A design challenge can arise from a variety of different contexts, such as

• A newly identified market opportunity
• The availability of a new technology
• A requirement to update or repackage an existing product or service

The subsequent discover stage of the product development process encourages exploration of the real needs of all of the relevant stakeholders, leading to an understanding of the true underlying challenge without any implicit prejudice to a particular solution.

This is important as it is often assumed that the perceived need accurately represents the true problem. However, experience shows this is not always the case, it being easy to provide a solution to meet the wrong need. A thorough exploration of the design context will ultimately lead to the identification of the real need.

The exploration of the design context may be enhanced by consulting WikID, a collaborative forum where users can discuss their views on technology wikid.wikispaces.com