2. Know the different situations of use

When we design an object, the corresponding activity doesn't always exist. Yet it is imperative to find or construct situations that allow us to approximate the possible characteristics of the activity of future users. It's never enough for the designer alone to imagine how he or she thinks the product will be used. The operating modes you have imagined and those that will be implemented in a given situation, with its constraints, by the end user, are sometimes very different.

The central method in ergonomics is the analysis of user behavior in real-life situations, and interviews with them to elucidate the motives behind their actions. Behavioral analysis involves understanding :

• What are the user's objectives: are they perfectly in line with what you intend your product to do, or are there secondary objectives?...