User research helps teams better understand the people who use their products or services. It can be used to explore big-picture challenges and identify areas of opportunity or to dig into specific issues. For example, it can help uncover which part of a form is confusing users or which section of a website could be clearer.
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Interviews: One-on-one (though sometimes it may include more than one interviewee) conversations with people to learn about their experiences, needs, and challenges in their own words.
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Usability testing: Observing people as they use a product or service to see what works well and where they have issues.
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Surveys: Questionnaires used to gather feedback from a larger group of people quickly and at scale.
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Co-design sessions: Collaborative workshops where users and team members work together to generate ideas and shape solutions.
While you don’t need special skills to start listening to feedback from the people using your products or services, having someone on your team who specializes in user experience (UX) design, content design, service design, user research, or customer experience (CX) can help you dive deeper and make the most of what you learn. These specialists bring tools and techniques that help uncover root causes, identify patterns, and turn insights into improvements.
Conducting user research can help a team mitigate risks, reduce costs, and deliver better products and services. For state agencies, it also plays a key role in advancing equity by making sure services are accessible and effective for all residents, including those who face language, technology, or accessibility barriers. It supports more informed decision-making by grounding choices in real-world experiences rather than assumptions. By listening to users and responding to their needs, agencies can also build public trust and confidence in government.
Research helps teams prioritize resources by identifying the most pressing challenges, and it improves compliance and participation by making processes easier to understand and complete. Ultimately, user research helps ensure that programs and services fulfill their intended purpose and align with broader policy goals.
CDS, in collaboration with Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), conducted research with Colorado residents to assess whether a solution like an automated voice system would be something residents that are applying to benefits would feel comfortable with and could easily engage with to provide their personal information. The team gathered feedback through a survey and developed a prototype of the solution, which was used to test the concept with users. By testing out the concept first, CDHS was able to identify challenges and considerations with the concept before jumping all in on the idea.
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) worked with CDS to conduct usability testing on Connecting Colorado, the state’s digital experience for employers and job seekers to connect with each other and access workforce and employment services. CDS conducted usability research with a wide variety of un- and underemployed Coloradans to improve the user experience before launch. Conducting usability testing before launching the new experience reduces call center and front line staff time needed to assist customers.
Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) wanted to gain insight into ratepayers’ current experience accessing energy affordability assistance programs. They partnered with CDS to conduct user research through a series of interviews with Coloradans, where they were able to learn about their customers’ current experience and what is causing friction in accessing and using energy affordability assistance programs today. Through this user research, PUC is able to deliver a screener tool that is easy to navigate and a frictionless user experience. CDS also leveraged user research with minorities and vulnerable populations to advocate for human translation of the screener tool in other widely spoken languages besides English. The research findings also helped guide PUC’s marketing efforts through a community centric approach.
It’s important to apply the right methods to the situation at hand. If you have researchers in your group, they’ll be able to help the team hone in on research objectives, create a research plan, and execute on the research plan. They will also be able to synthesize research findings into actionable insights, and help the team prioritize next steps.
If you are a Colorado state agency looking for help with user research, Colorado Digital Service (CDS) can partner with you from start to finish. CDS can also provide guidance on finding an external vendor partner.
➡️ Check out work CDS has done with different state agencies: https://coloradodigitalservice.medium.com/
An external vendor can help with recruiting user research participants, conducting research, and/or paying participants.
➡️ Here’s a list of considerations when assessing a vendor:https://github.com/coloradodigitalservice/vendor-evaluation
- Trauma-informed design and research
- Incorporating equity into decision making
More resources coming soon
A growing number of government agencies also have online resources around user research. This list is just a sample of resources available to learn more about user research and human-centered design.