Get feedback from users on your service

Your product or service must have a way for users to give feedback during, or at the end of, their time using it. Feedback will tell you what they think of your service and will ensure your team is collecting the right metrics.

A feedback page or form must be available as soon as users are using your service. This is normally in private beta.

Why gathering service feedback is not user research

Collecting feedback on a service is different to user research, but the 2 work in tandem.

Feedback is optional and something that a user actively chooses to do. It's reactive input from users about something they have independently experienced, rather than a deliberate user research activity to understand users’ needs and behaviours.

Product managers are responsible for ensuring feedback is gathered on services

As the product manager, it's your responsibility to ensure that a feedback route is in place and that the correct metrics are gathered for your service.

You're also responsible for ensuring that data is analysed and reviewed (with the help of a business, data or performance analyst) and that this monitored to understand where future action needs to be considered.

User researchers should use the data gathered as a source of insight into users’ opinions of the service having used it.

How to gather user feedback for your service

Your team must add a page or form in your service using the correct design pattern. Do not use non-standard design patterns or third-party survey software, for example, MS Teams or Qualtrics, to collect feedback from users.

WarningWe are standardising the way we collect user feedback across all DfE services. A DDT Standard will be published in autumn 2026 to govern this. If your service currently uses a non-standard design pattern or third-party survey software to collect feedback, then your team should plan now to migrate to the correct design pattern.

For transactional services

Feedback should be requested at the end of the transaction.

If your service is hosted on GOV.UK you must use the GOV.UK feedback page.

If your service is on an education domain (education.gov.uk), use the Ask users for feedback DfE design pattern.

For non-transactional services

Decide where to show the feedback page to the user, for example when the user signs out.

A feedback link also forms part of the phase banner component, although this is not widely used.

Help and support

For help and support about user feedback forms on services, email our Head of Product at debbie.blanchard@education.gov.uk.