How does a designer turn a vague situation into a clear statement of who the user is and what they need?
Analyse a design situation to identify the user, the problem and the needs and wants, and distinguish a need from a proposed solution
A focused answer to the O-Level Design and Technology outcome on analysing a situation. Identifying the user, the problem, needs versus wants, and why a need must be stated separately from any solution.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
SEAB wants you to take a written design situation and pull out three things: the user, the problem, and the user's needs and wants. You must be able to tell a need (essential) from a want (desirable), and crucially you must state a need as a requirement, never as a ready-made solution. This analysis is the foundation of the whole design process, because everything later is judged against the needs you identify here.
The answer
What a design situation is
A design situation is a short description of a real-world context in which a problem exists. It names a setting and the people in it, but it does not tell you the answer. Your job is to read it carefully and work out exactly who has the problem and what they require. A good analysis at this stage prevents a project from drifting later.
Identifying the user
The user is the person (or group) who will use the solution. Describe them as specifically as the situation allows: a commuter, an elderly resident, a primary-school child, a wheelchair user. The more precisely you identify the user, the better you can research their abilities, sizes and preferences. A vague user ("people") leads to a vague design.
Identifying the problem
The problem is what is going wrong in the situation, the difficulty the user faces. Separate the problem from its causes and from possible answers. In the bus-stop example, the problem is that the user has nowhere dry to put a bag while one hand holds an umbrella, not "there is no bag hook".
Needs versus wants
A clear analysis sorts requirements into needs and wants:
- A need is essential: the solution must satisfy it to work at all. Keeping the bag dry is a need.
- A want is desirable but optional: the solution is better with it but works without it. Being a fashionable colour, or folding away small, is a want.
Sorting needs from wants tells the designer where to focus. Needs become the core specification points; wants become extra targets to meet if possible.
Why a need must not be a solution
The single most important rule at this stage is to state the need as a requirement, not as a solution. "The user needs a folding waterproof hook" has already chosen one answer and shut out every other idea. "The user needs to keep a bag dry while one hand is occupied" leaves the design open to a hook, a cover, a small shelter, a stand, or something nobody has thought of yet. Keeping the need solution-free is what makes a rich set of ideas possible later.
Examples in context
Example 1. A device for a one-armed gardener. The situation names a gardener who has the use of only one arm and struggles to pot plants. The user is identified precisely, the problem is the two-handed nature of potting, and the need is stated as "to fill and firm soil around a plant using one hand", not "a one-handed trowel". That solution-free need lets the designer consider clamps, funnels, weighted pots and tools alike.
Example 2. Storage for a shared classroom. The situation describes pupils losing art materials in a crowded room. The users are the pupils and the teacher, the problem is that materials are mixed up and lost, and the needs (keep each pupil's materials separate and easy to find) are kept apart from wants (look colourful, stack neatly). The analysis sets clear targets without prescribing a particular box or rack.
Try this
Cue. From the situation "students cannot find a flat, stable place to rest a phone while watching videos at their desk", state the user and the need. Answer: user is a student at a desk; need is to hold a phone steady at a comfortable viewing angle, hands-free.
Cue. Classify each as a need or a want for a school bag: protects books from rain; is in the student's favourite colour; spreads weight comfortably on the back. Answer: need; want; need.
Cue. Rewrite this so it is not a solution: "The user needs a plastic clip-on cup holder." Answer: "The user needs a way to keep a drink secure and within reach", which leaves the form of the solution open.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SEAB exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Original6 marksRead this situation: 'Commuters waiting at bus stops in the rain often have nowhere dry to put their bag while holding an umbrella.' (a) Identify the user. (b) State the need. (c) List two wants the user might have.Show worked answer →
(a) The user is a commuter waiting at a bus stop, holding an umbrella, with a bag to carry.
(b) The need is a way to keep a bag dry and accessible at a bus stop while one hand is occupied holding an umbrella.
(c) Two wants: the solution could be lightweight and easy to carry around all day; it could be inexpensive; it could also work in strong wind. (Any two reasonable wants.)
What markers reward: a user described as a real person in the situation, a need stated as a requirement (not "a bag holder"), and wants that are genuine extras (nice to have) rather than the core need restated.
Original4 marksExplain the difference between a 'need' and a 'want' when analysing a design situation, and explain why a designer should not state the need as a solution.Show worked answer →
A need is something the user must have for the problem to be solved: it is essential. A want is something the user would like but could do without: it is desirable but optional. For a commuter in the rain, keeping the bag dry is a need; the holder being a fashionable colour is a want.
A need should not be stated as a solution because doing so closes off the design before any ideas are generated. If the need is written as "a waterproof bag hook", the designer has already chosen one answer and will not consider others such as a small shelter, a cover, or a stand. Stating the need as a requirement ("to keep a bag dry while one hand is occupied") keeps the design open to many possible solutions.
What markers reward: need as essential versus want as desirable with an example, and the point that stating the need as a solution prematurely narrows the range of ideas.
Related dot points
- Describe the stages of the design process from identifying a situation to evaluating a solution, and explain why the process is iterative rather than strictly linear
A focused answer to the O-Level Design and Technology outcome on the design process. The stages from situation and brief to research, ideas, development, realisation and evaluation, and why the process loops back.
- Write a clear design brief from an analysed situation, and turn research into a measurable design specification against which solutions can be judged
A focused answer to the O-Level Design and Technology outcome on briefs and specifications. What a design brief states, how a specification is written as measurable points, and how the two differ.
- Distinguish primary from secondary research, select appropriate methods such as interviews, observation, surveys and product study, and turn findings into design requirements
A focused answer to the O-Level Design and Technology outcome on research. Primary versus secondary methods, when to use interviews, observation and surveys, and how findings become requirements.
- Write a justified design specification from research findings, covering function, ergonomics, materials, safety, cost and aesthetics, with measurable points where possible
A focused answer to the O-Level Design and Technology outcome on specifications. Building justified, measurable specification points from research across function, ergonomics, materials, safety, cost and aesthetics.
- Carry out product analysis of an existing product, examining function, materials, construction, ergonomics, aesthetics and cost, to inform a new design
A focused answer to the O-Level Design and Technology outcome on product analysis. Analysing an existing product by function, materials, construction, ergonomics, aesthetics and cost, and using the findings.