Content designers have a few tools that we, along with other user-centred design colleagues, can use to help the process along.

Language definition workshop

Sometimes, when a team begins working on a new service, everyone uses different words and phrases to describe it. Some people might talk about the service going live, while others will use the term ” launching the service. Both mean the same thing.

Or, everyone might use the same terms, but with a different mental model of what they mean. Some people think precipitation refers only to rain, while others believe it can also mean rain, snow, or hail.

This can lead to confusion or differences in expectations. As Abby Covert puts it, language matters.

The workshop

1. Research how language is already used in similar services or situations.  Can you find any patterns or consistency?
2. Discuss what you want users and stakeholders to think of when they hear the words or phrases you are considering.
3. Agree on definitions for words and phrases that you wish to test with users to see if they understand them in the same way.

After testing with users, you can refine and rework the definitions based on what you learned from the testing. Working like this should bring:

Consensus

When the team discusses the meaning of the words, it helps them clarify the purpose and scope of the service.  Consensus enables everyone to communicate in the same terms, eliminating confusion.  

Clarity

Another benefit of being really clear about language is that you get consistency within the service.  A good team understanding can be refined using insights gained from user research and testing. This helps to make the service content and communications user-centred, clear and consistent.

Communication

The team can set and manage stakeholder expectations, ensuring consistency in their communication of progress. Agreeing on clear, consistent language helps to keep everyone on the same page. 

Lexicon

Recording language decisions

It’s no use spending lots of time defining the language your team is going to use if everyone forgets it straightaway. You need a record.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a lexicon as “(a list of) all the words used in a particular language or subject, or a dictionary”. 

A living document

A lexicon is a living record of the words the team uses. It should grow and change as the project progresses. Store it centrally so that everyone has access to it. All team members should be able to refer to it, add to it, and edit it.

It should help the team to stay on track with each other linguistically and avoid confusion or differing interpretations.

Question Protocol

The cost of asking questions

Many services involve asking the user questions to gather information. We must ask the right questions and only request what we genuinely need. 

As Caroline Jarrett says, “Every question has a cost”. Asking too many questions, unnecessary questions, or overly invasive questions will lose your users’ goodwill.  This can lead to dropouts or poor data.

Questions to ask ourselves

A question protocol is a tool that helps narrow down what you actually need to ask. 

Look at each question and ask yourself about the value it gives:

• who uses the data?
• how do they use it?
• is it necessary to ask for this data?
• is the question mandatory or optional?
• what happens if the user puts in nonsense to get through the form?
• do we have this information already?

Benefits

Bringing form design and data collection into sharp focus helps to make better decisions. This gives the following benefits:

• reduce overheads by not collecting and storing unnecessary information
  • storing data is costly. Why store something you don’t need?
• ensure the integrity of the data you collect
  • making it easy for users means they are more likely to give you accurate information
• avoiding causing offence or unnecessary burden means that users are more likely to answer all the questions
• pinpoint whether asking a particular question helps or hinders user engagement
  • look for patterns where users drop out after a specific question, consistently miss a question or give false information
• find ways to reduce the burden on users
  • make questions easier to understand
  • tell users early in the process what information they might need to gather to answer the questions
  • avoid repeating questions by bringing through information that you already have
• avoid causing harm or offence to users
  • only ask for information that might be difficult or personal when there is a clear need
  • be clear with users why you are asking for it
  • tell them how you will use it and who will see it
  • avoid being reductive, use inclusive language for sensitive topics or vulnerable user groups
  • use a trauma-informed approach

Content Design at Made Tech

Content Designers aren’t just here to write about decisions that were made before we were brought in. Involve us from the start. The linguistic tools mentioned in this blog are just part of the range of skills we bring. Making decisions can be hard, but we’re here to help.

The post 3 simple ways to use language to help decision-making appeared first on Made Tech.

One minute you’re asking how someone uses a digital service. The next, they’re telling you something deeply personal – sometimes sensitive or even traumatic. These moments are rare, but they do happen. And when they do, we need to be prepared. Both to support participants and protect our researchers and our teams.

Why planning matters

We plan every research activity sensitively and with safety at heart. Questions we regularly ask ourselves include:

• have we built in extra time for breaks or emotional space?
• have we chosen safe interview locations – research labs are best, public places can work, and only visit people’s homes if absolutely necessary (and take someone along with you)?
• what are the escalation routes, especially when working with children?
• have we offered companions for vulnerable participants – while balancing the need for honest responses?
• is everyone aware that it’s ok to stop, even if the session feels incomplete?
• have we checked in with researchers before and after to make sure they feel safe and supported?

These are part of the ethical responsibility we take seriously.  

This planning stage helps make sure that we’re prepared for the unexpected. And in user research, the unexpected is more common than you might think.

When a simple subject takes a hard turn

Even seemingly light topics can take a serious turn. In one research study about moving house – packing, removals, bills and utilities – most participants described the usual stress. But one woman became visibly upset. She explained she had to move quickly due to domestic abuse.

In situations like this, even well-meaning reactions can cause harm. Trauma-informed practice teaches us:

• don’t press for details, even if they seem relevant.
• don’t try to solve the problem or steer back to the research too quickly.
• do acknowledge what’s been said with care:  “Thank you for sharing that – it sounds like it was a really difficult time.”

