#reality Real-world, first-hand observations of how people interact with a problem, product, or process — captured in detailed, contextual documentation. Aimed to - **Reveal authentic demand**: People don’t always say what they need — but their behavior shows it. - **Expose gaps and frictions**: DPIs help uncover pain points users have _normalized_ and no longer talk about. - **Challenge assumptions**: Real-life observation often contradicts what teams _think_ customers do. - **Lead to non-obvious insights**: Great innovations come not from asking, but from noticing what users do when things break or don’t fit. ## Example Let’s say you’re studying students using laptops for online school. A DPI might reveal: - A student switching between three different tabs every few seconds. - Writing notes by hand while toggling back and forth to pause videos. - Complaining aloud or muttering, “Why won’t this load?” --> This tells you more about their **actual problems** than a survey ever would. [[Feedback is essential to check reality against expectation of a decision]]