The purpose of this guidance is to: 

• To define the user-led principles that guide our work and empower the Good Finance team to apply these at the core of our work 

• To ensure that decisions regarding the Good Finance website, content and events are user centered  

• To distinguish between user led and general good U/X (user experience) principles 

Definitions  

User-centered design (UCD): Being user-centered means understanding a problem and the users, analysing user behavior and listening to their wants, then translating this into needs that drive a creative solution to the problem. 

User Experience (UX) Design: User experience (UX) design is the process of creating products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. This involves the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability, and function.  

User Led: Being user-led or user-driven, on the other hand, means responding to user feedback without applying the filters of analysis and translation. 

Good Finance Users 

Primary Users 

• Charities and social enterprises looking to find information / gain knowledge about social investment  
• The primary users of the Good Finance website are the key demographic for which we take responsibility  

Our primary personas are...  

Grass Roots – 'Educate me'   

Go Getter - 'Help, support and guide me' 

Shapeshifter – 'Convince me'  

Business Savvy - 'Show me the money' 

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It is important that we review and update these personas accordingly as  the marketplace changes and as Good Finance's offering responds. 

Secondary Users 

Investors, advisers, infrastructure bodies & sector partners who: 

• Have a profile listed on the site  
• Collaborate on content  
• Support at events  
• Help us to spread the word

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Good Finance’s secondary users are the wider network of supports that make the website’s impact possible. These secondary users will also be considered when making decisions that will affect the website, content or events, though the ultimate responsibility remains with our primary users.  

Applying our user led principles 

Primary User Feedback  

• Good Finance’s primary users will be contacted regularly to complete user surveys and engage in user testing panels 
• Qualitative user feedback given at events, demos , e-learning programmes, surveys and on social media will be recorded 
• Key findings from primary user feedback will be share at steering group meetings, and if relevant, stakeholder group meetings 
• Feedback will be analysed to identify trends which will inform updates, ways of working and/or content development  

Website  

• The Good Finance website was designed in keeping with general good U/X principles (page speed, image sizes, layout, colour scheme etc)  
• All significant changes that are made to the website will be done so in keeping with these U/X design principles  
• Any new projects and developments affecting the website (e.g. the key tools, case studied, functions & resources) will be user tested  
• A U/X review will be completed every year and any key suggestions that will make a significant improvement to user experience will be considered and accounted for  

External Content 

• External content hosted by Good Finance will be in keeping with the principles set out and agreed (to follow) 

• The primary goal of any external content will remain to add value to charities and social enterprises who are looking to gain information or build knowledge regarding social investment  

Content & Events  

• All Good Finance content will be data driven 

On a monthly basis, at our KPIs meeting, we will review: 

• Traffic to each blog post  
• Engagement on social media posts  
• Comments & qualitative feedback regarding content 
• Feedback given with regards to events and online learning 
• Good Finance content and events will aim data driven whenever and wherever possible, taking on feedback from users and keeping all relevant analytics in mind 

Governance  

• Good Finance will continue to run steering group and stakeholder group meetings to hold us to account to our mission It is important to note however that it is mostly the secondary users that are represented in these meetings  
• In the absence of website users, it is important to make sure all relevant analytics, data & qualitative feedback also informs governance decisions  

Priorities  

• Whilst each area of work will aim to deliver in keeping with good user centered, user experience and user led design principles, each are will also have different priorities with regards to each one  
• These priorities are a reflection of how practical & viable and each measure is within the area or work, as well the Good Finance project missions & objectives 
• See table below for an outline of priorities for each area of work  

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