Difficulty Defining User Needs

Teams often struggle to articulate user needs clearly. Many organisations are so feature-driven or internally focused that “user needs” becomes a vague, inconsistent concept. If organisations don’t get this step right, the rest of the map drifts.

What This Challenge Looks Like

  • Teams write needs as features (“We need Single Sign-On”)

  • Every stakeholder becomes “a user,” diluting clarity

  • People fixate on tasks rather than outcomes

  • Strong personalities push their interpretations of the user

  • Emotional / social context is dismissed as “soft”

Illustration of two people debating about different character definitions, with a colorful pattern of sticky notes above.

Why It Happens During UNM Adoption

  • Habitual inside-out thinking dominates

  • Lack of shared definition of “user need”

  • Different teams frame needs differently

  • Customer evidence is inconsistent or siloed

  • Teams leap straight into solution mode

Illustration showing a User Needs Map, Below, there are two simple cartoon characters, one in black, the other wearing glasses and a green shirt, saying 'I've got it - the user needs... a button right here.'

How to Move Past It

  • Use simple outcome templates (When I… I want to… So that…)

  • Anchor the discussion in progress, not features

  • Limit early sessions to one clearly defined user

  • Use example walkthroughs (e.g. the moviegoer) to calibrate thinking

  • Bring in customer-facing roles for richer context

Practical Tips

  • Use Verbs: Focus on actions users are trying to achieve. Verbs help keep needs actionable and outcome-focused.

  • Test Clarity: Ask, “Would a user recognise this as their need?” If not, refine the language.

  • Avoid Solutions: Keep needs focused on the problem, not the implementation.

UNM begins with clarity of need. If teams learn this one skill, everything downstream becomes easier.

A group of seven cartoon people with varying colored shirts in front of a user needs map with a message saying, "Let's keep it simple - what progress is the user actually trying to make?"

Strategies to Define User Needs

Use User-Centric Language

Focus on framing user needs as the outcome the user is trying to achieve or the progress they are trying to make. Avoid describing solutions or systems directly. For example:

  • Poor: “Ticket purchase system” - describes an underlying system

  • Better: “Buy a ticket” - describes the action the user wants to do

  • Best: “Get valid access to travel to a destination” - describes the outcome the user wants

Often when you ask users what they want, they will describe the solution rather than the need and it can be tricky to tease out the underlying need. However, it is the uncovering of the underlying need that begins to enable innovative thinking and creative solutions - does the user really need to buy a ticket to travel - by what other means might they obtain valid access to travel?

Validate with Real Users

Where possible, engage directly with users to confirm that defined needs reflect their experiences and expectations. User interviews, surveys, or feedback sessions can provide invaluable insights. If you are looking to get started with ways to better engage with your users, I highly recommend taking a look at Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres.

Collaborate Cross-Functionally

Involve team members from diverse functions, such as customer support, product management and marketing. This ensures a well-rounded perspective on user needs and reduces blind spots.