We avoid making assumptions or showing pity with phrases like “You must have been terrified” or “You should call the police.” Instead, we stay present and steady. Neuroscience tells us that calm behaviour helps others regulate their own stress. Offering water, a break, or the chance to pause helps create calm. Even confirming they’re happy to continue with the session can restore a sense of control.

Later, we let the participant guide what happens next:

We don’t need to continue if you’d prefer not to.”

You’ve already shared a lot that will help us improve things for others.”

If the conversation feels safe enough to continue, we still offer lightness. Not minimising their experience, but giving them the chance to move to a neutral topic:

If it helps, we can talk about something else,  or I can just thank you and let you get on with your day.”

We finish by making it clear they’re in control of what happens to their data:

You’re in control of what we keep.”

But we’re also honest about limits to confidentiality. We provide consent and information sheets to all participants before each session. And on the very rare occasion where a safeguarding concern is presented, follow-up action may be needed.

Why we trained the whole team in trauma-informed practice

Because of these real-world complexities, we knew that planning on its own wasn’t enough. We also needed to invest in equipping our people with the right tools and frameworks.

Last December, our whole user research practice took part in trauma-informed practice (TIP) training. We brought in Kate Cairns from KCA Training who specialises in this type of work and spent a full day exploring what trauma-informed practice really means in the context of user research.

The session included an introduction to the principles and theory, but most of the time was spent in scenario-based exercises – thinking about how we use language, how we recognise signs of discomfort and how we can reduce the risk of retraumatising people we’re speaking to.

Our user researchers at Made Tech, often work on public services in areas such as health, justice or housing, where the people we speak to may have experienced trauma.. Even where the topic being discussed  seems relatively neutral, participants can sometimes disclose unexpected and sometimes very personal information.

That’s why it was important for us to train the whole team. We needed to be confident that anyone running research was equipped to respond in a sensitive, ethical and appropriate way and to create a psychologically safe environment for participants.

Real-world complexity in user research

Public services are often used during times of stress, grief or crisis. Our job as researchers is to understand what people need, even when they can’t always say it, by listening to their experiences and the context they’re in.

⚖️ Working with victims

In our work, we often speak with people who’ve been through very difficult experiences, but you don’t always know what someone will say.

They may open up about personal experiences such as serious illness, past traumas, or other life-changing events – even when these aren’t the focus of the discussion.

There’s no script for those moments. What matters is being able to hold space for the person, recognise what’s been shared and steer the conversation in a way that feels safe for them and for you.

🌊 Hearing distress in the detail

As part of a project exploring how councils respond to anti-social behaviour, we heard stories that showed the real emotional impact such experiences can have. 

People described feeling unsafe in their own homes, with fears around noise, suspected drug use and possible retaliation shaping how and when they chose to speak.

Thanks to the training we’d had, our team knew how to recognise the signs and respond by adjusting the pace and direction of the session. We didn’t need to ask about the distress directly. We just needed to listen and give space for people to speak through their experience of anti-social behaviour.

🧒🏽 The complexities of researching with children

We also occasionally run research with both children and school staff. I’ve spoken to very young children myself, but others on the team have worked with teenagers, which can be especially complex.

Before these sessions, we think carefully about how to plan for safety – both theirs and ours. For example:

• do we have the right team involved?
• have the teams been pre-briefed in terms of expectations?
• would the children benefit from having a trusted adult along with them at the session?
• how do we build in breaks?
• do the researchers know what the escalation routes are if they hear something concerning?

Even something as simple as knowing when to stop an interview can make all the difference. It sounds obvious, but in the moment – when you want to finish your discussion guide or collect that last bit of insight – it’s easy to keep going when you shouldn’t.

Supporting our teams too

At Made Tech, we embody best practices – we follow the code of conduct from the Market Research Society, GDPR and Government Digital Service. 

But our standards don’t just echo the best practice – at Made Tech we go further. We also address how to support our own teams during and after emotionally intense research.

Trauma-informed research isn’t just about participants. Researchers and delivery teams get affected, too.

On one project, our user research team dealt with death-related cases every day. Applying our best-practice standards, we planned rest days to help everyone process the emotional load.

Good research is about planning and protecting

We often say good user research is about listening. But it’s also about planning, protecting and responding with care.

Trauma-informed practice doesn’t just help us gather better insights. It helps us build better services and relationships. Relationships rooted in trust and respect.

For more information about our user-centred design services take a look at our web pages.

The post Doing sensitive user research, responsibly appeared first on Made Tech.

Humour and user research: a partnership

Surprisingly, humour has been an unexpected asset to my career as a researcher so far. Here’s 4 ways you can use it in your next research project to get the most out of your insights. 

Opening up by breaking the ice 

Using humour can help break the ice as users can often be nervous when they come to a session. A common worry I hear is that the session may be overly formal or professional. In this situation people may withhold information or not feel completely free to speak their mind. By being able to laugh at yourself and show your personality users will often mirror that behaviour and feel free to be themself in return.

