This project required strong direction at the start, so I collected and shared a landscape map of the current support available for families. This acted as a tool to form stakeholder discussions around and build detailed user journey maps, service blueprints and system maps.
Delays in research meant there was a risk we wouldn't have enough time to work with the research findings.
To combat this, I designed and led lean research synthesis sessions with the user-centred design team. I planned the sessions so I could guide the team to defined outcomes, with activities that made reporting on research findings easier at the end of the project.
We were able to deliver initial user needs and service principles under considerable time pressure.
The delays in research also risked a lack of user representation in business analysis activities that were happening in parallel.
To mitigate this risk, I used the project desk research to understand barriers that parents experience when accessing childcare. These barriers helped me create User Mindsets, which helped the wider team empathise with users while avoiding flattening the range of experiences from a broad user group.
These mindsets were used as an evaluation tool for opportunity analysis, and were validated and developed further after research was finished. I wanted my work to be valuable to the policy team for other areas of their programme and the User Mindsets are an accessible way to consider users in future work.