Contextual Research and Observation (GOV.UK Service Manual)
The GOV.UK Service Manual’s practical guide to running contextual research visits — observing and interviewing users in their own environment.
License: Open Government Licence v3.0 — https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Key points
- When to reach for it: understanding the broader problem a service addresses, seeing real usage with a user’s actual data/documents/devices, spotting the workarounds people build around a barrier, and learning how staff (caseworkers, contact-centre agents) actually run a process day to day. See Contextual Inquiry.
- Session length and daily limits: visits run 1–3 hours; because observation is demanding for the researcher, no more than four one-hour visits or two three-hour visits should be scheduled in a single day.
- Pair research: send two researchers per visit — one leads and engages the participant, the other takes notes and manages recording — which improves safety and lets the pair notice more than either could alone.
- A discussion guide keeps multiple researchers consistent: an introduction script, the planned visit structure, and a pre-visit checklist, so different researchers running different visits still gather comparable data.
- Observation style is a spectrum, from silent observation to occasionally asking questions to having the participant narrate their actions as they go — the choice trades off authenticity (does asking change the behavior being observed?) against how much the researcher actually understands of what’s happening.
- Session structure: confirm logistics before departing (address, contact details, appropriate dress); on arrival, gather background and secure informed consent; during the visit, stay flexible and minimize interference while clarifying anything unclear; close with follow-up questions and feedback on the visit itself.
- Accessibility applies to the visit format itself: plan for disabled participants and anyone who needs support to take part, not just for the service being researched.
- Analysis draws on quotes, photos, and video captured during the visit, and the findings commonly feed into experience/Journey Mapping afterward.