A great way to incorporate this into user sessions is through themed ice breakers. One of my go-to’s when starting a workshop is asking users to pick what cat they are. For example, giving them the option to pick a photo of a cat that aligns most with where they’re at for the day – sad cat or happy cat etc. Nothing groundbreaking, yet a really effective way to create a lighter mood and get people to open up. Give it a try at your next workshop. As a bonus, you may find users enjoy the session more – which is always a win if you’re planning follow-up research.

Think outside the box to boost engagement 

While recently working on a central government project, I found engagement in our regular user group session quite low and lacking in energy. I wanted to turn things around. I tried to think of times where I have felt engaged in meetings or workshops and why they were fun, so I could gain more from these sessions. I decided to gamify the situation by turning it into a pub quiz-style workshop. 

This was a great decision. We created teams, introduced some friendly competition and the fun element really helped people relax and be present in the moment. This quiz also kept users focused – which was a big challenge as we were hosting the session remotely and many attendees chose to have their cameras off. 

This was also a great exercise for me. It really tested my ability to laugh at myself as I was often the only person speaking with my camera on. My awkwardness paid off. There were a huge amount of comments in the chat box. Those comments provided useful insights to help direct the research while highlighting any immediate problems that could be resolved at pace. This approach also prompted debate between users – helping me to see the key differences in user needs.

Have fun with creative thinking

From my stint as a childcare worker I’d often observe the children while playing  – anyone who has spent time with children will understand that they’re not only having fun, but learning new things too. What I realised was, this can work in research as well. 

I might ask the user to imagine stepping into the shoes of another member of the team. Asking what they would do if they were designing the service for example. This gives the user freedom to imagine new ideas and think creatively. Quite often users have been doing the same things in the same way for a long time. Trying to imagine doing it any other way can seem impossible. Here’s where you can give them the opportunity to play a different role. You can use examples to prompt them if they get stuck, like showing them 2 images and asking which they prefer and why.What might they keep, what would they change and why.  

I was recently involved in a project where the organisation was going through a lot of rapid change. One user had been working there for many years and was not happy about this. They explained that they felt like the many changes were making things at the organisation complicated. While this could be a tricky situation, I asked them to pretend that I was a new member of staff and that they knew all about the updated system we were designing. I then asked them to explain to me how I should use it. The user was able to talk me through step by step on how to complete a set task. 

By doing this I was not only able to validate that the new system worked, but that they understood it well enough to teach someone. I also discovered where things within the system were a bit more tricky to understand based on their struggle to explain the steps. 

If a user is stuck thinking something will never work, try to instil a ‘just give it a go attitude’. When we don’t take these things too seriously people are more likely to get involved and tap into their creative side. Make it clear that no ideas are set in stone and it can be just a bit of fun – that’s where we see the magic happen.

Building your team relationships

Working in multidisciplinary teams can be hard. Particularly when it comes to complex projects where you’re trying to keep up with your developer’s explanations of different coding issues. In situations like these, this Taylor Swift quote comes to my mind, ‘the more that you say, the less I know.’ Having the ability to laugh at yourself and be honest about where you’re at helps to create positive communication within the team, something that is so important when it comes to collaborating. 

For this I find it’s best to be honest. In the scenario above, I’ll usually try to lighten the mood with something like “Sounds fabulous, but you lost me at bugs.” As a solo researcher on a project it’s okay to sometimes feel a bit out of your depth. It’s essential to remind yourself that you’re there to find stuff out. It’s okay that you don’t know everything. By asking clarifying questions from the start, your team will often get into the habit of doing it. I recommend booking in specific times for questions so that you’re not just blindsiding the team at stand up (I am so guilty of this). 

Having a good team relationship means the work can flow better. After all, we’re all working to the same goal – creating and building better services for society. 

Finding your voice a user researcher

Humour is the way I’ve always been able to deal with challenging situations. I’m proud it’s something I’ve also been able to bring into my work as a researcher as I engage users and unlock valuable insights. 

But one last piece of advice, I’d always advise you to take time to think about who your users are. One of the important aspects of our job is knowing when humour can help a situation, but it might not always be the right option. Some questions to ask yourself about your users include:

• what is their working environment?
• are they at home or in an office? 
• do they have a hierarchical organisation that may make junior staff uncomfortable? 
• can you separate users? 
• is this a stakeholder?
• is the topic sensitive?

Every situation is unique. Remember, some of us may be able to laugh ourselves out of a crisis but not everyone can. Take the time to think about who you’re speaking to and whether laughter will be an asset or distraction. 

In this post I’ve shared a few of my tips, but overall I think it comes down to finding your own particular style. For me it’s not just about dropping in multiple dad jokes (though this can help) or becoming a comedian overnight – it’s about not taking yourself too seriously. People want to feel good and most of the time a bit of laughter helps that. If nothing else, I hope this post inspires you to bring a bit more of yourself to your role so your team and users feel comfortable to be themselves too. 

Looking for a career change or to make the jump into user research? We’re always looking for great talent. Take a look at our open roles – our friendly team are always happy to have a chat.

The post How humour makes me a better user researcher appeared first on Made Tech.

