Considering needs and users

This article tackles one of the most complex elements of the design process and its support: identifying and then defining those for whom the product is intended, in order to meet their needs. Out of a lack of awareness of many realities, as much as out of convenience, the vast majority of designs have adopted a reductionist vision that favors a restricted number of users and needs. This filtering can be found in all disciplines, and according to the position of each stakeholder in relation to the product.

The notion of the customer varies from one to the next, with each of the players in the design process remaining convinced that they have the right definition. Only the intersection of fields as different as Quality, Design, Ecology, Commerce, Production, Ergonomics, Standardization... and feedback from experience can lead us to think differently.

How can we help this way of enriching design? Getting away from the impossible, or the convenient "we can't please everyone", requires the introduction, or extension, of tools and methods. This article is a first step in this direction, which will lead to many other initiatives.