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Intro to User-Centered Web Services

What It Is

Human-centered web services are designed alongside the service's real-world users. Inclusive web services are the results of inclusive design collaborations and methods.

Without user feedback and data, you may be making assumptions about:

  • Who your real users are, their diverse needs and barriers
  • What is the real problem that needs to be solved
  • What solutions will solve your users' problems and how to prioritize solutions
  • The success of your implemented solutions

Why It's Important

To deliver a service that meets your users’ needs, you have to understand:

  • Who the users are
  • What they’re trying to do
  • How they’re trying to do it
  • How their life or work influences what they do and how
  • How they use and experience existing services

How to Do It

  1. Use the UX Guides to begin project planning and kick-off of your project.
  2. Begin onboarding your team with an understanding of the value that human-centered activities and outcomes bring to the project and that the work you do during this phase will inform everything that follows.
  3. Understanding your users from the very beginning of the project to build context for the problem you’re investigating.
  4. Understand and align your stakeholders’ main concerns and goals with the project outcomes from the start.
  5. Use your research to inform a measurement plan based on stakeholder and user success.
  6. Plan from the beginning to identify requirements for the MVP and incremental improvements based on user feedback.
  7. Because humans and technology constantly change, plan on integrating a cycle of continuous improvement into the website or application you're working on. 

Learn More

User Research: What It Is And Why You Should Do It, Interaction Design Foundation — What all user research has in common is that it helps place people at the center of your design process and your products.

Privacy Considerations for Government UX Research,18F — You have an obligation to steward information in a way that respects privacy. 

Join our Digital Strategy Community of Practice (State employees) — A place to share knowledge, connect ideas, and contribute to State of Colorado UX resources and tools for websites and applications.