{"id":18901,"date":"2023-02-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techforgood.cymru\/resource\/how-to-get-your-users-involved-in-shaping-your-services\/"},"modified":"2024-09-24T08:14:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T07:14:11","slug":"how-to-get-your-users-involved-in-shaping-your-services","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/promo.cymru\/cy\/resource-articles\/how-to-get-your-users-involved-in-shaping-your-services\/","title":{"rendered":"How to do user research using remote working tools"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve talked about how to keep your team working<\/a> and connected<\/a>. And we\u2019re writing a guide to delivering services digitally. But, in this time of Covid, when you\u2019ve less face-to-face time with your beneficiaries, how do you find out what they need from your organisation?<\/p>\n

It turns out there\u2019s several ways of doing this by combining common user research methods and remote working tools. User research is what we call finding out the needs and behaviours of the people we are trying to help. Its methods will help you get clear what your users need<\/a> first, so you make better decisions about which solution and technology to use for your new online delivery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

User research delivered a eureka moment for <\/em>Barnardo\u2019s 4U WhatsApp service<\/em><\/a>. It helped them learn that parts of the service they intended to develop weren\u2019t needed by their users. This led to a better service experience, and saved them money.<\/em><\/p>\n

Remote involvement is better in one big way<\/h2>\n

Many traditional user participation methods involve getting people together in a room to talk about an issue or generate ideas (think about focus groups and consultation events). But these have a big drawback: they take people out of the context of their normal lives and put them in an abstract environment with people they don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

This environment makes it harder for people to talk openly about their experiences. This in turn makes it harder for you to learn what it\u2019s like to live in their world. Remote participation avoids this because it enables your users to engage with you from a place of normality and comfort. This makes it easier for you to learn about their here-and-now experience.<\/p>\n

Below we\u2019ve listed six common techniques, in order of ease.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve listed six . But beware of making decisions based only on group discussions or surveys (1\u20133). We recommend always running user interviews (4 & 5). And if you\u2019re creating a digital service you should find a way to usability test (6) as early as possible.<\/p>\n

Use these methods with beneficiaries, carers, family members, even volunteers and colleagues.<\/p>\n

1. Social media for general feedback on non-sensitive issues<\/h2>\n

This is for when you:<\/p>\n