Identifying user needs in Discovery

Identifying user needs is a key tasks in Discovery. At this point in developing your service or website, you should be developing the following:

• a diverse list of external and internal users organized into groups;
• an understanding of your users' situational and environmental limitations. For example, slow internet connections;
• the types of devices and browsers your users prefer;
• an awareness of user needs for users who require assisted digital support and what digital assistance could support these users;
• documentation about how you are currently meeting, and not meeting your users' needs;
• user journey maps for the current service and what you expect it will be for someone using the proposed service or website;
• User stories that relate to the overall user journey of your service. These should relate to the user journey through your service and should not be tied to individual features of the service;
• service blueprints and architecture diagrams; and
• a list of any existing government or private-sector services that currently meet your users’ needs. Your service or website should not duplicate another government service or website. It should only meet needs the government is uniquely positioned to deliver.

Find out how to measure user needs in Prototype development (alpha).

Learn about user needs and content design.