When it comes to designing for impact, the real magic happens behind the clicks. Dani Swift, Designer, shares spell-binding tips for prioritising user needs and explains how these principles fuel ‘tech for good’.

Q: How did you end up doing what you’re doing now?

When I joined Made Tech in Summer 2021, I started as a bid manager. Whilst writing and submitting bid responses I discovered that I was fascinated by the user-centred design (UCD) projects and wanted to find out more about how these projects helped our clients create great services. When an opportunity arose to join Made Tech’s UCD academy, I applied, got accepted, and was thrilled to start my journey in tech as a designer. Since then, I’ve worked on some really exciting projects.

Q: What’s an interaction designer versus a service designer?

As an interaction designer, I focus on web-based user experiences. Right now, I’m working with a government department to improve one of their internal tools. It’s currently in the beta testing phase before final release, where we’re looking to spot any issues, action any feedback and identify any last minute things we can improve. My job specifically is to review screens based on user research and make those small changes that will enhance the user experience.

When I’ve worked on projects as a service designer, my focus has been more on understanding the bigger picture and all the moving parts of a service. There’s some overlap between the two roles since both involve working closely with user researchers. However in my experience, service design takes a more ‘zoomed out’ approach.

In the discovery projects I’ve worked on, I identified pain points and opportunities for improvement from both the process and the people perspective. The scope becomes much broader, with many layers to consider. The output might be a map or diagram to make something easier to understand. I’ve found that people are much more receptive to something visual that distils complex messaging into something more palatable!

Q: Can you share some top tips from some of the projects you’ve worked on?

I’m really passionate about the ‘tech for good’ philosophy. I think that some of the following tips actually mean that you end up producing tech solutions that are truly user-centred and genuinely beneficial to citizens.

1. Put the user front and centre: Always advocate for what users need first, rather than focusing solely on business goals. Understanding and prioritising user motivations and requirements is really important if you want to build effective services.
2. Follow a design process: Take the time to go through all the design steps before starting build and development. This really does save time and money and avoids the wasted effort of creating features or products that users don’t need.
3. Build a good rapport with research participants: When participants feel at ease, they’re more likely to be open and transparent, providing richer and more valuable insights.
4. Make the most of user researchers:  Every user researcher I’ve had the pleasure of working with has been brilliant. They bring a really deep curiosity to the team which helps to gain a deep understanding of pain points and needs.
5. Work collaboratively: When collaboration works well, it means that raw data can quickly and effectively be synthesised into meaningful information that can guide the project. Being on the same page about objectives and goals means that everyone is committed to putting their best work forward.
6. Stay true to the data: Make sure that your analysis remains objective and free from personal bias. It’s really important to keep everyone focused on the actual data, maintaining some element of scientific integrity in the process while understanding the importance of focusing on the bigger picture
7. Balance quantitative and qualitative data: While quantitative data provides measurable insights, qualitative data gives more context. But as in the bullet above, make sure you don’t let personal opinions influence your analysis of the qualitative information, and keep in mind the bigger picture.

Q: Can you tell me more about how you’ve used some of these tips on a specific project?

A security and intelligence client asked us to explore a cross-government, economic decision-making model to improve the UK’s resilience and security. At first, I felt daunted because of my lack of knowledge and expertise in this area, and imposter syndrome started to creep in. However I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone to see what I could achieve.

Our client was interested in testing a collaborative approach called ‘collective intelligence,’ which involves bringing together subject experts to solve complex problems. 

Using collaborative workshops, we gathered insights from a selection of 23 stakeholders, spanning academia and different government departments. This knowledge-sharing fed into design-thinking sessions, helping us to come up with early ideas.

We conducted a mini-discovery and mini-alpha phase using GOV.UK guidelines, to explore the problem and potential solutions. By doing so, we saved time and effort and stayed on track to develop a model that met both the user and client’s needs. We continuously tested and refined our assumptions, so that we were able to quickly see if the ‘collective intelligence’ approach was proving successful or failing.

We left the project with a really compelling hypothesis; that policy decisions might be improved in this area if there was better collaboration with academia. There’s so much knowledge required in this specific sector, you’d really need to be a global economics expert. It would be practically impossible for one single person to have this breadth of knowledge, so a ‘collective intelligence’ approach makes sense to bring together the experts in the field.

Q: What’s been the biggest career challenge you’ve faced ?

Building confidence has been a significant challenge for me, especially in areas like realising it’s okay to just be myself and public speaking, which used to terrify me.  To improve at public speaking, I’ve delivered lots of internal presentations at Made Tech which has been incredibly helpful. The safe and supportive environment allows me to practice, making it easier to present to stakeholders and senior staff, though it’s still nerve-wracking. Practising regularly, even in small ways, has made tackling bigger challenges feel more manageable and less scary. 

Time has helped me realise that people gravitate to you so much more when you’re authentic! I usually blend this into my presentations as I feel like a fraud when I’ve got to be overly formal. I’ve learned that by dropping in a personal story or anecdote to presentations really helps me to feel like my actual self, and this helps with the nerves too. 

