One of the main differences between successful products and unsuccessful ones is the lack of understanding of users of the product. There has to be a shift in attention from a narrow focus on the product, to a more holistic view that includes the users’ needs, benefits and usage context. Ignoring these can lead to product failures or missed opportunities for new product features. The success of a product is determined in the market by its potential users. But it is too late to discover at the product launch whether the product will be attractive or not to its users. Instead products should be initiated and developed as a result of identified needs or problems.

There are several methods to investigate user needs, product benefits and usage contexts. The traditional ones are focus groups and surveys, but others such as contextual analysis, task interactions, lead user method and ethnography are becoming more popular. This is because they provide rich insights into user behaviour and usage conditions that can contribute directly to product design.

An example can help explain this. To develop a new pair of crutches, we provided diaries to users for a week to note down their likes/dislikes, problems as they experienced them (along with details such as…time, place, task to be done etc.), and also observed, took photos and videotaped them going about their ‘normal’ activities. We gathered valuable information including some of the current problems with crutches for youth such as, wanting to fold it to store it in theatres or classrooms, non-slip and noise-free tip, problems on gravel, different types of users and their requirements.

   Sample crutch designs

We have heard the expression ‘Form follows function’ in new product development (NPD). ‘Feelings’ as another dimension should be considered when developing products. With increased competition, products need to relate to their end users, they need to evoke the right emotion and mood in the user. For example, a product can be seen to be ‘mature or youthful, formal-informal, for fun or serious, rugged or soft, etc. In the case of the crutch example, younger users preferred something that did not remind them of “hospitals or accidents, or being disabled”. They wanted something that looked ‘cheery and colourful’.

Some of these opportunities for improved features were gathered mainly by observing the product usage and context.