Adopt human-centricity
Putting people at the centre of all our work.
Tools
Insight card
An Insight Card helps you transform raw research notes into actionable design directions.
Scope & Details
An Insight Card helps you transform raw research notes (facts and observations) into actionable design directions. A common mistake is thinking an "observation" (e.g., "Users are confused by the button") is an insight. It isn't. An Insight explains why they are confused and reveals a deeper truth about their motivation. This tool forces you to dig past the obvious symptoms to find the root cause, ensuring you solve the right problem.
Suggested time
1 - 1.5 hours ( per insight)
Level of Difficulty
Beginner - Intermediate
Design Phase
Definition & strategy
Prerequisites
User data from research
Materials Needed
Insight Card template (digital or printed), research notes, interview summaries, observation data, user quotes, team discussion inputs
Participants
Design researchers, service designers, product owners, frontline staff, policy or operations representatives
How to do it
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Identify a core user segment
Start with the primary user group or persona your insight is based on. Use research data to describe who they are and what makes their experience unique.
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Define the context or situation
Describe the moment or environment where the user encounters a challenge or need — for example, applying for a service, accessing support, or using a platform.
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Capture the user’s goal or motivation
Articulate what the user is trying to achieve. This helps clarify intent and focus the design on the user’s desired outcome rather than on the process.
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Describe the barrier or frustration
Explain what prevents the user from achieving their goal — this could be procedural, emotional, or technological.
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Envision the Desired Outcome
Reframe the insight as a positive opportunity: “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” This statement bridges the current challenge to an aspirational outcome, guiding ideation.
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Refine into an Actionable Insight Statement
Summarize your findings into one clear statement linking user, need, barrier, and desired impact. Ensure it provides direction for problem framing or idea generation.
AI Enhancements
Use the “Define” QR code to help cluster your raw observations and draft the initial “challenge statement” based on the underlying patterns in your data
Pattern Recognition: Paste your raw interview transcripts into an AI tool and ask: "Identify the top 3 underlying psychological motivations for these user behavioursv."
Drafting "How Might We" Statements: Feed a specific friction point to the AI and ask it to generate 5 "How Might We" questions that reframe the problem as an opportunity.
Tips
Stay grounded in evidence
Use direct quotes, observations, or data points from research to support each insight.
Make it human, not statistical
Focus on emotions, motivations, and real-life context instead of abstract trends.
Cluster & synthesise
Group related insights to find broader patterns before prioritising which to pursue.
Look for reusability
When defining the “Desired Outcome”, consider if this need has already been solved by another government service or component that can be reused.
A team improving a public transportation app used the Insight Card to refine a recurring user pain point. They discovered that commuters struggled to find reliable real-time updates when buses were delayed. Through the card, they reframed the issue:
“As a daily commuter, when I’m on my way to work, I need accurate bus arrival information to plan my trip confidently. However, the app’s delay notifications are inconsistent. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could receive real-time updates from multiple sources, such that I always know when to leave home and avoid long waits?”
This clear, human-centred insight led to integrating GPS-based tracking and improved predictive delay notifications, significantly improving user satisfaction and adoption rates.
The insight shifted the focus from the technical issue of "delay notifications" to the user's deeper emotional need for "planning confidence." By reframing the problem around the human experience of anxiety rather than just system latency, the team Adopted Human-Centricity. They solved the real human problem—the need for control—resulting in a solution that significantly improved user satisfaction.
Related Design Principles
Our design principles that relate to insight card.
Related service principles
Our service principles that relate to insight card.
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