the first time, the support available to them is almost nothing — a FAQ page, a helpline that puts them on hold. There is no system that watches what they are actually doing, notices when they are stuck, and responds in the moment.
AGS is that system. It observes interaction signals (typing speed, errors, hesitation, help-seeking, backtracking), builds a live estimate of the participant's readiness, runs that estimate through a 17-condition decision model, and delivers a hint, a prompt, or a walkthrough — or stays silent — based on the outcome.
What the system adapts
- Intervention messages — hints, guided prompts, walkthroughs
- Support intensity — light tooltip → guided assistance → full walkthrough
- Language — help content in Kiswahili, Kiluhya, or English
- Timing — waits, delays, or fires immediately based on state
- Rest prompts — when fatigue signals cross a threshold
- The government websites themselves — untouched
- Language preference — set once at onboarding
- Task steps or instructions — fixed per template
- Anything about the study condition — invisible to participants
What makes it a research instrument
Three study conditions run simultaneously: full adaptive support, a more liberal version, and a control that logs signals but shows no adaptation. Participants cannot tell which condition they are in — all overlays look identical. This is what allows the study to isolate the effect of adaptive support from other factors.
The governance system — the 17 rules — is what makes this rigorous. A simple threshold (e.g., "help if score < 40") would adapt but wouldn't be auditable or reproducible. Every decision AGS makes is logged with the reason code and all rules evaluated, including decisions to stay silent.