Ask me for who this is?

Daniele Catalanotto
Apr 2, 2022
A Service Design principle to help you test new service ideas.

I let people try a prototype of a new service. People are usually pretty lovely and polite. They show me all the good things about my idea. So, it’s hard for me to see if people really like the service or not.

So I ask this question:

“For who do you think is this service made?”

And here, a test participant tells me:

“Definitely not for me! It’s rather for people who are depressed. I’m not depressed, so this service is not for me! ”

Great! I get the feedback I’m looking for! I can now better understand how people really perceive the service.

There are two simple follow up questions that help reveal even more details:

“Why do you think this person would enjoy the service?” “Why isn’t this service for you?”


Little side notes

  • This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • I was able to reduce the lengths by 38.7% compared to the first version.
  • Once adapted, even more, this principle will be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300"
  • As always feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.

3 comments

Patrick Marcelissen
May 4, 2022
Clear to read the message from the principle. 
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 22, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

People are testing an early version of my new idea. They are lovely: they show me all the good things about it. But I’m not sure if they really like the service or not. So I ask: “For who is this made?”

A test participant tells me: “Definitely not me! It’s for depressed people. I’m not depressed! So this isn’t for me! ”

Great! I get the feedback I need! So I dig deeper:

“Why do you think depressed people would enjoy the service?” “Why isn’t this service for you?”

I now better understand how potential users really perceive the service and how to change it. So let me ask you:

What questions can you ask potential users to reveal if they genuinely believe in your idea?

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 4% compared to its previous draft.
  • I’ve restructured the principle to have an additional question to turn the principle into practice at the end.
Oleksandra Lastovetska
Oct 23, 2022
What if the additional question were “ok, you’re not the one who needs it (like, ok, I kind of believe you you are not depressed) but there is still something that was useful even for you?” 🤔 

Because when I say I am fine I am often not and by asking about my “fine” you can easily see the true state of things…