Strategic research, ethics and senior decision-making in a regulated environment

Context

I led user research on a Home Office service exploring the use of facial matching technologies within a sensitive and highly regulated context.

The work required balancing operational needs, user experience, ethical considerations and policy constraints.

Illustrative stakeholder ecosystem showing the complexity of roles and relationships explored through research. Abstracted for confidentiality.

My role

Lead User Researcher, operating at a strategic level to ensure user and ethical considerations informed decision-making.

Approach

• Led research activities to understand user needs, concerns and mental models
• Worked within a GDS-aligned, multidisciplinary team spanning policy, operations, design and technology
• Framed insights to support senior stakeholders in making informed, responsible decisions

What we learned

• Clarity and transparency were critical to user trust
• Ethical considerations needed to be embedded early, not treated as an afterthought
• Research helped challenge assumptions and align stakeholders around shared principles

To synthesise findings and support decision-making, I created structured insight summaries capturing behavioural patterns, design tensions, and opportunities across the system.

This format enabled teams to align on key priorities and translate research into actionable design and product decisions.

Impact