Exploratory User Research

Introduction

Designing effective solutions for military users begins with understanding them, not just at the surface level, but deeply and holistically. Our Exploratory User Research service helps you uncover the real needs, behaviours, and contexts that shape how your users think, act, and engage with systems and services.

Rather than relying on assumptions or second-hand input, we engage directly with military personnel to understand their world. We explore motivations, constraints, and pain points — including those not immediately visible. This provides you with the evidence base needed to build solutions that are not only usable but also useful and mission-aligned. With our support, user insight becomes a strategic asset that guides innovation, de-risks design, and sharpens delivery focus.

What We Deliver

We apply user-centred methods adapted for military environments, always with a focus on extracting deep, actionable insight. Our deliverables include:

• User personas – detailed profiles that highlight user types, behaviours, goals, and challenges within their operational roles.

• User journey maps – visualisations of the end-to-end experience from the user’s perspective, identifying moments of friction, risk, or opportunity.

• Service blueprints – where relevant, we map the backend systems, touchpoints, and dependencies that support the user experience.

To support insight-driven decision-making, we also provide:

• Thematic insight reports – synthesised findings that highlight patterns, needs, and root causes behind observed behaviours.

• Ecosystem maps – showing how users interact with multiple systems, teams, and environments across domains.

• Opportunity areas and design recommendations – prioritised, evidence-backed suggestions for where and how to focus development effort.

All findings are presented in accessible formats, enabling rapid understanding and practical application across delivery, design, and stakeholder teams.

What You Gain

This service delivers the foundation for user-centred innovation that works in the real world. By understanding your military users on their terms, you avoid the pitfalls of designing in isolation or relying on assumptions that don’t hold up in practice.

You’ll gain insights that improve product and service design and support strategic alignment, stakeholder engagement, and effective decision-making throughout your delivery’s lifecycle.

DEEPER USER UNDERSTANDING

You’ll see what your users see — their constraints, workarounds, needs, and priorities. This enables teams to build solutions that truly resonate and perform in operational settings.

VALIDATED ASSUMPTIONS

Early insight helps confirm or challenge your beliefs about user needs. You avoid building features nobody wants and focus on what truly matters.

CLEARER DESIGN DIRECTION

With visualised journeys, personas, and themes, design teams can work more confidently and collaboratively. Everyone shares the same evidence base.

IDENTIFIED OPPORTUNITIES

Exploratory insight often uncovers unmet needs and hidden friction points, opening up space for innovation and continuous improvement.

REDUCED RISK OF FAILURE

By grounding decisions in real user data, you de-risk development and reduce the chances of late-stage changes or poor user adoption.

Investing in exploratory research up front helps ensure that the solutions you build are both credible and impactful, fit for context, fit for users, and fit for mission.