Communicating user insights to decision makers can be challenging. With this resource, you can create a single point of reference for the most useful user insights. This ensures understanding of user needs, behaviours and pain points.

The summary report can also be the starting point for future projects. Summarise your learnings into actionable statements using this resource to identify improvement opportunities and foster a culture where user feedback informs continuous innovation.

When to make an insights summary report

You can use this resource to summarise your insights at the end of any of these research activities:

You might also find it helpful when trying to get the support from decision makers. This could be to make a case for testing ideas through prototyping, trying an experiment, or for understanding the riskiest assumptions.

How to make an insights summary report

Use the questions in the resource to reflect on the findings from your research. Focus on:

  • the people who use your services
  • how your services are really used
  • the impact of problems
  • where things could be improved

Be clear and objective

Write your statements in a clear, unbiased way. You should not assume any previous knowledge of facts, product or service. Everyone, even those with little context, should be able to understand them.

Provide actionable insights

Research comes in different formats. For example, clips you have listened to, or articles you have read. Include all of them in your analysis. Focus on providing insights that you can easily action. Support any recommendations with evidence from your research.

Respect confidentiality

Respect confidentiality and anonymity. Avoid including any identifiable information unless you have explicit consent.

What you can do next

Once you have analysed and consolidated the insights, use them to identify opportunities for addressing the determined problems through changes.

Share the knowledge

Do not keep all the learnings to yourself. Make them accessible, actionable and useful to anyone for current and future projects, both within and outside your council. The more you share, the more other councils can learn about the people and their needs. Localgov.digital user research library is a good example of how to share findings within and across councils.

Keep maintaining the repository with new user research findings. This way it stays relevant and current.

Inform decisions

Share any learnings with stakeholders and other service teams in your council. This creates a common understanding of people’s needs and behaviours. You can make a case for testing assumptions and ideas before committing to a solution. For example:

Understand how to engage with your stakeholders to make a case for change.

You can recreate this resource in a format that suits you.

  1. Gather all your research data.
  2. Label the insight based on its content. For example, ‘housing’.
  3. Read all the data from beginning to end. What looks interesting?
  4. Summarise key information from the insights, such as service users, how services are used, where things could be improved, and the impact of problems.
  5. Create a list to organise your insights using the following headings:
    • objectives – what did you hope to learn from your research activities?
    • project scope – what did you plan to do for this research?
    • what the service looks like today – how is the service delivered? What systems, processes or platforms are used?
    • key themes of the service today – what patterns do you notice in what users say? What impression do you get of expectations and experiences overall?
    • common frustrations when interacting with the service – think about things like time, resources, emotions, or language
    • user journeys – how do people find the service? Where do they start?What happens next? When do they complete their goals?
    • user needs – prioritised, additional and potential
  6. Create a comparison table linking your findings to the Local Digital Declaration commitments to guide decision-making and prioritise actions for change.
  7. In the table, create a row for each Local Digital Declaration principle. Then create two columns to mark evidence of things that are going well or areas for improvement.

Tips for this activity

  • try and summarise the service in a few sentences
  • include any interesting stats and quotes
  • do not overcomplicate it, you want some key headlines you can easily share
  • user needs can be practical and functional tasks, as well as emotional