Understanding design goals
Design challenges
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Method 1: Comparative analyses
What
A comparative analysis is a detailed review of similar experiences provided by direct competitors or related agencies or services.
Why
This research activity helps identify competitors' solutions that are:
- Excelling
- Lacking
- Missing critical design elements
Use comparative analysis to identify opportunities, gaps, and patterns to adopt or avoid.
How to do it
- Make a list of competitors that provide the same or similar services to your own. Reduce the list down to four or five competitors.
- Establish which criteria or heuristics you will use to evaluate each competing service.
- Break down the analysis of each selected competitor into specific areas for evaluation. For example, how relevant are search results?
- Use a spreadsheet to:
- Capture the evaluation.
- Determine how the targeted services and agencies perform based on the identified heuristics.
- Present the analysis. This should showcase areas of opportunities that you can take advantage of and design patterns you might adopt or avoid.
Case study
A GSA design team conducted a comparative analysis to inform work on the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS). They looked at how other systems approach pattern libraries, style guides, and front-end framework documentation, among other things.
Learn more about the USWDS comparative analysis.
Time required
1 to 2 hours to analyze and write an evaluation about each competitor
Method 2: Contextual inquiry
What
Contextual inquiry is a research method where you:
- Observe participants in their normal environment, with their permission
- Then ask questions
Why
Use research approach to understand:
- What users do and why
- Needs and attitudes that might not emerge in a user interview
- How digital and non-digital tools interact during complex activities
How to do it
- Get permission from the participant.
- Get permission from the participant's supervisor or manager if they are a federal employee. Also contact the agency's labor relations team if participants could be under union agreements.
- Schedule a time to watch a typical work activity and record data.
- While observing, ask the participant to act normally. Pretend you are a student learning how to do the job. Ask questions to help you understand what the person is doing and why.
- At the end of the session, explain what you have learned and check for errors.
- Write up your notes immediately after the observation session.
Case study
GSA team members visited two Department of Labor/Wage Hour Division investigators as they interviewed home health care workers who were subject to unpaid overtime and other infractions.
Since it was a sensitive subject, the design team did not question the health care workers directly, but instead asked the investigators clarifying questions in private. The design team also made sure that photos did not include faces.
Time required
1 to 2 hours per user
Method 3: Five whys
What
The five whys is an iterative process for identifying the root cause of a problem by asking the question "Why?" at least five times
Why
This approach helps to identify the root cause of an issue or problem.
How to do it
- Select an issue or problem to investigate further. This could be the most common or high-impact problem for the team.
- Ask "Why?" to uncover why the issue occurred and write down an answer.
- Repeat this process another four times. Build off of the previous response each time to drill down to a root cause.
As you probe, make sure you remain sensitive to the emotional state of the individual or team. Sometimes asking "Why?" multiple times can cause the interviewee to feel frustrated or defensive if they do not feel heard.
You may ask "Why?" more or less than five times during this process. The purpose of this exercise is to help identify what is the root cause. Ask "Why?" as many times as you need to get to what you think the root cause is, while keeping the mental cost of the interviewee or team in mind.
Example
Starting problem: “We did not meet our goal for public feedback during the open comment period.”
- Why?
“Not enough people submitted comments.” - Why?
“Not enough people made it to the comment submission form.” - Why?
“The comment submission form was hard to find.” - Why?
“The link to the comment submission form was buried on the page.” - Why?
“We did not formulate and publish a call to action to submit comments.”
After getting to a root cause, frame or reframe your problem solving approach to address it (such as “how might we create a call to action for comment submission?”).
Time required
Less than 1 hour
