Creating a new product or service is exciting, fulfilling, and valuable – for the creator. What we make only has value when the people we are creating it for finds value in it.
Designing from our viewpoint is what we typically do and is more straightforward; design for their perspective requires insight and understanding of who we are making this for. When we begin to view their pains and what they may gain and construct to help alleviate those challenges and meet customer needs and wants, do we have something of value?
In design, we have the freedom and flexibility to change and be nimble. Once we begin to manufacture and implement, we put into motion that which will be harder to assess and evaluate. That is not the time to determine what value we bring. We can choose when we want to learn our fate, when we are in concept or when we have committed in the market, which may be too late.
