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Feedback may be asked from the primary user and stakeholders; two groups that will provide different perspectives for product development:

• a primary user is the person or group of people who will be the end users of the product
• a stakeholder is a person or group of people who have an interest in the product

Stakeholder feedback

A designer’s initial design may not be exactly what the stakeholder had imagined, so feedback is vital to help adapt and improve the product. The stakeholder will have a clear idea of what the users of the product, known as the primary user group, are looking for and may be able to give the designer feedback about changes they want to be made.

The stakeholder may have a particular branding style or a range of existing products that the designer needs to think about or include. As the stakeholder is paying for the services of the designer, the stakeholder’s wishes should be considered at each stage of the process.

Primary user feedback

A group of potential users of the product can be given a prototype to test. These user trials aim to get honest and critical opinions from a range of people. When numerous people are asked for opinions, it is important to ask questions that can be quantified to provide information that can be analysed using spreadsheets and algorithms:

• Quantitative data is information that can be measured and written down with numbers, eg length.
• Qualitative data is information that cannot be measured and is often based on opinion, eg favourite colour.

Being able to create charts and graphs means data can be looked at quickly and can be shared with other people in a simplified form, as .

Example

Electricity used to power a kettle over a year can be plotted on a bar chart, which gives the consumer a visual diagram of their electricity use and peaks. Below is an example of electricity used to power a kettle to heat water for a company.

Analysis:

• the use of electricity decreases from January to July and is at its lowest in July
• the use of electricity increases from July through to December

The decrease in use of electricity could be linked to people drinking fewer hot drinks in the warmer months.

Expert opinion

Professionals in industry can provide insightful and appropriate feedback. They could have experience of how to make improvements, or how a product can be cheaper or easier to make. Being able to reflect on data in a positive way is a key skill of a designer. Working collaboratively can help people see the viewpoint of others and improve creativity.