Needs Assessments

This is an early engagement (or set of engagements) with our partner or client where we discuss what their needs are and what the perceived needs of their user are.

Purpose

The purpose of a Needs Assessment is to:

• Meet with the partner and listen to their requirements

• Learn what their perception of the user needs are to be able to confirm when engagements and primary research take place

• Collect all information that will inform our Brief Development stage

Note: The terms Needs Assessment & Brief Development are internal jargon used to define and separate project stages that we consider important.

This becomes the temporary Terms of Service (if the partner hasn’t given one).

It is an important document as once it evolves in the Brief Development stage it lays out in broad strokes what is required from the OCL team and what is expected of the partner in the early stages of the project and relationship.

Methodology

• Dig deep into the partner needs and their intended users with questions like these.

• Develop the brief after the meeting, noting any additional research to be carried out after the meeting and share that with the team.

What We Need To Do This

• Access and links to review initial communications from the potential partner (assuming that they have reached out to us).

• Team session to understand the way that OCL sees how that project fits into our greater plan.

  Question if the partner and project align with OCL ethos - this is done with the broader group.

• Time to research the potential partner, users, topic and the task they are requesting of us

As a point: it is not always critical for the Design team to be present or conduct a needs assessment, many members or our team are capable of doing it but we suggest that the Design Domain is involved where logically possible as the outcomes from these sessions directly feed into what we need to communicate to the rest of the team.

Outputs

Completed Needs Assessment Example

Alt Advisory session with responses and follow ups

(2 Days: Prep & Execute)

Completed Needs Assessment Example

SCODA: With CoJ GCSS Department

(2 Days: Prep & Execute)

Toolkits

UX Needs Assessment Questions (Template)

• As A Note: This template is exactly that, a template which is meant only to be a guide to begin but should be developed and customised before the actual session by researching both the partner and the topic that we will be addressing.

• Please see the output examples to understand how much the template set can change based on the context of the project.

• Even though you have carried out research, the question style should not come from a place where we position ourselves as experts but rather one where we are at least a bit informed to be able to ask questions that bring out actionable results.

• Try asking questions that draw out real world use cases or practical examples.

OCL Needs Assessment Process

This process document aims to demystify any aspects of the needs assessment process so that team members understand the need for needs assessment.

It also aims to empower team members to conduct needs assessments that have impactful outcomes with sharable learnings and actionable tasks for the broader team.