Overview
Co-creation works best when applied strategically at key moments in your project lifecycle. Understanding when to engage users is just as important as understanding how to engage them.
When Co-Creation Delivers Maximum Value
At Project Inception
Understanding user needs from the start prevents costly mistakes later.
- Identify real problems before committing to solutions
- Validate assumptions about user requirements and pain points
- Build stakeholder buy-in by involving them from day one
- Define success criteria that matter to actual users
Key benefit: Ensures you’re building the right thing, not just building things right.
During Development Cycles
Regular testing keeps you on track and prevents drift.
- Test prototypes early and often to catch issues when they’re cheap to fix
- Validate design decisions with real user feedback
- Iterate based on evidence, not assumptions
- Maintain alignment between development and user needs
Key benefit: Reduces waste by catching misalignments before they become expensive problems.
At Key Decision Points
Involve users when making critical choices about direction.
- Feature prioritisation - what to build next
- Design alternatives - which user experience approach to take
- Trade-off decisions - what features to optimise for
- Pivot or persevere - major strategic choices about future direction
Key benefit: Makes better decisions by incorporating diverse perspectives.
When NOT to Use Co-Creation
Not every task requires user involvement. Skip co-creation for:
- Pure technical implementation details users won’t interact with
- Legal or security requirements with no flexibility
- Routine maintenance that doesn’t change user experience
- Decisions already validated through previous research
Balancing User Needs with Technical Constraints
Co-creation often reveals ideal user requirements, but practical constraints like technology choices, available skills, and budgets may limit what’s feasible. Managing this gap transparently is crucial for maintaining trust and delivering value.
When you choose a specific technical approach—such as a Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool like Esri Experience Builder, or a reusable template—you often gain speed and reduce maintenance costs, but inherit constraints on functionality and user experience.
The trap: Heavy customisation to meet every user need can negate the benefits of using the RAD tool in the first place.
The 80/20 Approach to User Needs
Sometimes the best outcome is delivering 80% of user needs for 20% of the cost by accepting the constraints of a particular technical approach. This requires:
Early Transparency
- Share technical constraints during co-creation sessions
- Explain the trade-offs between custom builds vs. RAD tools
- Be upfront about what’s achievable within the chosen approach
User Buy-In
- Present the value proposition: faster delivery, lower maintenance
- Involve users in prioritising which 80% of needs to focus on
- Show how the approach enables future iterations
Smart Prioritisation
- Use co-creation to identify which features deliver most value
- Focus on the critical user journeys that must work well
- Accept “good enough” on lower-priority features
Managing Expectations
- Set clear expectations about UX limitations from the platform
- Frame it as phase 1, with potential for enhancement later
- Celebrate the faster time-to-value
Key Questions to Ask
- Have we explained the technical approach and its constraints clearly?
- Do users understand the trade-off between speed/cost and customization?
- Have we prioritized features together, focusing on the highest-value 80%?
- Are we being realistic about when customization is worth the investment?
- Have we planned how to iterate based on real usage data?
Quick Decision Framework
Ask yourself:
- Will this decision significantly impact users? → If yes, consider co-creation
- Are there multiple valid approaches? → If yes, user input helps choose
- Could we be making wrong assumptions? → If yes, validate with users
- Is there time to act on feedback? → If no, don’t create false expectations
Actionable Advice
- Start small: Even a single focus group at project start beats no user input
- Book time now: Schedule testing sessions at the end of your sprint/cycle today
- Make it routine: Build co-creation checkpoints into your standard process
- Close the loop: Always share back what you learned and what changed
Conclusion
Co-creation isn’t a one-time event - it’s most powerful when applied strategically throughout the project lifecycle. Start early to understand needs. Test regularly to stay on track. Engage at decision points to make better choices.
The investment in co-creation at these key moments pays dividends by building products that actually solve real problems for real users.