User needs and user stories

Have a good user need for your page so that your content stays focused.

Users

When we talk about 'users', we're talking about anyone who lives, works or visits San Francisco and needs to interact with the City.

So someone who was born in San Francisco but now lives in Detroit who needs a copy of their birth certificate is a user. Someone getting married at City Hall is a user. Someone paying their water bill is a user.

Those are all people who use SF.gov or could use SF.gov.

Ask yourself: Who is the page for and what does that person need to do?

Get information about your users

Know the context of residents who are using your service.

The best way to get information about your users is to talk to them directly.

Usually there are also people at your department who interact with users. You can talk to an expert about any existing issues the public is having. You can also talk to front desk staff.

Get answers to the following questions:

• What are the most common questions people ask?

• How do they get information about the program now?

You can also use website analytics. Contact Digital Services at [e-mail] for help with analytics.

User needs

User needs are what we call the task a person comes to a website or service to do.

We write user needs to understand what a page of content needs to accomplish. If you can complete the following sentence with a strong verb, you’ve got a good start.

As a (user) I want to (do something) So that I can (how the need fits into the person’s life)

For example:

As someone about to get married I want to get married at City Hall So that I can celebrate with my family and friends.

If you get this foundation agreed between the person writing the page and the subject matter expert (SME), it’s simple to write great content.

One user and one need per page

Webpages are for one type of audience only.

Split ‘program’ pages into pages for ‘San Franciscans,’ ‘non-profit partners,’ and ‘staff’.

User story

After you get your user need agreed, you will need to write acceptance criteria.

User need + acceptance criteria = user story.

Acceptance criteria are the boxes we need to check before we know the user need is “done”. It’s frequently when the user understands how something works or knows where to go to get or do a thing.

As an immigrant I want to talk to an immigration attorney So that I can stay in the US, vote, get a better job, avoid deportation, and protect my family.

We know it's done when the user: - knows how to contact immigration legal services - knows how to get help paying for their application - knows where services are available in their language

​or

As an event promoter in San Francisco I want to get a permit for my outdoor event So that I can hold the event.

We know it's done when the user: - gets the permit (or understands why the permit was denied) - knows what day and time the permit is good for - understands how loud their event can be