Stakeholders and End Users

Introduction

Human-centred design starts with people, not with products. In IB Design Technology SL, the topic of People focuses on how designers understand human needs, responsibilities, and differences so they can create solutions that work well in real life. One key part of this is learning about stakeholders and end users. These two ideas help designers answer important questions like: Who will be affected by this design? Who will use it directly? Who might pay for it, maintain it, approve it, or be influenced by it? 😊

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

explain the meaning of stakeholders and end users,
identify different groups involved in a design situation,
apply these ideas to real design problems,
connect them to responsibility, inclusion, and human-centred design,
use examples to show why these groups matter in IB Design Technology SL.

A designer who ignores stakeholders or end users may create a product that is uncomfortable, unsafe, expensive to maintain, or difficult to use. A designer who studies people carefully is more likely to produce something effective, inclusive, and successful.

What Are Stakeholders?

A stakeholder is any person or group who has an interest in a design project, product, or system. Stakeholders may be directly involved in creating the design, paying for it, using it, regulating it, selling it, or being affected by it.

Not every stakeholder uses the product in the same way. Some stakeholders care about how much the product costs, while others care about safety, appearance, sustainability, or how easy it is to repair. For example, if a school is designing new chairs:

students are stakeholders because they will use them,
teachers are stakeholders because they supervise classrooms,
the school budget officer is a stakeholder because they manage costs,
maintenance staff are stakeholders because they clean and repair them,
parents are stakeholders because they may support the purchase,
the manufacturer is a stakeholder because they produce the chairs.

This shows that stakeholders can have different priorities. A product that satisfies one group may not fully satisfy another. That is why designers often gather information from many stakeholders before making decisions.

A useful way to think about stakeholders is to ask: Who has something to gain or lose from this design? If the answer is yes, that person or group is probably a stakeholder.

What Are End Users?

An end user is the person who directly uses the finished product, system, or service. The end user may be one stakeholder, but not all stakeholders are end users.

For example, in the school chair example, the students are the end users because they sit on the chairs every day. However, the school principal, the finance officer, and the furniture company are stakeholders even though they may not use the chairs directly.

This difference matters because designers often need to focus strongly on end users’ needs. End users interact with the product, so their comfort, safety, abilities, age, size, and context of use are important. A bottle opener, for instance, should be easy to grip for the end user. A website should be clear and simple to navigate for the end user. A school bag should be comfortable for the end user to carry. 🎒

Designing for end users means asking questions such as:

How old are they?
What are their physical abilities?
What tasks do they need to perform?
Where and when will they use the product?
What problems might they face?

These questions help designers create solutions that fit real people rather than imagined averages.

The Difference Between Stakeholders and End Users

The easiest way to separate the two ideas is this:

Stakeholders are all the people or groups with an interest in the design.
End users are the people who directly use the final product or system.

A stakeholder may never touch the product, but still influence the design. An end user always uses it directly.

Consider a hospital bed. The patient is the end user because they use the bed. Nurses and doctors are also users in some situations because they adjust and move the bed. The hospital manager is a stakeholder because they pay for equipment and oversee safety standards. A cleaning team is a stakeholder because they must keep it hygienic. The manufacturer is a stakeholder because they make and supply the bed.

This example also shows that one product can have many users and many stakeholders. Designers must decide which needs are most important and how to balance them.

In IB Design Technology SL, this is part of responsible design thinking. Good designers do not only ask, “What can we make?” They ask, “Who is this for, and who else will this affect?”

Why Stakeholders and End Users Matter in Design

Understanding stakeholders and end users improves the quality of design decisions. It affects function, safety, cost, usability, inclusion, and sustainability.

Function and usability

A product must work for the people who use it. If a remote control has too many small buttons, older end users may struggle to use it. If a backpack has weak straps, students may find it unsafe or uncomfortable. Designers use stakeholder and end-user information to improve usability.

