The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

25.4. Collect and Analyze User Needs: Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

NOTE

Researching user needs ensures that the development team is solving the right problem for the right users.

The collection and analysis of user needs is at the core of industrial design activities in new product development. A thoughtful process of researching user needs ensures that the product development team is solving the right problem for the right users. Industrial designers are highly motivated to identify and consider unmet needs before launching into the design of something new. Research methodologies can be formal or informal, depending on the needs of the project. Industrial designers might lead the user research or work with specialists to design and conduct the research. The objective of this inquiry is to be able to "walk a mile in the shoes" of the end user and to understand "all" the users.

Understanding how people use a product is a major concern, but it is also important to understand why, when, and where a product is used, particularly the environment in which a product is used. Developing a piece of medical equipment requires the designer to understand how the doctor or nurse would interact with the product, as well as to understand how this product fits into an overall procedure, where it might be positioned relative to the patient and other equipment, how it might need to be transported, and so forth. Beyond the immediate users, who purchases or specifies the equipment? Who services the ...