User-centred design approach with misidentified end-users: case study for smart composite structures

Innovation is an essential element in the creation of competitive advantage and the development of any business. An innovation can be the result of the continuous improvement of an existing solution or a new and unique solution resulting from a discontinuous process. The use of a user-centred design approach is recognised as enabling innovative product design. However, this methodological framework is not suitable for the development phases of an emerging technology (or technological module). A technological module is an invention at the laboratory stage where, by definition, future uses and/or users are not well identified. This study presents an approach to identify the possible future uses of technological modules whose users are misidentified. This approach is based on user-centred design processes. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach, an example of a technological module was studied. A smart composite structure is a structure made of composite material in which smart materials are integrated to make it functional. The results obtained show that this approach makes it possible to identify new fields of application, which have not yet been considered by the smart composite community.