At Better Studio, we believe great products aren’t built in isolation. They are built in collaboration with the people who use them. That is why we are launching a more deliberate and open approach to how we develop Studio: Through a growing community of users who contribute ideas, share experiences, and help co-design the future of our tools.
We want to share why this matters to us, what we have learned so far through our recent user engagement activities, and what is coming up next. If you are a Studio user, or curious about becoming one, this post is just for you!
Why engaging with your user community is important
User engagement in software development isn’t a new idea, but how we engage makes all the difference.
Transactional feedback is easy to collect – but it rarely tells the whole story. A quick survey, a post-demo interview, or a feedback form might scratch the surface, but it often reinforces what we already assume rather than challenging us to think differently. That is why we are shifting toward something more inclusive: Participatory design.
This approach brings users into the product development process earlier, more often, and in more meaningful ways. Instead of answering pre-set questions, our users actively shape what we build – sharing their needs, testing new ideas, and co-creating solutions alongside us.
We believe engaged users are more than just testers and feedback providers. They become advocates, co-creators, and champions of our products and solutions. Their involvement leads to better decisions, faster validation of ideas, and ultimately, solutions that are more user-centered and aligned with real-world needs, benefiting everyone.
How Better Studio listens to its users
Our most recent user group activity was an ideation workshop, led by our UX researcher Maruša Hrobat. It took place earlier this month and brought together 40+ Studio users for a remote, interactive co-design session. Through activities like reverse brainstorming and packing a survival backpack, we generated and prioritised lots of ideas for the ideal Studio onboarding experience for various user personas.
More importantly, the session gave us a chance to get to know our users on a deeper level by hearing about their own onboarding journeys and better understand the challenges they face as they learn how to and continue to use Studio.
Some of the standout ideas we will be taking forward include: Step-by-step learning materials (from openEHR fundamentals to hands-on Studio tutorials), clinically relevant examples and use cases to learn from, built-in support (both scheduled and on-demand), AI assistance for guidance and troubleshooting, a safe environment for experimentation, and new features to make Studio easier and more intuitive to use from the start.
These insights have directly informed how we will evolve the Studio onboarding experience and reaffirmed our commitment to co-creating with our users.
Listening is just the first step
This is just the beginning of our user group journey. We don’t have all the answers yet and we are learning alongside our users. With each activity, we will continue to refine our approach, try new formats, and create more opportunities for meaningful involvement. What is clear already: We are more motivated than ever to grow this collaboration and build even stronger partnerships with our user community.
Here is what is coming up next:
📊 On-going user research activities
We will let you know about upcoming usability studies, interviews, surveys and other chances to contribute to future Studio improvements.
🙌 Hands-on Studio workshop (September)
We will be hosting a technical session focused on the upcoming Studio September release. Expect practical demos, deep dives into new features, and real-time support from Studio experts.
If you would like to be part of this community – whether by joining a research study, hands-on workshop, sharing your use cases, or just staying in the loop – reach out to us. We would love to have you on board!
Sign up to our user group and join our future activities below!
