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ISO/IEC 25064 — User Needs Report (CIF for Usability)
Systems and software engineering — SQuaRE — Common Industry Format for usability: User needs report (ISO/IEC 25064:2013)
Introduction to ISO/IEC 25064
ISO/IEC 25064:2013 defines the Common Industry Format (CIF) for reporting user needs as part of the SQuaRE series. It provides a standardized framework for documenting, analyzing, and consolidating user needs information throughout the system development lifecycle. The user needs report serves as a critical bridge between context of use analysis and user requirements specification — it captures what users need to achieve their goals, independent of any specific design solution. By providing a consistent format for needs reporting, this standard enables effective communication among designers, developers, evaluators, and other stakeholders, ensuring that the entire development team works from a shared understanding of user needs.
A well-structured user needs report directly improves development efficiency by reducing ambiguity in requirements, minimizing rework caused by misunderstood user needs, and providing an audit trail that connects design decisions back to validated user research.
Content of a User Needs Report
Clause 6 of ISO/IEC 25064 specifies the comprehensive set of content elements that constitute a complete user needs report. These elements cover the full spectrum from initial indicators through consolidated needs and recommendations.
| Content Element | Requirement | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Subject of the Report | Mandatory | Identifies the system, product, or service and its objectives |
| Initial Indicators of Need | Mandatory (if available) | Documents pre-existing information from surveys, trouble reports, etc. |
| User Responsibilities and Goals | Mandatory | Establishes what users aim to achieve in their context of use |
| Identified User Needs | Mandatory | Each need statement includes user, intended outcome, prerequisite, and context |
| Management/Stakeholder Needs | Mandatory (if applicable) | Captures needs from managers and other stakeholders that impact user needs |
| Performance Deficiencies/Problems | Mandatory (if identified) | Documents gaps between required and actual performance |
| Consolidated User Needs | Mandatory | Analyzes and synthesizes all identified needs into actionable requirements |
| Recommendations | If appropriate | Provides guidance for user requirements development |
| Data Collection Methods | Mandatory | Describes how user needs information was gathered |
| Supporting Information | Mandatory | Includes system description, data collection instruments, and data summaries |
Each user needs statement must follow a precise format containing: the user or set of users it relates to, the intended outcome to be achieved, the prerequisite (need) identified as necessary, and the specific context of use in which it applies. Crucially, needs statements must be independent of any proposed solution — for example, “a presenter needs a way to know how much time is left” rather than “a presenter needs an alarm clock.” This solution-neutral framing preserves design flexibility and prevents premature design commitments.
The standard defines several types of needs: informational needs (specific information required), processing needs (computational methods needed), enjoyment needs (engaging and satisfying experiences), environmental needs (physical and social environment requirements), and other types such as interoperability, training, resource, and support needs. Properly classifying needs facilitates more effective analysis and consolidation.
A critical requirement: each user needs statement must contain exactly one intended outcome but may include multiple prerequisites needed to achieve that outcome. This one-to-many relationship allows for comprehensive needs capture without conflating separate user goals. Mixing multiple outcomes in a single statement leads to confusion during requirements derivation.
Purpose and Relationship to Other CIF Documents
The user needs report serves multiple purposes depending on the stage of development:
For existing products: The report identifies user needs based on actual use and experience with the current system, helping determine what modifications are necessary and whether a new system is required. This is particularly valuable for iterative development where user feedback drives continuous improvement.
For new products: The report identifies potential user needs based on the envisioned context of use, drawing on the initial context of use description (ISO/IEC 25063). The needs assessment may focus on specific features or the entire product depending on project scope.
For context of use verification: The report can be used to initially determine, verify, change, or elaborate the context of use description. Information collected about user goals, tasks, and environments feeds back into refining the context of use, creating an iterative loop of continuous improvement.
The relationship between CIF documents is inherently iterative. The context of use description provides the foundation for the user needs assessment. The user needs report, in turn, provides information that verifies and elaborates the context of use. Consolidated user needs then become the primary input for the user requirements specification (ISO/IEC 25065), which drives design solutions. Evaluation results feed back into all preceding documents, creating a truly cyclical human-centred design process.
