As someone who makes stuff, I’m sure there’s a question you usually start projects with. For instance, you may start with what are the goals, how much time do we have, or what does my boss want me to do? Starting with who is the user is an approach that’s simply not used enough.

Do you ever find yourself debating what users want without really knowing who the users are? Do your conversations go something like this:

In these situations, do you really know who you’re designing for? Do you really know who your user is? If you don’t, it’s okay to ask.

Why ask?

I’ve noticed that just asking “Who is the user?” helps achieve two things:

1. People realize they are not the user, and
2. People start talking about the same user

In addition, there are three other advantages of starting with “who is the user”:

1. You start designing for the right person earlier in the process. If your product needs to be used by people, you need to know who you’re designing for. The sooner you start thinking about the user, the sooner you can start heading in the right direction.
2. You can start evaluating designs with the right person earlier. There are times when you run ideas by people. You may ask your teammates, your boss, or your mother. The sooner you know who you’re designing for, the sooner you can start asking them what they think of your ideas and solutions. Testing designs and ideas with users will help keep you going in the right direction.
3. You make decisions with the right person in mind. I believe you should know exactly who the user is before you’re allowed to say “users want this,” or “customers don’t like that.” Without knowing exactly who the user is, you’re more likely to think of a different person (or yourself!) each time you get into a discussion about what users want.

Head over to the images page to download images you can use in emails, as stickers, or other merchandise. Use these images to remind yourself to ask. Paste stickers on your laptop, in your office, in conference rooms, etc. Know someone on your team who needs reminders? Share this site with them (or give them a sticker).