User-Centred Design (UCD) Principles

Note

These principles are not yet approved by the DHCW TDA

Start with user needs

Test your assumptions.

Public services are for everyone and must be driven by user needs.

User research prevents wasted resources and reveals real problems, enabling evidence-based, cost-effective decisions.

Use data to make decision.

Continuously monitor service performance and use data and user feedback to prioritise improvements and identify problems that need to be fixed

Make the service easy to use and make sure everyone can use it.

Design inclusively, ensuring easy access for all, including those often excluded.

Healthcare can be complex. Do the hard work to make it simpler

Consider what good will look like, how it fits with the entire services, and how you will measure outcomes.

Understand users and their needs in the context of health and care.

Use an incremental, fast-paced approach to get working products into users’ hands as early as possible, as often as possible.

Rapidly iterate and focus on the improvements that have the most value, based on user feedback.

Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns and share what you’re doing whenever you can.

Design and build services that promote and ease the use of Welsh and treat those who speak it equally with those who speak English.

Services must be secure and safe to maintain users’ trust.

Digital information, tools and services have the potential to cause patient harm.

Respect and protect users' confidentiality and privacy.

The climate crisis is a health crisis.

Follow sustainability best practice to reduce the environmental impact of your service across its lifespan.