Safety

Some products must meet strict safety expectations. For example, a bicycle helmet must protect the end user’s head, but stakeholders such as parents, schools, and retailers also care about safety and reliability. Designers need to think about possible misuse, not only ideal use.

Cost

Stakeholders often care about price. A company may want a product to be affordable to produce, while end users may want it to be affordable to buy. Designers must compare these needs and make realistic choices.

Inclusion

Human-centred design should include people with different abilities, sizes, ages, languages, and backgrounds. A design that works only for a narrow group may exclude others. For example, large-print labels help people with low vision, while adjustable desks support different body sizes. Inclusive design improves access for more end users.

Sustainability and responsibility

Stakeholders may also include communities affected by materials, production, and disposal. Choosing recycled materials, designing products to last longer, or making items easier to repair can reduce environmental harm. Responsible designers think about the full life cycle of a product and the people affected at each stage.

Applying These Ideas in IB Design Technology SL

In IB Design Technology SL, students are expected to use design thinking and evidence when studying people. One common procedure is to analyze the situation by identifying stakeholders and end users before developing solutions.

A simple way to do this is:

Define the design problem.
Identify stakeholders and end users.
Gather information using interviews, surveys, observation, or product testing.
Compare needs and priorities.
Develop design criteria based on evidence.
Create and evaluate solutions against those criteria.

For example, imagine students is designing a reusable water bottle for students. The end users are the students who will carry and drink from it. Stakeholders may include parents, teachers, school administrators, cleaning staff, and the manufacturer.

Possible needs could include:

easy to hold,
leak-proof,
durable,
affordable,
easy to clean,
safe materials,
suitable for a school bag.

A design decision might involve choosing a wide mouth for easy cleaning, but this may also increase the chance of spills. That means the designer must compare the needs of different stakeholders and end users and make a balanced choice.

This is exactly the kind of reasoning IB Design Technology SL values: using evidence, recognizing trade-offs, and designing for real people.

Real-World Examples of Stakeholders and End Users

Example 1: A school app 📱

The end users might be students and teachers who check timetables, homework, and announcements. Stakeholders also include school leaders, parents, and the software company. Students may want speed and simple navigation. Teachers may want easy assignment posting. Parents may want privacy and clear communication. The designer must consider all these viewpoints.

Example 2: A public park bench

The end users are people who sit on it, such as children, adults, and older people. Stakeholders may include the local council, taxpayers, landscape designers, maintenance teams, and nearby residents. Some people may want comfort, while others may want low maintenance and weather resistance. The bench should be accessible and durable.

Example 3: A medical device

The end user may be a patient or healthcare worker, depending on the device. Stakeholders include doctors, nurses, hospital managers, insurers, manufacturers, and regulators. Safety, reliability, and ease of use are especially important because mistakes can have serious consequences.

These examples show that a design does not exist in isolation. It is part of a wider social, economic, and physical context.

Conclusion

Stakeholders and end users are central to the People topic in IB Design Technology SL because they remind designers that every product affects human beings in different ways. Stakeholders are all the people or groups who have an interest in the design, while end users are the people who directly use the final product. By identifying these groups early, designers can make better decisions about function, safety, inclusion, cost, and sustainability.

For students, the key idea to remember is this: strong design begins with understanding people. When designers listen carefully to stakeholders and end users, they are more likely to create solutions that are useful, responsible, and inclusive. ✅

Study Notes

Stakeholder = any person or group with an interest in a design project or product.
End user = the person who directly uses the finished product or system.
All end users are stakeholders, but not all stakeholders are end users.
Designers should identify stakeholders and end users before developing solutions.
Different stakeholders often have different priorities, such as cost, safety, comfort, durability, or appearance.
Human-centred design focuses on the needs, abilities, and context of real people.
Inclusive design aims to work for a wider range of users, including people with different abilities.
Good design decisions are based on evidence gathered from users and stakeholders.
In IB Design Technology SL, stakeholders and end users are part of designing responsibly for people.
Real-world examples include school furniture, apps, public spaces, and medical devices.