Aglet

Verify a Product Problem Baseline

A baseline is useful only when the future comparison remains fair. Verification checks its unit, source, sample, time window, missingness, and relationship to the desired outcome. Record acceptable variation and the conditions that would make the baseline inconclusive for this decision.

Check whether the outcome improved

  1. Define measurement acceptance

    Specify the unit, start and end, inclusion rules, cohort, period, source, and missing-data treatment. Name the desired user outcome and state how the baseline relates to it. Keep proxy measures labeled as proxies.

  2. Reproduce the starting result

    Recalculate or reobserve the baseline using the recorded method. Inspect individual cases, exceptional paths, and missing records. Compare cohorts and confirm that the same definition works for the users and task states the change intends to affect.

  3. Set comparison boundaries

    Document acceptable variance, confounds, and a review point after the intervention. State what a changed number cannot prove about satisfaction, cause, or long-term value. Assign a follow-up when the baseline is too narrow for the decision.

What to carry forward

The verification record should show the unit, method, sample, reproduced result, exceptions, and comparison boundary. Approve the baseline for the context measured. Mark it inconclusive when missingness or changing definitions prevent a fair before-and-after comparison.

Technical background: GOV.UK user research guidance.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

Create an account See the product workflow