Q: #1 tip for people who think tech is not for ‘people like them’

There’s a misconception that working in tech means writing code. I’m a hobbyist when it comes to front end coding, so while I enjoy creating a user interface in HTML/CSS, I can see how it can be intimidating for folk who don’t think the tech industry is for them. Saying that though, I’d recommend having a try. There’ are some great resources online like Codeadademy for example which have been a big help to me

But, if it’s still not for you, there’s more to working in tech than coding, especially if you look into user-centred design roles, or an adjacent profession like delivery management.

If you’re good at listening, have empathy, and are skilled in analysis, roles like user research, design, product management, business analysis, and delivery management might be a perfect fit. These positions use transferable skills and don’t involve coding unless you really want to go down that route. The tech industry is such a rewarding sector to be in, whether you’re writing code or whether you’re doing user-centred work.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Something that’s stuck with me since day one of the UCD academy was a very simple phrase; “You are not the user” (thank you Clara & Mark). And it’s so true. Something that works for me, doesn’t necessarily work for all users, especially those with different accessibility needs or levels of web proficiency. 

If you want to learn more about design I’d recommend “Ruined by Design” by Mike Monteiro. He draws parallels between the Hippocratic oath in medicine and a set of principles for designers to make sure our designs are for the benefit of users. The book’s case studies on unethical design practices have made me more critical of my motivations as a designer and more mindful of the impact of my work. In fact, I’d highly recommend it to anyone in tech, not just designers.

Interactive designer is an ace job – no question about it. Even if I’ve not convinced you to put in a job application today, hopefully I’ve made you question whether you’re putting the user at the heart of what you do. 

To find out more about jobs at Made Tech browse our careers or take a look at some of the user-centred services we provide to clients.

The post The magic behind creating seamless user experiences appeared first on Made Tech.

The Met Office set a goal to improve their beach forecast using evidence. Research showed that it wasn’t used as much as they hoped and wasn’t well understood by users. The improvements focus on 4 main areas, which are:

• raising awareness of potential dangers at the beach
• making beach forecasts easier to find on the website
• making beach safety information (including tide times) available on the app
• making beach safety information easier to understand

Beach safety messages

We’ve been working with the Met Office to help meet this goal, making a lot of changes to the beach forecast. One of them was designing safety messages for the beach forecast, to make safety information easier to understand. We have a growing Content Design community of practice in Made Tech. This was a great opportunity to show how Content Design is integral to designing good services by:

• advocating for content consideration at the early stages so it’s integral to the design process rather than an afterthought 
• structuring content in a logical order, using clear headings and subheadings, so that the information the user is looking for easy to find
• writing in clear, concise, accessible language
• applying user research insights to make sure content meets user needs

In this case, user research showed us that people didn’t understand how weather and sea conditions affect safety. With summer fast approaching, the Met Office were keen to get safety messages out to the public.

Information gathering 

We held 2 workshops with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Met Office stakeholders. In these, we examined the specific conditions that wind and waves present and their safety implications. We looked at wind and waves as risk levels, based on either wind speed or wave height. These ranged from: 

• low to very high risk wind 
• low to very very high risk waves

Each risk level for wind and waves had a list of messages that the RNLI wanted to show for a range of activities. These included swimming, paddle boarding, coastal walking and angling amongst others. The messages changed as the risk level increased. 

We organised them into 3 categories based on what we assumed users needed to know: 

• things to be aware of 
• when conditions mean that a level of experience or expertise would be needed for an activity 
• when an activity was no longer safe for anyone at any level 

Scope of the work 

We came out of the workshops with 25 risk level scenarios made from the combinations for wind and waves. We’re not meteorologists, so we didn’t know whether all the scenarios could actually happen in real life.

We sought advice from experts at the Met Office, to make sure that all combinations were realistic. This confirmed that they were and helped us to refine our 3 categories to: 

• advice – what users should do to stay safe in all situations 
• in between – users may need to modify their behaviour 
• alert – do not do the activity 

Placing the messages on the page 

Each scenario had a large number of messages recommended by the RNLI. They covered lots of different activities in and out of the water. We knew that we had a limited amount of space for displaying the messages on the forecast page. We also needed to make it clear that the messages were directly related to the weather conditions on the day.

We tested a few options of where to place the messages with users, which were: 

• in the forecast table
• top of the page, above the search bar
• between the search bar and the beach safety tips

Our test results told us that the users noticed the safety messages more easily at the top of the page or between the search bar and beach safety tips. They understood that the messages were related to that particular day. 

But if they looked at a different day, they didn’t scroll back up to see if the messages were different. So we decided that putting the safety messages in the forecast table, specifically the “Today” tab, was the best option. The “Today” tab is a section that gives some at-a-glance information about the day, such as sunrise and sunset times, highest and lowest temperatures, and things like UV exposure risk and air pollution levels.

Our testing also showed that using an icon for the alert level messages made the message stand out to users and told them that it was important. We knew that the Met Office already use icons to draw attention to weather warnings and that this works well. We wanted to follow that approach but make sure that we didn’t distract from, or cause confusion with existing weather warnings. 

We chose a blue exclamation mark icon for the alert-level messages to help them stand out. We thought that this was different enough from the weather warning icons. This icon tested well, users recognised that it was an important message. They also knew that it was separate from weather warnings.

