Why research is key to solving the content design puzzle

If you think of the content design process as a puzzle, research is the stage which helps you figure out how many pieces you’ve got, what’s on them, where the edge pieces are and helps you see the wider picture.

So just like doing that work at the start makes putting the puzzle together easier, a thorough research process makes the creation and design of content straightforward too.

Good research has a number of benefits. It can help with:

• Identifying key problems
• Finding gaps in your current content
• Identifying the potential audience — who they are, where they are, what they need and how to reach them
• Understanding user motivations and priorities
• Choices around language and terminology
• Developing shared ownership of a project with stakeholders

And without regurgitating everything Sarah Richards says about the research process, I thought I’d offer a quick overview of some of the aspects of research that we found particularly useful as we worked through the content design process on Shelter’s universal credit content.

Desk-based research

There’s a wealth of information at your fingertips — far more than just Google Analytics and keyword tools (though these are both useful tools to start with).

For example, we wanted to get a top-level grasp of the scale of the universal credit system — how many are currently on it, how many will move onto it, where those claims are and will be, how much each claim is for and where people were in the housing sector.

We could gather this information instantly from the DWP’s Stat Xplore tool which allowed us to delve into the most recent data available.

We also wanted to get an idea of issues that had already been identified in the system and what the ramifications may mean for someone’s housing options.

A quick Google search found extensive research briefings around the impact of Universal Credit from national charities such as Gingerbread and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Local authorities and housing associations had conducted surveys when universal credit started in their area, and groups such as the National Housing Federation and Residential Landlord Association had conducted their own research with their members.

In addition, we could tap into internal data sources within Shelter. We had webchat transcripts with users, policy briefings from our research team, and website analytics available to explore.

Working through these, we could see issues that were coming up again and again:

• confusion around the application process and who has to apply for universal credit
• wait times causing budgeting issues
• rent arrears building up and increasing the risk of eviction
• landlords refusing tenants claiming universal credit
• confusion around rent payments not going to landlords and how to make this happen
• how to claim an advance

We found desk research was particularly useful in helping to identify potential content gaps and providing context to issues identified through our own research with users.

Talking to users

During the universal credit work, we spent time with Shelter clients asking them for feedback on our existing universal credit content.

This gave us some inkling of how effective our current content was and what could be done to improve it.

There were some useful insights offered such as being able to see where they were in the universal credit process and the need for easier and clearer navigation between pages. Users also said they found some of the page title’s ambiguous and long passages of text that detailed a process difficult to read and follow.

We also spent time in Manchester shadowing universal credit advisers as they spoke to clients. Here we were able to see first-hand people trying to manage their way around the universal credit system and hear the issues that had brought them in to seek face-to-face advice.

This was a useful exercise as not only did we have the opportunity to hear about the situations claimants were in and the choices they faced, but we were able to find out their journey to that point and the obstacles they had found too difficult to navigate.

Workshops with subject matter experts

It’s obviously great to tap into the wealth of knowledge that’s available within your organisation. The earlier you can identify subject matter experts, the better.

Subject matter experts are great for telling you how the system works in practice, where people get caught out or struggle and how to find a way forward. This is a key part of the puzzle that you wouldn’t find through user research or reading report after report so it’s essential to the process for creating advice content.

We’ve seen that a lot of the information gathered during these expert workshops and conversations makes its way directly into the content that we create.

But the additional bonus is the sense of shared ownership that working alongside colleagues outside our content team brings.

By consulting them at the start of the project and referring to them throughout the following stages, you ensure that the wider organisation is aligned with your thinking and confident in the content that has been created.

Ready to start the puzzle?

At the end of your research phase, you should feel equipped to start identifying specific user needs and working them into user/job stories.

But the usefulness of research shouldn’t end there.

As you move through from content skeletons to first drafts and crits, the foundation of research you’ve built should continue to inform choices and keep the user at the centre of everything you do.