Avoiding assumptions: The role of user research in creating better services

In many organisations, services are built with the best of intentions but limited visibility. Tight timelines, shifting priorities and resource pressures can all make it easy to move fast without stopping to check what people need. That is where user research makes the difference, not just as a stage in delivery, but as a way of working that keeps people at the centre.

Design decisions often draw from a mix of inputs — analytics, performance data, business priorities, lived experience. Research is not always the first step, and it is not always possible to start with a clean slate. But when teams make time to understand users directly, even in small ways, they gain insight that numbers alone cannot offer. It brings clarity, challenges assumptions and helps shape services around the people who use them.

User research helps teams avoid making assumptions about what people need. It brings real perspectives into the process and shows how people actually experience a service. By listening early and often, teams can spot problems sooner, understand what matters most and make more informed decisions.

More than methods

Good user research is not the same as analytics, market research or performance tracking. Those forms of research often focus on what people do at scale or how services are performing. User research is about understanding how people experience a service and what they need from it. It brings human context into the room and helps teams design with real situations in mind.

That might involve gathering data through surveys or structured testing. It might involve sitting with someone as they use a prototype and hearing what gets in their way. The value is not just in the method. It is in the ability to ask better questions, interpret what matters and turn that into decisions that improve the service.

User researchers at Hippo apply a full mix of qualitative and quantitative techniques across a wide range of projects. What matters most is how the work is done. With care. With consistency. And with respect for the people involved.

Inclusive by default

That care is especially important when working with vulnerable users or people with access needs. Inclusive research does not just happen. It is planned for. From checking whether assistive tech works with a prototype to making sure the session topic is safe to discuss, every stage of the process matters.

Many user researchers in our team bring experience in trauma-informed practice and ethical research design. They know how to create space that feels safe, accessible and genuinely collaborative.

User researchers make a conscious effort to follow up with the people who take part. Sharing how their input has influenced a service can build trust and strengthen the connection. Even small acts of follow-through help show that people’s time and insight genuinely made a difference.

Collaborative from the start

User research works best when it is open and collaborative. Researchers are part of delivery teams from the start, sharing plans, running joint sessions and inviting others to observe research as it happens. That might involve listening to someone describe their experience of a service, or exploring how people respond to a new idea, process or design.

Being part of those conversations helps teams think differently. It brings real needs into focus and builds a shared understanding of what matters, especially early in the design process when direction is still being shaped.

User researchers at Hippo also connect with each other through a regular community of practice. These sessions are a space to share knowledge, ask for input and offer support. Whether someone is refining a research plan or preparing to speak at an event, there is always someone willing to help. That culture of openness creates room to learn, reflect and improve.

Growing with purpose

The user research team has grown steadily in recent years, shaped by the increasing demand for thoughtful, inclusive work. That growth has been careful and intentional — part of a wider effort to build the right environment for good research to happen and for people to do their best work.

It continues at a sustainable pace, with new roles opening as part of that longer-term plan. The focus remains the same: supporting teams to learn, ask better questions and build services that work for the people who use them.

There are currently a few roles open for user researchers who want to be part of that kind of work.