Refining the messages 

We experimented with different ways of presenting the safety messages to see what worked better. We tried 2 approaches, which were:

• instruction-led – putting the instruction first and explaining it using the weather conditions
• weather-led – putting the weather conditions first and listing the instructions for the activities

Testing showed us that weather-led meant more to the users. This told us that they needed us to explain how the weather conditions affected safety. We also needed to consider that: 

• we needed to give information, not absolute guarantees 
• most incidents happen in mild conditions 
• all scenarios carry some risks to be aware of 
• we still want people to enjoy the beach 

The early versions of the messages made reference to safety risks. This worked well for the higher-risk scenarios. Users were able to recognise that a higher-risk day would not be suitable. It was harder for them to recognise a good day for the beach with this approach. The mention of risk made the messages seem more scary than we had intended. 

We were also aware of the risk of “alert blindness” by making the messages for lower-risk too strong. If users expected difficult conditions but found them to be acceptable, they might ignore warnings in future. 

For the lower-risk scenarios, we tried using phrases like “enjoy the beach” and “be aware” to provide some balance to the descriptions of risks. 

This helped to show when a scenario was a good day for the beach and still gave information about the weather conditions and the things to be aware of. It also stopped short of giving an absolute guarantee of safety. We still wanted the main message to be that people should speak to lifeguards about the local conditions on the day. 

Other considerations 

The Met Office have a system for categorising wind intensity at sea, called the Beaufort Scale. They used to use it to add a description of the wind in the beach forecast. When testing, we found that some of the wind descriptions would contradict the conditions in the scenarios. We felt that this could be confusing to users. For example, some people might think a “fresh breeze” is nothing to worry about. But on the Beaufort Scale, it is a high-risk wind (17-21 knots). We dropped the Beaufort wind description from the beach forecast to avoid such confusion. 

What were the results? 

Because we iterated the content several times based on user feedback, we were confident that we were meeting user needs. The beach safety messages were noticeable and understandable to users. The messages allowed users to understand how weather conditions affected the safety of activities that they enjoy, which made the weather data relatable to their own situation and experience. 

Thanks to the expertise of the RNLI and the Met Office and the team’s hard work, the beach safety messages went live on the Met Office website this summer. 

A pop-up survey was launched alongside the new beach safety messages to gauge users’ perceptions of the beach forecast and safety messages. The number of positive comments went up from 30% to 66% after the safety messages were launched, with many users praising the advice and how important it is. Examples of these comments include:

“This is a reliable feature and very welcome. I have recommended it to others in the sea swimming community.”

“Today was first time I had found this new Beach data alongside weather data.  Brilliant addition to weather data source. This beach safety advice is excellent, but Met Office needs to publicise this add-on data.”

“We loved this feature on our holiday to Cornwall this year. It was really helpful, thank you!”

“This is an excellent addition to the weather, and I use it all the time for kayaking and swimming.  Direction and height of the waves is good too, and I like the paddling summary which helps me decide if it’s safe to go……Nice work here!”

A big win for the Met Office and Made Tech!

The Team

User Researcher: Eleonora Costamagna
Interaction Designer: Tom Morgan
Content Designer: Jude Stockwell
Developers: Josh Gosling, Ahmad Vegah

The post How prioritising content design helped the Met Office promote beach safety appeared first on Made Tech.

In this blog post, we want to share how our Housing Repairs product addresses your communal repairs needs. We’ll also look at the user research insights that contributed to these features, and what we’re doing next to make our communal repairs features as useful as possible. 

Support for communal repairs means councils can now provide a complete housing repairs service with our product, covering all non-urgent repair needs. You can read more about the Housing Repairs product more generally in our Housing Repairs announcement blog post.

It was important we added support for communal areas quickly because 20 to 40% of reports made to local authorities are about communal areas. 

Housing repair reports for all areas

When we launched Housing Repairs, it supported reports for repair needs within residents’ private dwellings. Now we support reports from all communal areas, including:

• shared entrances
• lifts
• corridors
• stairwells
• external grounds

Shared entrances, external lighting and lifts and similar areas directly impact the safety and accessibility of their buildings, bringing peace of mind to residents.

How research insights have shaped the product

“If we haven’t got an exact location, that is a killer.“ 

customer support officer

Our user research highlighted that it’s vital for local authorities to get the precise location of the repair need when the report is first made. We’ve extended the reporting flow to prompt and make it easy for the resident by:

• asking the resident if the issue is in a communal area, guiding them into a specific communal flow
• helping the resident identify the specific building with the repair need, which they can choose from a list based on a post code they provide
• providing the full range of possible communal repair locations for the resident to choose from
• prompting the user to provide details of the specific location of the repair need, giving them plenty of space to go into detail

Our Housing Repairs product was designed to help local authorities save time and money by reducing reports that come in by phone. It also reduces the need for follow-up calls and pre-inspections. These new features extend these benefits to the full range of repair reports, allowing further cost and time savings. 

Needs addressed

Here’s a bit more detail on insights we gained from our user research. We ran extensive research with local authorities and end users to understand the main communal repair needs we could address. There was a wealth of insights – more than we can detail here – but here are some of the highlights.

