Unboxed was recently invited to attend and contribute to an insightful roundtable discussion, organised by HACT (Housing Associations' Charitable Trust) and the Chartered Institute of Housing.

This session focused on why digital transformation seems to be struggling to gain traction in the housing sector, when compared to other public services, and what changes in culture and leadership are needed to drive this forward. Attendees held diverse roles across different organisations and associations, with common themes emerging around a need to put residents at the very centre of what the sector does, in order to achieve success.

Introducing user research

To begin introducing resident-led conversations and approaches into the sector, we have put together a short guide to help teams who are looking to take their first steps into user-centered approaches to service delivery.

As part of an ongoing series, this initial guide covers:

• The background to user interviewing

• How to prepare and what you will need to begin

• The areas to cover during your interviews

• What to do with your uncovered insights

• Your next steps


While this is just one part of the user-centred design process, user interviewing is a complex subject. We have created this guide to try and make this as straightforward as possible to teams who are looking to introduce this way of working into their department and/or wider organisation.

Download our user research guide to begin introducing into your team and organisation.

We hope you find this useful. Please feel free to get in touch via email or Twitter if you have any questions and/or would like to know more.