How user research roles systematize user centricity
Government digital services are only user-oriented if they are developed for and with future users. The German government has also recognized this and defined user orientation in its service standard as the overriding principle of administrative digitization. After all, implementation can only be successful if citizens, companies and administrative staff actually use these services and derive added value from them.
When we digitize administrative services, we must ensure that we know our users and their needs precisely. To do this, we conduct user research. Since spring 2023, we have had additional specialists on board specifically for this purpose.
In the following blog post, the user researchers summarize their first months within DigitalService. They show how they set up the user research sub-discipline, what hurdles and successes there are and what next steps are planned.
Sonja Wilczek
is a Senior User Researcher at DigitalService. She is passionate about user-centered development of digital services and products that add real value. In the past, she has supported various companies in establishing the topic of user research, most recently TIER Mobility. When she's not talking to project teams about user needs, you can find her in the garden with her kids or at a concert with her partner.
Lisa Henke
works as a freelancer in the field of user research and has been conducting research on the topic of taxes at DigitalService for the past year. Previously, she has driven the topic of user-centered product development for various industries (B2B & B2C) and products, as well as supported the development of internal processes and teams. Her passion is the strategic derivation of insights to develop meaningful products.