DOES EMPATHISING WITH USERS CONTRUBUTE TO BETTER NEED FINDING?

Abstract

In user-centered product design, empathizing with users is an effective way to step into their shoes. Ideally, it helps designers understand user needs better and in more depth. However, the degree to which accurate empathic understanding contributes to needfinding and what exactly constitutes a ‘good’ need remain unclear. In this study, 13 designers watched a standard stimulus contextual user interview, performed an empathic accuracy task, and identified user needs based on the video. The needs identified from all participants were affinitized and summarized into a set of 23 user needs. They were scored for overall need quality, consisting of importance and satisfaction with current solutio..