Identify user needs
User needs are the needs that our users have when they come to GOV.UK. People visit GOV.UK to help them fulfil a certain task, like apply for a driving licence or find out how to vote.
Every piece of published content should meet a valid user need.
Writing good user needs means we can create content to help our users do the things they need to.
How to find out your user’s needs
Content designers are not user researchers. As users and their needs become more complex, you will ideally work with user researchers to learn about your users and their needs. However, there are things you can do yourself to learn about your users’ needs.
Find out what you can about:
- who your likely users are and what they’re trying to do
- how they currently do it (for example, what services or channels they use)
- the problems or frustrations they experience
- what users need from your content
Do this by reviewing existing evidence such as:
- analytics on content about the same subject
- call centre data
- previous research reports
- data from organisations such as Citizens Advice
There are other data and analytics tools you can use to support your content design.
If you feel like you cannot learn enough from your users this way, try to work with user researchers or performance analysts to go further.
How to write a user need
All GOV.UK user needs follow the same template, with 3 parts.
As a… [who is the user?]
I need to… [what does the user want to do?]
So that… [why does the user want to do this?]
They’re written from the user’s perspective and in language that a user would recognise and use themselves. The next sections look at each of these 3 parts in more detail.
Defining the user
Do not begin the user need with ‘as a user.’ Most government policies and legislation are aimed at a clearly defined group. You should know who the user is, and define them in relationship to what they’re trying to do.
A user does not have to be just one person. It can mean a broad group of people, if their relationship to the need is the same.
For example, someone applying for a child’s passport could be a parent, or ‘someone with parental responsibility.’ This could be a grandparent, foster carer or legal guardian. You would not need to write a separate need for each one if the need is the same. If there are different needs for each user group, they would each need their own user need.
Other user groups can be more vague, but are still defined as more than just a ‘user’, such as:
- a business
- a person who has reached state pension age
- an exporter
- a company
- a teacher
- someone who wants to work in the UK
- someone who wants to settle
- a vehicle owner
What the user wants to do and why
User needs and GOV.UK content must be based on actions or tasks.
Active user needs are things like:
- applying
- appealing
- paying for
- submitting
- sending a tax return
- changing an address
- claiming
- requesting
- challenging
Be wary of using:
- understand
- know
- be aware of
- using (as in a tool or service)
You should only use ‘understand,’ or ‘be aware of’ if the user needs to know it to fulfil a certain task which you can explain in the ‘So that I…’ part of the user need. If the user does not need to take an action as a result of what they’re understanding, it’s not a valid user need.
Good example
As a carer,
I need to get financial help,
So that I can carry on looking after the person I care for.
This is a valid user need because it does not suggest a specific solution. You might need to produce a combination of features and content to make sure the user need is met.
Bad example
As a carer,
I need to use a benefits calculator,
So that I can find out if I can get Carer’s Allowance.
This is not a valid user need because it creates a ‘need’ to justify existing content, and suggests a specific solution that may or may not be right.
Assumptions we make when designing a piece of content or service can often be wrong. We need to find the best solution to meet each user need.
Consider using acceptance criteria
Acceptance criteria can help define a user need by listing what must be done for the need to be met.
For example, from the ‘good example’ used above, the acceptance criteria could be when the user:
- understands what carer’s allowance is
- understands if they’re eligible
- can apply for carer’s allowance
- understands how much they are entitled to