Best practice: even for small projects where a formal user needs report may be excessive, the standard recommends that the relevant content elements should still be collected and made available to designers and developers. The format can be scaled to fit the project — the key is capturing the right information, not producing paperwork.
Engineering Design Insights
From an engineering perspective, implementing the ISO/IEC 25064 user needs report framework provides several practical advantages:
1. Traceability and Audit Trail: Each need statement is uniquely identified and linked to its source (user-reported, expert-derived, or from previous information sources). This traceability is invaluable for regulatory compliance, particularly in medical devices, aviation, and other safety-critical domains where demonstrating that all user needs have been addressed is mandatory.
2. Conflict Resolution: The consolidation process in Clause 6.5 explicitly addresses the resolution of conflicting needs within and across user groups. By documenting the rationale for inclusion or exclusion of each need, the report provides a decision record that can be revisited as the project evolves. This is particularly important when user needs conflict with management or organizational goals — the standard specifies that such conflicts should be identified and documented, not resolved within the report itself.
3. Performance Deficiency Analysis: The standard provides a structured approach to documenting performance gaps, including causes, penalties, and value of solving. This enables data-driven prioritization of design improvements based on concrete metrics such as error rates, task completion times, and customer satisfaction scores.
| Need Type | Example | Engineering Action |
|---|---|---|
| Informational | User needs to know remaining presentation time | Design visible timer/progress indicator in UI |
| Processing | All satisfaction scores must use same statistical rule | Implement consistent calculation engine |
| Environmental | Nurse needs secure instrument placement surface | Design foldable work surface or mounting system |
| Enjoyment | User wants engaging, challenging interaction | Incorporate gamification elements |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How does ISO/IEC 25064 differ from ISO/IEC 25063?
ISO/IEC 25063 focuses on describing the context of use (users, tasks, environments), while ISO/IEC 25064 focuses on identifying and documenting user needs within that context. The context of use description answers “who, what, where,” whereas the user needs report answers “what is required for success.” They are complementary and typically developed iteratively.
ISO/IEC 25063 focuses on describing the context of use (users, tasks, environments), while ISO/IEC 25064 focuses on identifying and documenting user needs within that context. The context of use description answers “who, what, where,” whereas the user needs report answers “what is required for success.” They are complementary and typically developed iteratively.
Q2: Can a user needs statement include a proposed solution?
No. The standard explicitly requires that each user needs statement be independent of any proposed solution. For example, “a presenter needs an alarm clock” is invalid because it specifies a solution; the correct formulation would be “a presenter needs to know how much time is left to complete the presentation in time.” Solution-neutral needs preserve design freedom.
No. The standard explicitly requires that each user needs statement be independent of any proposed solution. For example, “a presenter needs an alarm clock” is invalid because it specifies a solution; the correct formulation would be “a presenter needs to know how much time is left to complete the presentation in time.” Solution-neutral needs preserve design freedom.
Q3: Who are the intended users of a User Needs Report?
The report serves multiple audiences: requirements developers (specifying user requirements), usability specialists (guiding design decisions), developers (understanding user context), product managers (estimating resources), quality managers (assessing progress), and marketing specialists (monitoring requirement fulfillment).
The report serves multiple audiences: requirements developers (specifying user requirements), usability specialists (guiding design decisions), developers (understanding user context), product managers (estimating resources), quality managers (assessing progress), and marketing specialists (monitoring requirement fulfillment).
Q4: How should conflicting user needs be handled?
The consolidation process (Clause 6.5) addresses conflicts by analyzing needs in relation to the stated context of use, similarity, importance, and feasibility. Needs that are unrealistic, impossible to meet, or out of context may be eliminated or modified. The report should document the rationale for these decisions and maintain an audit trail of eliminated or modified needs.
The consolidation process (Clause 6.5) addresses conflicts by analyzing needs in relation to the stated context of use, similarity, importance, and feasibility. Needs that are unrealistic, impossible to meet, or out of context may be eliminated or modified. The report should document the rationale for these decisions and maintain an audit trail of eliminated or modified needs.
