(This is a bilingual post, Cymraeg posted below the English)
On Thursday 26 June, I attended a Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) meet-up with more than 30 members of the User Research in Wales community on behalf of Marvell Consulting.
I’ve been working on the replacement for StatsWales, so I was excited to meet other researchers working on critical public services used in Wales.
The theme for the meet-up was using more creative approaches to user research. I’ll admit to being a bit apprehensive. Researchers in public policy have successfully used artistic methods to encourage participants to get involved in policymaking - and have fun to boot. However, without discipline, novelty can get prioritised over insight.
I shouldn’t have worried: the excellent organisers of the meet-up at CDPS made it clear that the objective was encouraging researchers to find the best methods through experimentation, and not default only to user interviews and moderated usability testing. These methods are the most popular ones for good reasons, but they do not always work.
The user research team at a Welsh university presented, explaining how research sessions with students could be expensive and unreliable. The expense limited the numbers they could recruit, and no-shows would reduce it further.
Instead of expecting students to come to them, the researchers tried going to where students were already trying to solve problems the researchers wanted to understand: the student hub building. They set up a pop-up research stall and brought along some sweet incentives (literally chocolate). I was really impressed with how they did such great research with a wide cross-section of their users by just being in the right place!
Role-playing stimulated plenty of discussion. The term ‘role play’, unfortunately, can have distracting connotations even though it’s a well-established research practice. And sometimes even the slightest distraction can undermine research. We talked about the importance of using language that respects the context you’re working in. For example, stakeholders in defence might understand it better if you relate it to well-established best practices in their domain, like wargaming. We all agreed that understanding how users think, feel and behave when using a service under a challenging but realistic scenario can provide hugely valuable insight.
My most important takeaway from meeting the User Research in Wales community was how much each member cares about all of their users. This isn’t a community that’s happy to grumble on the sidelines about the challenges we face as researchers (even though there are plenty!). It’s a community that is up to the challenge of making services better for the people of Wales.
If you'd like some help improving your digital services for the people of Wales, or anywhere else, please reach out to us at hello@marvell-consulting.com and we'll be happy to arrange a chat.
Gan Alexander Slowman ar 4 Gorffennaf 2025
Ar ddydd Iau 26 Mehefin, mynychais gyfarfod rhwydweithio gan Ganolfan Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus Digidol (CDPS) gyda mwy na 30 o aelodau o gymuned Ymchwil Defnyddwyr yng Nghymru ar ran Marvell Consulting.
Rwyf wedi bod yn gweithio ar brosiect i ddisodli StatsCymru, felly roeddwn i’n gyffrous i gwrdd ag ymchwilwyr eraill sy’n gweithio ar wasanaethau cyhoeddus hanfodol a ddefnyddir yng Nghymru.
Y thema ar gyfer y cyfarfod oedd defnyddio dulliau mwy creadigol o ran ymchwil defnyddwyr. Rhaid cyfaddef fy mod ychydig yn betrus. Mae ymchwilwyr polisi cyhoeddus wedi defnyddio dulliau artistig yn llwyddiannus i annog cyfranogwyr i gymryd rhan mewn llunio polisïau – ac i fwynhau’r broses. Fodd bynnag, heb ddisgyblaeth, gall newydd-deb gael blaenoriaeth dros fewnwelediad.
Doedd dim angen i mi boeni: roedd trefnwyr rhagorol y cyfarfod yn CDPS yn eglur mai’r nod oedd annog ymchwilwyr i ganfod y dulliau gorau drwy arbrofi – nid dibynnu’n ddiofyn ar gyfweliadau defnyddwyr a phrofion defnyddioldeb wedi’u cymedroli yn unig. Mae’r dulliau hyn yn boblogaidd am resymau da, ond nid ydynt bob amser yn gweithio
Cyflwynodd tîm ymchwil defnyddwyr ym mhrifysgol yng Nghymru, gan egluro bod sesiynau ymchwil gyda myfyrwyr yn gallu bod yn ddrud ac yn annibynadwy. Roedd y gost yn cyfyngu ar niferoedd y cyfranogwyr, ac roedd absenoldebau’n lleihau’r niferoedd ymhellach.
Yn lle disgwyl i fyfyrwyr ddod atynt, aeth yr ymchwilwyr at y mannau lle’r oedd myfyrwyr eisoes yn ceisio datrys problemau yr oedd yr ymchwilwyr eisiau eu deall: adeilad canolfan y myfyrwyr. Fe wnaethon nhw sefydlu stondin ymchwil ‘pop-up’ ac aethon nhw â byrbrydau deniadol (siocled, yn llythrennol). Roeddwn yn hynod o falch o weld sut y gwnaethon nhw gynnal ymchwil ardderchog gyda thoriad eang o’u defnyddwyr drwy fod yn y lle iawn!
Fe wnaeth chwarae rôl sbarduno llawer o drafodaeth. Yn anffodus, mae’r term ‘chwarae rôl’ yn gallu peri dryswch, er ei fod yn arfer ymchwil hirsefydlog. Ac weithiau gall hyd yn oed y tyniad lleiaf dynnu sylw oddi wrth ddifrifoldeb yr ymchwil. Trafodwyd pwysigrwydd defnyddio iaith sy’n parchu’r cyd-destun rydych yn gweithio ynddo. Er enghraifft, efallai byddai rhanddeiliaid mewn maes amddiffyn yn deall yn well os byddwch yn ei osod mewn cyd-destun sy’n gyfarwydd iddynt, fel gemau rhyfel. Fe wnaethom oll gytuno y gall deall sut mae defnyddwyr yn meddwl, yn teimlo ac yn ymddwyn wrth ddefnyddio gwasanaeth mewn senario heriol ond realistig roi mewnwelediad hynod werthfawr.
Y prif beth a gymerais i o gwrdd â chymuned Ymchwil Defnyddwyr yng Nghymru oedd pa mor fawr yw’r gofal a ddangosir gan bob aelod tuag at eu defnyddwyr. Nid cymuned yw hon sy’n fodlon cwyno o’r cyrion am yr heriau rydym yn eu hwynebu fel ymchwilwyr (er bod digon o heriau!). Mae’n gymuned sy’n barod i wynebu’r her o wella gwasanaethau i bobl Cymru.
Os hoffech gymorth i wella eich gwasanaethau digidol i bobl Cymru – neu unrhyw le arall – cysylltwch â ni yn hello@marvell-consulting.com a byddwn yn falch o drefnu sgwrs.
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