Guidance

Define user needs

Understand your users and their needs. Develop knowledge of your users and what that means for your technology project or programme.

• From: Central Digital and Data Office
• Published: 6 November 2017
• Last updated: 31 March 2021 — See all updates

To meet point 1 of the Technology Code of Practice (TCoP) your plans must show you understand your users and their needs.

If you’re going through the spend control process you must explain how you’re meeting point 1.

How user research will help your programme

Doing user research will help your technology project or programme by identifying:

• any risks to introducing or changing the technology
• the skills needed to deliver, use and manage the technology
• the technologies that service support teams will need for their end users
• the commercial and operational needs, for example, the need to decommission an obsolete mainframe in order to create a more resilient data and service tier

User research can also:

• make sure that services such as online office suites, network shares, project management software and HR suites really do meet your users’ needs
• support internal agreement of what you want the technology to help you achieve

Next: Technology Code of Practice point 2 - Make things accessible and inclusive

Related guides

• Government technology standards and guidance
• user research training for central government workers
• User research for government services: an introduction
• Learning about users and their needs
• user research
• assisted digital support

Published 6 November 2017
Last updated 31 March 2021 + show all updates

1. 31 March 2021

   Addition of a temporary research survey to get user feedback on the Technology Code of Practice.

2. 6 November 2017

   First published.