Project details
Somerset County Council and the four Somerset District Councils merged to become one Unitary Authority on 1 April 2023. As part of this, a whole new MVP website was built and we wanted to make sure this worked well for users. We undertook Usability Testing of core user journeys with Somerset residents to test components and patterns and ensure residents can find the information and services they need. These iterative improvements were implemented ahead of a phase 2 of the project.
Approach
We scheduled a series of usability testing, each round focusing on components or user journeys that we felt needed additional user validation. Sessions took place for testing both desktop and one round on mobile devices. Participants were predominantly made up of Digital volunteers and the Councils Customer Panel and included a broad demographic of users, with differing levels of digital confidence and some with accessibility requirements.
Phases
Alpha
Usability testing of prototypes with Somerset residents to test key user journeys, website navigation, and features such as the ‘Dynamic Content Journey’ for services not yet fully aligned within the new local authority.
Beta
Launch of Somerset Council website. Testing of public Beta phase, review and improvement.
Research Documents
User Personas
- LGR Persona 4 (PDF)
- LGR Persona 3 (PDF)
- LGR Persona 2 (PDF)
- LGR Persona 1 (PDF)
- LGR Persona 8 (PDF)
- LGR Persona 7 (PDF)
- LGR Persona 6 (PDF)
- LGR Persona 5 (PDF)
Information sheets
- Usability testing - Mobile information sheet (2) (Word Document)
- Usability testing - Desktop information sheet (3) (Word Document)
Test Scripts
- Usability Test Script - LGR - My Accounts - Round Four Desktop (Word Document)
- Usability Test Script - LGR - Homepage - Round Three Desktop (Word Document)
- Usability Test Script - LGR - Homepage - Round Two Mobile (Word Document)
- Usability Test Script - LGR - Homepage - Round Two Desktop (Word Document)
- Usability Test Script - LGR - BCD- Round One Desktop - Internal Users (Word Document)
- Usability Test Script - LGR - BCD- Round One Desktop (Word Document)
Usability Testing summaries
- LGR Usability Testing - Round Four (PowerPoint)
- LGR Usability Testing - Round Three (PowerPoint)
- LGR Usability Testing - Round Two (PowerPoint)
- LGR Usability Testing - Round One (PowerPoint)
- Summary of key user pain points and delights - Round One (PowerPoint)
- Summary of key user pain points and delights - Round Two (PowerPoint)
- Summary of key user paint points and delights - Round Three (PowerPoint)