Good digital services start with a clear understanding of the people who use them and the problems they need to solve.
We help public and third sector organisations understand user needs, review existing services and agree what to do next. Our discovery and user research work gives you evidence to make decisions, challenge assumptions and focus time and budget on the right problems.
Start with the problem
You might be planning a new website, replacing an ageing content management system or improving a service that isn’t working as well as it should. Before deciding what to build or change, we’ll help you understand why.
We establish your objectives, review what’s already known and identify gaps in the evidence. We can plan and carry out research from the start, or build on previous work carried out by your organisation and its partners.
We draw on existing research, analytics, customer feedback and insight from support teams where available. If you have an in-house research or customer experience team, we can work alongside them.
We also look at where your website or digital service fits into the wider user journey, including the steps and systems that could affect the experience.
Understand your users
We plan research around the questions you need to answer. This might include interviews, surveys or observing people using your existing website or service.
We explore what people are trying to achieve, the language they use and the barriers they encounter. We consider different access needs, levels of digital confidence and the circumstances in which people use your service.
We share findings throughout, giving you opportunities to discuss what they mean for the project.
Turn findings into a clear direction
We bring the findings together, explain the implications and agree priorities with you.
Depending on the scope, you could come away with:
- A clear description of the problem and agreed project objectives
- Evidence-based user needs and priority tasks
- Journey maps showing key steps, barriers and opportunities
- An understanding of content, accessibility and service constraints
- Recommendations for what to explore, prototype or test next
Research throughout the project
Discovery establishes a direction, but research continues as your service develops.
We can deliver a focused piece of research or provide ongoing support through the Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live delivery phases - from understanding the problem and testing early ideas to refining the service and improving it after launch.
Our approach aligns with the GOV.UK Service Manual and adapts to your project’s scope, timescales and budget. We plan and carry out research, analyse the findings and provide clear recommendations to guide design and development.
