Beginning the Design Process

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The very first thing that you need to do when you begin designing a solution is to identify your customers. Who will be using the solution? It may be just one person, or a small workgroup within your company, or an entire department. Or perhaps you're a consultant building custom solutions for other companies. Or maybe you're building Office-based solutions to package and sell through a retail outfit or over the Internet. Whoever your customers are, you should have a thorough understanding of their business processes and their needs before you begin building your solution.