Aglet

Triage User Needs for Evidence and Scope

A useful user need sounds like something a person would recognize, not like an internal feature request. Triage candidate statements by tracing who needs what, when the need appears, and what evidence exists. Separate a real outcome from a proposed channel, interface, or policy response.

Establish what is happening

  1. Rewrite the statement

    Put each candidate in the user's perspective: what they need to do and why the outcome matters. Remove product nouns and internal process terms. Record the triggering situation, constraints, and whether the statement describes a recurring task or an exceptional request.

  2. Attach direct evidence

    Link interviews, observations, support records, or task traces to the need. Note the participant context and exact behavior that supports it. Label inferred motivations separately from actions, and record when the evidence is only a stakeholder opinion.

  3. Define the boundary

    List user groups, circumstances, and outcomes included in the need. Add exclusions for adjacent requests that require different evidence. Identify the question that would most change the statement before it enters a roadmap or research plan.

What to carry forward

The triage output is an evidence-linked need statement with trigger, user context, desired outcome, and open question. Stop when the statement can stand without a feature name. Keep it provisional when no direct observation supports the claimed outcome.

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