Before you meet with people
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There are a few things you should do to make the most of your time with users and stakeholders.
Check if your questions have been answered
Ask the user-centred design (UCD) community if there is existing knowledge or user research you can use. If you have a user research plan, ask if it needs to be reviewed before you start.
Find out how to join the UCD community.
Ask someone in the military to help
When inviting military personnel to meet with you, you need to follow a chain of command. A military sponsor can help you follow the chain of command, understand context and arrange visits to MOD sites.
Ask your stakeholders to introduce you to the right military sponsor.
Give people choice and tell them what to expect
Make it clear that participation is voluntary and that they can stop taking part at any time. Share details about your service, your team and why you would like to meet.
For user research sessions, you must give participants the MOD consent form and the MOD understanding your participation sheet.
Find out more and use the MOD templates.
Take care offering incentives
Sometimes we can offer participants vouchers to compensate for their time. You will need approval from your Head of User Research to do this. If you don’t know who this is, ask the UCD community.
It is best to issue vouchers through participant recruitment agencies. The amount should be comparable with the participant’s hourly pay and take any travel into account.
Give participants their voucher at the start of the session so that they don’t feel they have to stay or only give positive feedback.
Find out how to join the UCD community.
Plan what you will cover
Create things like meeting agendas, presentations or user research discussion guides. Write these in plain English so that all users can understand them.
Ask someone to take notes so that you can focus on running the session. This is crucial in Defence settings where there is no wifi or you are not allowed to record conversations.
Consider physical and emotional needs
Review what you plan to cover in sessions and assess any risks to triggering past trauma.
For in-person sessions away from a user’s day to day environment, choose a venue that is quiet and easy to access. If sensitive topics are likely to come up, you will need a private area.
Keep sessions short. If you need a longer session, plan for comfort breaks.
Published February 2023