The use case

Articulating how a data user will interact with a data product or data system is essential for understanding user requirements — and for communicating user needs to others

A use case is typically a project management tool that provides a description of the ways in which a user interacts with a system or product. For data publishers, the same can apply; developing a strong use case can help to assess and adapt the effectiveness of your data offer.

A use case can help to:

• Manage the scope of the publication or project

• Establish the requirements of each actor

• Outline the ways a user will interact with the system, including which technological functions they may require - which in turn helps to communicate technical requirements to business stakeholders

• Visualise system architecture, which helps to identify how data should be presented and how data users view it, interact with it and download it

A use case should establish and define a few key components:

• System: the product or service being delivered (For example, this could be a spreadsheet that contains traffic data or a dashboard with several automated charts.)

• Actors: a data user or anybody/anything else that interacts with the system. (The actor could be another system, a piece of hardware, an internal colleague, an external customer or an entire organisation. An actor either initiates interaction with the system, or provides a service to the system.)

• Success scenarios: what are the most desirable outcomes between the actor and the system? How are these outcomes achieved?

Is your use case clear, agreed and in alignment with project/organisational aims? Might you need to establish or refresh a use case for different data offers?

Resources for developing the use case:

• Improving the user experience by Usability.Gov

• Creating a use case in 6 steps by Indeed

• Create a use case scenario: how to think like users to improve products by NuLab