The problem
Our service aims to simplify and consolidate funding information, allowing finance teams at single academies and multi-academy trusts (MATs) to quickly manage budgets, track allocations, and validate ESFA calculations with confidence.
We came onto this project as an alpha team, but needed to run a short, additional discovery to clarify the problem we were looking at.
One of the indications that the problem had not been sufficiently defined was the lack of a service name from the previous discovery. Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance recommends naming a service during discovery to ensure alignment with user needs and expectations (Naming your service - GOV.UK).
As we continued the discovery work in the early stages of this alpha it was also appropriate to conduct the service naming process in this phase too.
How we approached service naming
We followed established naming guidelines, to ensure that the final name:
- uses the words users use
- is based on analytics and user research
- describes a task, not a technology
- does not need to change when policy or technology changes
- is a verb, not a noun
- is not brand-driven or focused on marketing
Service naming methods we used
We incorporated additional exercises into our service naming workshop:
- user task descriptions: we asked participants to write descriptions of the tasks users perform on the service and what they believe the service does
- verb and noun extraction: we analysed responses, identifying key verbs that described actions the service enables and the nouns associated with the service
- gamified sorting and joining: participants combined relevant verbs and nouns to generate potential names for the service
- dot voting: the team voted on the most effective names based on clarity, relevance, and alignment with user needs
- advocacy and refinement: each participant advocated for their preferred names, and a shortlist of two options was finalized for user testing.
The shortlisted names
Following the structured naming workshop, we arrived at the following shortlist:
Get education funding information
Get funding information for your school
These names align with user expectations, reflect the core task the service enables, and adhere to best practices in service naming. Next, we will conduct user testing to determine which name best supports discoverability and comprehension for our target audience.
Lessons learned
- naming is an integral part of defining a service and should ideally happen in discovery
- structured workshops help ensure that names are user-centered and meet established guidelines
- combining multiple ideation methods—such as user task analysis, word association, and voting—creates a robust and inclusive naming process
By following this approach, we were able to develop a shortlist of clear, effective names that will be tested with users to ensure the best possible fit.
Next steps
The service names will be tested with users in the next round of user research and the results will be played back to stakeholders to refine and decide on the final name for the service.