Design with users Research with users to understand their needs and the problems we want to solve. Conduct ongoing testing with users to guide design and development. Guidance: Design with users Services should not be built based on internal constraints or complexities of government, they should be built to address the needs of users. In order to deliver value to users, one must understand and prioritize their needs. Everything is a hypothesis until tested with the users of services. To validate one's hypotheses, one must validate their assumptions through direct and frequent interactions with those who will be using the services. Users may be members of the public, or government employees or a combination thereof. Keeping in mind that users will come from diverse backgrounds, varying in location, experience, knowledge, and abilities, requirements for services are built first and foremost with the needs of all users. When designing services, one must take a holistic approach to service delivery -- from each member's individual contributions to the end goal, as defined by user requirements. Aligned Behaviours 1. End-user feedback is used to establish the requirements of our service(s). 2. Our team has processes or tools in place for user feedback, including anonymous user feedback, to be incorporated into the design of the service. 3. Our team conducts user research prior to deciding upon a given implementation. 4. Our team has tested our primary systems in the users’ context with a wide range of users including users with varying needs and representing diverse backgrounds. 5. Our team considers user needs and feedback in defining key service metrics. 6. Our team uses automation to anticipate and detect operational or quality-of-service issues before our users tell us. 7. Our team has within it, or direct access to, the expertise required to conduct user research and usability testing. Misaligned Behaviours 1. Our team receives requirements through extensive documentation and builds against them. 2. Our team does not involve internal or external users to collaborate on the design of the service. 3. The technical development resources or IT senior management are prioritizing features. 4. Our team's prioritization of tasks is driven by senior management. 5. Senior executives and teams rely exclusively on desk-based research, or other proxy sources of information to inform policy, program and/or service design.