Skip to main content

Outcome

Something that happens as a result of the work we do in government. Can be high-level strategic or policy outcomes, or lower-level events that help to achieve them. Best when they can be clearly articulated and measured, as part of a hypothesis.

Definition

In government, we talk a lot about delivering outcomes. But it can be tricky to work out exactly what that means. So let’s have a go at defining the term (and use the feedback form if you disagree).

Outcome is an ambiguous term that can mean slightly different things at different levels of abstraction. For example, you might be talking about a high-level strategic outcome, a policy outcome, or the specific outcome you’re seeking from publishing a content item. So let’s define each type of outcome, individually.

High-level strategic outcomes and policy outcomes are defined in HM Treasury’s Green Book like this:

Outcome refers to the consequences to society of a change in a public service. For example, changes in cardiovascular surgery which lead to improved life expectancy of the population.

HM Treasury Green Book (2022), glossary p128.

So in this sense, an outcome is something that happens as a result of us doing something in government. We cannot expect a small digital intervention, like publishing a content item, to have such societal impact. But there are often many, far smaller outcomes in the service of seeking this high-level impact. For example, getting a user to apply for something, or find out what they need to apply for.

Co-author of Lean UX, Josh Seiden, has a concise definition for this lower-level type of outcome:

An outcome is a change in human behaviour that drives business results.

Josh Seiden, Outcomes Over Output (2019: 14)

This is helpful, because we can look for outcomes by observing user behaviour – either by carrying out user research, or analysing data sources for changes, for example, using Google Analytics to see if users go from one page to another.

So first consider which level of outcome is relevant, in the context of your work.

In practice, for user-centred designers, an outcome is the result we’re looking for when testing a hypothesis. In this context, Seiden’s definition works best.

Sources

  • HM Treasury Green Book (2022). Accessed 2 June 2025
  • Seiden, J. (2019). Outcomes over output : why customer behavior is the key metric for business success. United States: Sense & Respond Press.

Feedback

Is this term incorrect, or is there something missing? Tell us using the feedback form (opens in new tab).