Case study:
Helping the NHS design online training for people with type 2 diabetes
The challenge
We were appointed to lead on the user research for an NHS service that had to be delivered in-line with the GOV.UK Service Standard and NHS Design Principles.
The service was an educational website aimed at people with type 2 diabetes but project team had no previous experience in delivering digital services to GOV.UK or NHS standards.
Our approach
The project team included academics and clinicians, who brought a lot of expertise and data to the table. Although numerous studies relating to type 2 diabetes had already been done, they were medical studies and hadn’t factored in thins like needs and pain-points for people living with the condition.
As with any new public sector service, the starting point was to run some discovery research to understand users and their needs - the first criteria of the GOV.UK Service Standard - which was essential before any design and development starts.
What we did
Recruited people with or at risk of diabetes online using social media adverts by targeting specific demographics, behaviours and locations, as well as using offline recruitment using local support groups (for hard-to-reach participants).
• Set up an online user panel for ongoing user research with patients, carers, doctors and nurses across the UK>
• Conducted in-depth discovery interviews and journey-mapping, followed by card-sorting (to inform the design of the navigation) and regular usability testing sessions (face-to-face and remote) every sprint.
Results
60 interviews and 40 usability tests conducted with a varied audience including patients, academics, healthcare professionals and charities over 10 months.
Regular findings reports delivered after every round of research including content audits, fully evidenced user needs statements, personas, user journeys and usability issues identified by severity with actionable recommendations provided.
Iterative design changes made based on multiple rounds of usability testing.
Guided the team through 2 successive Service Assessments, progressing from Discovery to Private Beta in 10 months.
“We benefited immensely from UserLab’s expert knowledge and research. As well as engaging with over 100 users from a diverse range of backgrounds and locations using interviews and remote testing sessions, they shared their expertise to guide us through a successful GDS assessment process.”
— Louise Taylor, Head of Product at Changing Health
“UserLab provided high quality research and recommendations which supported our decision making. They were instrumental in the service successfully achieving assurance milestones from GDS.”
— Helen Slee, Programme Manager, NHS England