The Wrong Perspectives in Product and Service Design
When it comes to designing successful products and services, the users’ perspectives are key. Often enough, companies tend to focus on their own perspectives, missing to put themselves in their customers’ shoes.
By Thomas Fröhlich, Managing Partner at Leap Partners in Zürich.
The Right Perspectives Are Crucial for Successful Product and Service Design
Whatever was the intention engraving the United logo in this way, from the travellers perspective it was the wrong direction. To take the users’ perspective is still a tricky issue as there can be different ones. Here are some helpful suggestions:
1. Don’t Ask — Observe
In oder to really understand the customers’ need, we have to observe how they are really behaving. In-home interviews are a really good instrument to dive deep into the consumers’ behavior. Those interviews provide a number of insights you will never discover by only asking the customers, because what they do and what they say can be two different things.
2. Understand the Different Perspectives
It happens that there is more than one perspective to be needed to take in consideration. Ask, who are the stakeholders and make sure that you put yourself in their shoes. Finally, rate the importance of each perspective and realize them accordingly.
Ideate, Prototype and Test
In oder to increase the chance for success you have to develop different solution strains, built prototypes and test them in the field. Here you will find out what works and how it works. Don’t hesitate to go the last mile to optimize your innovation, as this can make the difference in the end.
Collaborate
Collaboration with different people, mindsets, knowledge and experiences, increases the chance of creating the right ideas and provide the essential solutions. Collaborations means, empowering your ideas!
