SERVICE STANDARD · POINT 1
Understand users and their needs
Every good service starts with a grounded picture of the people it affects — what they are trying to do, what gets in their way, and what support they need along the way.
Spend time with the people who will use the service and the staff who support it. Research should cover the full journey, including assisted digital routes. Teams demonstrate this with evidence of user needs, not assumptions.
User research in government services is not a one-off survey at the start. Teams revisit users throughout Discovery, Alpha, and Beta, and continue learning once a service is Live. Research plans should include people who find digital difficult, those who need assisted support, and staff who help users complete tasks.
The standard asks for evidence, not opinions. That means documented needs linked to real behaviour — interview notes, journey observations, analytics, and support data — rather than stakeholder assertions about what users want.
How teams usually demonstrate this
- A user needs log or research wall showing needs traced to evidence
- Research coverage across the full journey, including edge cases and assisted digital
- Clear articulation of who the service is for and who it is not for yet
- Research findings that shaped scope and prioritisation decisions
Phases where this often matters
See also delivery phase guides and how frameworks fit together.
Related standard points
- Point 2: Solve a whole problem for users
- Point 4: Make the service simple to use
- Point 5: Make sure everyone can use the service
- Point 6: Have a multidisciplinary team
Point 1 of the Service Standard is published by the Government Digital Service on GOV.UK. Content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. UCD Services explains the standard in its own words and is not affiliated with GOV.UK or the Government Digital Service.