Publication - Research and analysis
Statistics.gov.scot improvement project: alpha user research report
Research to improve Scottish Government’s site for open access to Scotland’s official statistics: statistics.gov.scot by assessing current and potential users through testing redesigned portal prototypes and publishing platforms. This user research is part of the alpha project to enhance the service
Appendix A (user journeys)
Notes:
- Steps are just examples - they don't necessarily reflect the prototypes.
- There are some steps that a user may take outside of the website. These are indicated within the tables below, where relevant
- Discussed with team 06/05/25.
The different user groups could take on same / similar journeys. These can be broken into 3 sub-groups.
- Sub-group 1: General citizen; Inquiring Citizen; Public sector/policy influencer
- Sub-group 2: Commercial User; Technical/expert user
- Sub-group 3: Regular data publisher; Infrequent Data Publisher User
| Journey title | Check the figures behind a news headline | Look up local COVID-19 case trends |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Confirm whether a headline about the number of police officers is accurate | Check if cases are rising in my council area |
| Step 1 | Land on the homepage from a news link | Tap the search bar on mobile |
| Step 2 | Type "police" into the main search bar | Enter their council name + "covid" |
| Step 3 | Skim the results list and choose the "Police Officer Quarterly Strength" dataset | Select an appropriate dataset in the results |
| Step 4 | Read the plain-English summary at the top of the dataset page | Read the plain-English summary at the top of the dataset page |
| Step 5 | Click Download | Click Explore Data > View Data |
| Step 6 | Open the file in a spreadsheet to compare the headline figure with the data | View and filter a table of data |
| Journey title | Compare GDP between two industry sectors | Examine the gender pay gap | Find publisher contact details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Understand the relative output of different industries | Prepare a blog post with the latest gap | Obtain an email address or phone number to request clarification about a dataset |
| Step 1 | Click Themes > Economy | Search "gender pay gap" | Type the dataset name into the main search bar |
| Step 2 | Use the filter to pick "GDP" | Pick the appropriate dataset | Locate the contact details |
| Step 3 | Select an appropriate GDP: output by industry dataset | Click Explore Data > View Data | N/A |
| Step 4 | Click Explore Data > View Data | View and filter a table to show the most recent data | N/A |
| Step 5 | Click Explore Data > View Data | Download the most recent data in csv format | N/A |
| Step 6 | View and filter a table of data | Copy a link to the dataset to use in the blog post | N/A |
| Journey title | Forecast hotel occupancy | Review energy efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Analyse tourism recovery post-COVID | Explore opportunities for energy-efficiency services |
| Step 1 | Search "hotel" (and/or use advanced search) | Search "energy performance" (and/or use advanced search) |
| Step 2 | Choose "Scottish Accommodation Occupancy" dataset | Select appropriate energy dataset |
| Step 3 | Check licensing information | Use chart to compare areas |
| Step 4 | Click Explore Data > View Data | Download underlying data |
| Step 5 | View and filter a table to show the last three years of data | Identify potential high-growth areas |
| Step 6 | Download the relevant dataset in csv format | N/A |
| Journey title | Pull carbon footprint data via API | Gather data-zone boundaries and lookup table |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Feed ML model predicting footprints | Get the GeoJSON and matching lookup CSV needed to build a custom geography offline |
| Step 1 | Search “carbon footprint” | Use site search to find suitable GeoJSON dataset |
| Step 2 | Find appropriate dataset | Click Download on GeoJSON format (or find and copy the API endpoint) |
| Step 3 | Find API and instructions on how to use it | Find Data zone to council area lookup |
| Step 4 | Copy dataset API endpoint | On the lookup dataset page, choose Download CSV (or apply the council filter first, then download) |
| Step 5 | N/A | Save both files locally – step taken outsdie website |
| Journey title | Brief minister on child obesity | Analyse ageing population | Evaluate policy outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Prepare talking points for debate | Build evidence for social care strategy | Measure carbon footprint reduction progress |
| Step 1 | Search "obesity" | Search ‘population’ | Search "carbon footprint" |
| Step 2 | Open Scottish Health Survey dataset | Find ‘population estimates young and old’ | Select carbon footprint dataset |
| Step 3 | Click Explore Data > View Data | Filter dataset by health board area | Filter for policy areas |
| Step 4 | Find % across Scotland | View chart comparing two health board areas | Export to Excel |
| Step 5 | Copy a link to the dataset | Copy a link to the dataset | Compare pre- and post-intervention – step taken outside website |
| Step 6 | Email to minister – step taken outside website | N/A | Draft outcome report – step taken outside website |
| Journey title | Quarterly data upload | Correct previous release error | Respond to user feedback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | E.g. Keep educational attainment of school leavers figures current | Issue revised dataset | Improve metadata clarity |
| Step 1 | Log in > Admin dashboard | Log in > Admin dashboard | Log in > Admin dashboard |
| Step 2 | Click existing dataset | Open dataset > Create correction | Click existing dataset |
| Step 3 | Press Upload new data and/or Drag-and-drop CSV | Upload amended CSV | Edit dataset description |
| Step 4 | Encounter error, resolve error | Add release note describing fix | Save changes |
| Step 5 | Pass automated validation | Review preview | Notify user – step taken outside website |
| Step 6 | Click Publish | Approve publication | N/A |
| Journey title | Annual survey results release | Release legacy dataset for transparency | One-off academic dataset upload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Provide new data each year | Open up 1990s archive | Make research open |
| Step 1 | Log in after 12 months | Convert XLS to CSV | Create account and request publisher role |
| Step 2 | Convert publisher’s preferred format to platform format | Upload via Add dataset | Read step-by-step guide |
| Step 3 | Upload dataset (e.g. drag-and-drop). | Flag as "Historical" in metadata | Click Add dataset |
| Step 4 | Update description as necessary | Publish | Upload CSV and metadata |
| Step 5 | Pass automated validation | Link from council website – step taken outside website | Validate and publish |
| Step 6 | Publish and share link | N/A | Share DOI with funder – step taken outside website |
Contact
Email: auren.clarke@gov.scot