“Start with user needs” is one of the defining principles of modern service design. But taken too literally, it can encourage narrow decisions and ignore the wider system in which a service operates.

This talk argues that responsible design must balance human needs with organisational capability, operational reality, public value and long-term consequences.

This is a constructive challenge to established design doctrine, not an argument against user-centred design. Suitable for design, research, product, policy and transformation audiences.