Creating shared user understanding in a large central government project

A large central government department sought to improve its effectiveness by integrating multiple intelligence data sources into a single enterprise system. This initiative was part of a larger digital transformation project that replaced several siloed systems. The work involved a small user-centered design (UCD) team collaborating with a large delivery contractor in a sensitive environment with limited user access.

I proposed a rolling programme of semi-structured interviews with users across the department to gather and validate user needs. These insights were stored and analyzed using the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework, which allowed the team to make the most of limited user access while providing a structured way to document findings. The JTBD format offered several key advantages:

• Facilitated shared understanding across UCD and non-UCD teams.

• Helped prioritize future research by identifying knowledge gaps.

• Enabled the creation of personas for use by design and development teams.

• Supported traceability between research findings and design decisions.

  
  

The JTBD framework also served as the foundation for a maintainable insight library, preventing duplication of work across teams and mitigating challenges caused by high staff turnover.

The JTBD insights allowed the UCD team to contribute continuously throughout the project, ensuring user needs remained central to design and development. The structured approach supported the prioritisation of further research and fostered collaboration, ultimately enhancing the project’s ability to meet user needs effectively.