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Listen carefully for implicit and explicit needs: During user research, discuss their daily lives and observe their real-world actions to contextualise their needs. Use a discussion guide to capture all facets of their experience. While some needs or pain points will be stated explicitly, pay attention to small or superfluous details to recognise the implicit ones. Use at least two methods of user research (such as open-ended interviews and observing users completing relevant tasks) to ensure what they say matches what they do.

Begin with pain points: Identify and address the most common pain points your service should address. Prioritise them by most impactful (which isn’t necessarily the number of users affected). Adopt continuous improvement to address pain points which emerge after launch or upgrades.

Observe usage patterns: Use various data sources to identify how frequently different users might use your service. Stress test your solution for pain-points along task journeys and assess load-bearing capacity during peak periods.

Map experiences: Use visual aids to ensure the breadth of user interactions are captured and your team works from a shared understanding. Build, test and refine journey maps and job stories to understand users’ end-to-end journeys and behind the scenes processes, reduce unintentional duplication and communicate findings.