Resident needs

Among other insights, our user research found that residents:

• often need to get in touch more than once before an issue is fixed
• are sometimes passed back and forth between local authorities and repairs suppliers
• can feel timeframes are unclear, and issues take too long to resolve
• often find that the status of a repair request is unclear, and that they aren’t informed when issues are fixed
• face long wait teams when call volumes are high
• can resent waiting on the line only to be passed to a contractor

Local authority needs

We found that local authorities:

• can struggle with high call volumes for repair reports about communal areas, pulling agents away from other important work
• face inefficiencies caused by duplicate reports of the same issue from different residents
• lack the information they need to address the communal problem first time
• find that their call centre agents often have to act as a go-between for residents and contractors
• often don’t have access to the contractor’s repair status to be able to keep residents informed

All of these needs can be addressed with a good digital service that supports residents in accurately reporting a repair need, and which helps them access the status of a repair job.

Next steps

Though we’re very confident Housing Repairs does a great job of supporting communal repair needs, there’s more we want to do to make our support for communal repairs as useful as possible. Further needs we mean to address include:

• letting residents know an issue has already been reported
• letting residents know the status of a repair request
• making sure residents, local authorities and repair contractors have access to the same, up-to-date information

Some of the specific features we’re considering include:

• detecting when a report could be a duplicate and alerting the local authority
• updating repair statuses in a dashboard, with updates automatically sent out to interested reportees
• providing residents with a view of all outstanding repairs in their building, with an estimated repair date
• allowing the resident to flag a late repair with the local authority if the due date has passed
• providing feedback links with notifications

Book a demo

Our communal repairs update is one example of how we’re following through on our commitment to building continually-improving SaaS products. As councils face increasing budgetary stresses, SaaS products present an opportunity to provide services which move with the times, for an affordable, predictable flat fee.

If you’d like to see how our Housing Repairs product can help save your organisation time and money, request a demo via our Housing Repairs page.

The post How we’re shaping our Housing Repairs product to address communal repair needs appeared first on Made Tech.

Government accessibility posters

The Home Office has created a brilliant and useful set of accessibility posters. They clearly set out considerations for a range of accessiblity needs. They cover designing for users:

• on the autistic spectrum
• of screen readers
• with low vision
• with physical or motor disabilities
• who are deaf or hard of hearing
• with dyslexia

The posters are available for download in UK English and other languages on GitHub. If you’d like to see them all in one place, see this post on the Accessibility in government blog, Dos and don’ts on designing for accessibility. You can read more context about them there too.

There’s also a great poster about designing for users with dyscalculia or low numeracy. It was created by DWP and HMRC. It’s also available on Github. There’s also some interesting information about the research behind it too.

Accessible numbers

Accessible numbers is a website about presenting numbers and data clearly. It’s a companion to the DWP and HMRC poster. It has lots of useful information and guidance on things like:

• rounding up numbers
• leaving space around numbers
• letting people make mistakes

Upcoming accessibility features from Apple

An Apple press release from earlier this month includes details about upcoming accessibility features. It was titled Apple introduces new features for cognitive accessibility, along with Live Speech, Personal Voice, and Point and Speak in Magnifier.

These efforts are around making iPhone and iPad core apps more accessible. They’ll be rolling out high-contrast buttons and large text labels. There’s also a feature that will let people type messages to be spoken out loud on calls. And the Magnifier app will soon allow users to point a finger at real-world buttons and have their device detect and speak button labels.

Researching with blind and low vision users

Here’s a detailed blog post from Essex County Council’s Service Transformation blog. It’s titled Testing essex.gov with blind and low vision users. Accessibility has been a consideration behind the choice to move essex.gov.uk from Contentful to LocalGov Drupal.

Interestingly, the post isn’t just about how to make government websites more accessible to blind and low vision users. It has some excellent insights about making research sessions accessible too. For example:

“Some participants were very experienced with assistive technology and had experience testing websites. In that case we run the risk of using people who’ve essentially become professional testers or as Dave Travis says ‘design critics’. While expert users provided useful feedback, those with lower confidence provided different and equally valuable feedback.”

Quick accessibility tips

Quick and Small Accessibility is a site with brief accessibility tips shared in 150 words or fewer.

An alt text decision tree

On the subject of alt text, W3C has a useful decision tree for writing alt text in different contexts. It’s short, and doesn’t cover all use cases. But it does cover many of the use cases people in public sector technology are likely to come across.

Disability-inclusive design in the built environment

This link steps out of the digital, into the physical realm. This is a transcript of a recent talk, titled Inclusive Spaces: Disability-Inclusive Design for Climate Resilient Cities. A number of people spoke. It’s quite long, but this quote from Anna Landre gives an interesting slice of the subject:

“Additionally, it’s important to think intersectionally. Maybe the wheelchair user or deaf person that you’re designing for is also a parent with small children and that introduces different needs in the event of a disaster or in whatever you’re using a built environment for. And another really important point is to resist ableist assumptions about who is assistable or saveable in a crisis. Dr Watts Belser has talked a lot about how too often there are these thoughts that well not everybody’s going to make it in the event of a disaster and so we don’t have to design for every need in mind and this turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy…”

It’s a great read for any organisations that, like us, are thinking about how we can improve or change our office spaces to make them as accessible and inclusive as possible.

