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My week is a mad rush of trying to cram in the newspapers I read between work and building my web empire. I finally got around to last weekend’s NYT business section and found an intriguing article, How to Improve It? Ask Those Who Use It.  The article points out a series of examples of product innovations driven by users (outsiders) rather than designers (insiders), maintaining that this represents a new trend.

 I’m not sure about the trend part, but there is a good bit of it going around, especially online. Firefox, Linux, Wikipedia, for example.

One takeaway is that it’s hard for insiders to think outside the box, since they live in the box every day. Outsiders can give that fresh perspective which can lead to breakthroughs. Outsiders who care enough to get involved will also self-select towards those who are passionate about the product (or what it does). This can bring a needed spark and energy to a project.

So it seems not just hip but also intelligent to involve some outside perspectives in your design process.