In this talk, I will provide an overview of how we do user-centred design and research in the context of the UK government and the National Healthcare Service (NHS). I will describe the main professions and specialisms we organise ourselves in, what our processes and standards are, and why we work in this way when developing and improving national digital services.

I will conclude by talking through an example of our work, discussing why different types of user research methods and breadth of techniques are necessary for designing and testing services that effectively cater for both professional and public users in a complex healthcare system.