Share your links with us

If there are any accessibility pages or sites you’ve found especially useful, let us know via social media. We’re on:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Mastodon

Sign up to our Insights newsletter to hear more from the Made Tech team.

The post Some useful accessibility resources appeared first on Made Tech.

If you work in user-centred design (UCD), you probably know all this already. But if you’re new to UCD or unsure about how it can add value to the work you do, hopefully this post will come in handy! Let’s dive in. 

Putting users at the heart of every project

The goal for any user-centred project should be to fulfil user needs so you can create the best possible experience for them. If you don’t address your user needs and pain points then the work you do won’t be fit for purpose. You could end up building a substandard service – a waste of time and money. 

You should always put users first. They need to be involved to make this happen. No matter what product or service you design, if you’ve done user research at every point in that product’s lifecycle and, moreover, you’ve used it to inform design and decisions, then you should be set to deliver a great service. Along the way, you’ll be able to find out if you’re solving the right problem and building the right thing, and what to do instead if you’re not. 

How to elevate your research process

User research isn’t valuable without the people behind it making it happen. I want to share 6 things your team should do to get the best results possible. 

1. Get your communication skills on point

You’ll talk to a wide range of people, which means you’ll need strong communication and interpersonal skills. You’ll talk with people from all different walks of life. You could go into one project and talk to elderly people, and go into the next and talk to children. It’s super important to know how to switch that dynamic and still be able to make the user feel comfortable, safe and welcome.

2. Ask the right questions and use the right methodology

Asking the right questions depends on what the project is and at what point you’re at. If you’re in a discovery phase you might want to use a discussion guide – questions and topics you’ll discuss with users during an interview – to start understanding the landscape and background of your users. Those questions will need to be as open-ended as possible, so that you learn the full picture. In this discovery scenario, a survey, for example, probably wouldn’t be appropriate. But, you might use it later to complement your qualitative research with more hard data.

There isn’t one ‘right’ methodology to use. It varies. It depends on the project, who you’re speaking to and how much time you have. Find your own way of categorising different research methodologies and then think about the pros and cons of each alongside your project. 

When it comes to any kind of methodology or approach, ask for input and critique from other user researchers, designers and delivery managers. It helps to make sure you’re doing your research in the best possible way for you, and your users.

3. Up your organisation game

It often falls to you to be the person who’s recruiting your users, scheduling your sessions, planning your research sprints, looping in with your designers and feeding back to other teams. There’s a lot going on – you’re not just researching with users. So if you’re not careful with your time you’ll struggle. You don’t want to risk cutting into your time with users, or feeling so stressed and overworked that you can’t give them your all. 

Schedule your sessions as in advance as you can, leave breaks in between and give yourself time to decompress and go over what you’ve learnt so far. Interview fatigue is a real thing, so be careful you don’t burn yourself out. 

At the same time, be flexible. When you speak to a user you’re on their time, so be mindful of that and do the best you can to work to their schedules too. 

4. Have patience 

Patience is a must. There might be users who don’t have much time to talk to you. Or you’ll get the opposite, where a user will spend ages talking about something that isn’t relevant. It’s all about finding the balance between being patient and listening to them, but also knowing when to bring them back on topic. 

It’s not always a bad thing when the user goes off-topic. Listen to what they’re saying. Sometimes you’ll get a super valuable insight you wouldn’t have otherwise got, or thought to ask about.

5. Pay attention to accessibility and inclusion needs

We talk a lot about accessibility and inclusion. And to understand them you need to really understand your users. You need to understand who they are, how they do things, what needs they have; do they have any audio, visual, physical or neurodivergent needs, for example? Do they have any disabilities, learning or otherwise? Where are they when they use a service or product, and how does that affect how they use it? 

I once did user research where the majority of users were single parents logging into a particular service using a mobile phone. However, nearly every time they were logging in they’d be doing something like pushing a buggy, or getting a baby off to sleep, or pushing a swing. They were almost always using the service with one-hand. So, we decided to design an interface that could be used easily with one hand, rather than two.

Being inclusive and making a service accessible is not an afterthought. You have to design for all users. 

6. Advocate for the user

When you’ve been asked to deliver a project for another team, in my experience, sometimes they don’t understand what it is that you’re there to do. And that’s really challenging because obviously, they’re the people who are in charge of the project, and who you report to. But my advice for anybody in that scenario is to just remember that your number one role in that space is to advocate for your users. Encourage your team to lead with user needs and pain points, and that way you can make sure they aren’t overlooked. 

Making a difference

My main point in all of this is that whatever you’re building, it needs to be user focused. Don’t let business needs distract you, especially if they’re not what your users are saying. It can be hard to navigate those tricky conversations and it is often challenging, but if you practise this advice and advocate for your users from the get-go, you can help make a real difference to people’s everyday lives. 

If you’d like to read more about how user research can help your organisation, subscribe to our Made Tech Insights newsletter to get new blog posts straight to your inbox.

The post Maximising the value of user research appeared first on Made Tech.