A List Apart has an interesting article posted today concerning one of the larger isses that faces just about anyone working with a public site these days - just what do users really want when they come to your site?

One of the biggest problems in delivering a website, and yet probably the least talked and written about, is how to decide, specify, and communicate just what, exactly, is it that we're going to build, and why. What problem are we solving? Who needs it? What's this site for, anyway?

[...] Somewhat surprisingly, web developers seem reluctant to adopt methods and approaches from other disciplines that could reduce their problems. Particularly during the crucial initial phase of projects, we can benefit from emulating certain software engineering practices.

One thing that they offer as possible means to this end are use cases - the use of 'actors' and 'goals' to create an overall picture of your site's workings. By applying this simple practice, you can put yourself more in the user's shoes, creating a better overview of the current site. It's not the most complex of approaches, but sometimes, the simpler the better.