If you ask them, you probably won’t get what you’re searching for. You’re unlikely to find the true answer. It’s our job to connect with stakeholders, figure out what they desire, and then create the transformation that will deliver that utility.
Focus groups didn’t invent Locomotion No. 1, Project Gutenberg, or Bohemian Rhapsody. Focus groups didn’t invent Virgin Airlines, Zara, or Habitat for Humanity either.
in 1999, John McNeece, a cruise ship designer, speculated about the desires of Henry Ford’s potential customers, “There is a problem trying to figure out what people want by canvassing them. I mean, if Henry Ford canvassed people on whether or not he should build a motor car, they’d probably tell him what they really wanted was a faster horse.”