A Service Design Principle to quickly understand what people need and expect.

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Whenever I had to onboard new people in a design studio. There was a question that I liked to ask, which was:

What's something that you hated in your previous workplace? What's something you hated that's your boss did?

 And then people told me stuff like,

I really hate it when my boss came behind me and looked at my screen without saying anything.

And that's stuff that we could address and say:

If this is something that you hate. Let's try to not do that.

Or when people told me that there was something that they hate and. That I think I would do. I will. Explain why I will continue to do that.

 And try to find ways with the person the person to make this more comfortable or more acceptable to them.

This question is like a speed dating question for the workplace.

But it's not something that is only limited to the workplace. You can use that with your clients too. Because often people who join your service have already used a few similar servicesthat are like yours. And want to find the best one.

The good question to ask here again is:

What did you hate in the other services you used?

Then based on the responses, you can either adapt things. Or you can show people how your way of doing work is different.

 And therefore address their fears and needs.

Action question

What are good moments where you can ask: What did you hate in previous experiences?

Daniele's note

This is a first draft of a principle that might end up in a book of the "Service Design Principles" series.