# 2 ENGAGE: Who are we designing for?

## 1. Why this step matters

Design doesn’t start with solutions—it starts with people. Before we begin designing, we need to understand *who* we are designing for. Yet this is often overlooked or based on assumptions.\
This step helps you raise the resolution: to identify users and stakeholders, clarify their roles and perspectives, and begin to understand their relationship to the challenge at hand.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Users and stakeholders:**

* **Users** are the people who directly experience the service—for example, citizens applying for a benefit, or staff using an internal HR system.
* **Stakeholders** are people and organisations who influence, deliver or are affected by the service—for example, managers, partner agencies or IT teams.
  {% endhint %}

## 2. What this step helps you do

* Identify key users, stakeholders and affected groups
* Understand the diversity of needs, expectations and contexts
* Build a shared view of whose experiences matter most in the process

## 3. How to approach it

Start by mapping what you already know—and don’t know—about the people connected to the challenge.\
Think beyond obvious categories: look for those who may be hidden, marginalised, or easily overlooked. This early framing shapes how inclusive and effective your discovery work will be.

## 4. Suggested tools

| Tool                                                                                                                     | Outputs                                                                                                                         |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [**Stakeholder Map**](/publicservicebooster/design-steps/2-engage-who-are-we-designing-for/stakeholder-map.md)           | A visual overview of the people and groups connected to the challenge.                                                          |
| [**User Characteristics**](/publicservicebooster/design-steps/2-engage-who-are-we-designing-for/user-characteristics.md) | A quick way to capture core users with what you already know (or assume) about different user types, to guide further research. |

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## Share your thoughts 💭

We'd love to receive your feedback on this step! Click [here](https://padlet.com/opsi/breakout-room/x1rD2JNKX9nj20dM-B8nYzL4y4Gg1zV4L) and share your comments and suggestions. Your input is valuable to us and will help improve the Booster.


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