Needfinding: Design Research and Planning

by Dev Patnaik

For over 50 years, Needfinding has been one of the core classes in the design program at Stanford University. Its premise is that by studying the world around us, we can get a better understanding of what people need, and use those insights to create meaningful new products and services. Needfinding draws upon theory and methods from anthropology, psychology, engineering and design planning to better equip aspiring design researchers. Much of the class involves hands on learning and project work. This book acts as the primary reference for methods taught in the class. It's now available to students and non-students alike.

Genres: Design, Business

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2013

About the author

Dev Patnaik is a founder and principal of Jump Associates, a consulting firm that helps companies innovate. Together with his teammates, he works with visionary business leaders to identify new markets, reinvent existing categories, and define new products and services. Dev is a trusted advisor to senior executives at some of America’s most admired companies, including General Electric, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Target and Hewlett-Packard.
When he’s not working at Jump, Dev moonlights down the road at Stanford University as an adjunct professor, where he teaches design-research methods to undergraduate and graduate students. Since 1999, he has taught a course called Needfinding. In the class, students draw upon methods from anthropology, design and business planning to discover insights about ordinary people and create new products. While the class is required for all Design majors, it’s become a favorite of students from the Business School, School of Education and even Computer Science. As apples don’t fall far from the tree, Dev has a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design from Stanford.
Prior to founding Jump, Dev was the Director of Design at Forbes Marshall, a manufacturer of industrial process controls based in India. Dev led the development of Forbes Marshall’s internal design capabilities, creating programs in product design, exhibit design and corporate identity. Dev also led the company’s product strategy initiative, which eventually led him to work in the crossover space between design and business planning. After a stint with a strategy firm in Chicago, Dev returned to California to help found Jump in 1997. A frequent speaker at marketing, design and innovation forums, Dev was recently featured as a guest on “The Business of Innovation,” a series on CNBC. His articles on innovation and strategy have appeared in several publications including BusinessWeek, Brandweek and the Design Management Review.
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