Choose a decision to investigate
Write the decision and your assumptions before creating screens. For a booking journey, assumptions might concern appointment names, eligibility information or what happens after submission. For a staff tool, they might concern record ownership and exception handling.
Map the people involved, including carers, reception teams and anyone using an assisted route. Include people with relevant access needs in the research plan. A convenient group of colleagues is useful for an early check, but it does not represent the intended audience.
Prepare a task-based session
Use a prototype with fictional details and ask participants to complete a realistic task. Avoid telling them which button to press. Observe what they look for, what they misunderstand and where they need help.
Keep research material proportionate to the question. Decide how consent, notes and recordings will be handled through your organisation's research arrangements. Do not ask people to reveal medical details simply to test the navigation of a service page.
Use a simple observation sheet
- Task and intended outcome.
- What the participant expected to happen.
- Where they hesitated, misunderstood or abandoned the task.
- Whether the issue was content, interaction, accessibility or an operational dependency.
- Evidence supporting the observation, without unnecessary personal detail.
- Proposed change, owner and the next test needed.
Turn findings into decisions
Distinguish an observed difficulty from a participant's preferred solution. Several people may struggle to identify the right appointment, but that does not automatically mean the product needs a chatbot. Clearer labels or a staffed contact route may address the problem.
Prioritise issues by their effect on completing the task, then test the revised design. Record what remains uncertain and where the research sample is limited. Use the resulting evidence in the design brief and acceptance criteria so learning survives beyond the research presentation.
Further reading
These primary sources provide additional context for the project decisions above.
Related decisions
Turn the brief into a working service
Kay & Co. can help you scope the work, design the experience and deliver the right solution for your organisation.