At the very base of problem-solving, innovation, new product development, and the very inception of new ideas, lies the principles of design thinking - a problem-solving approach that puts human needs at the center of the innovation process. It’s a methodology that encourages us to step into the shoes of our users, especially those with unique challenges, to uncover insights that lead to more effective and targeted solutions. But, what if, by solving those unique challenges, you could uncover opportunities to appeal to an even broader subset?

This may sound contradictory, as the very point is to solve a targeted, specific problem - but what if that solution actually revealed hurdles that other subsets were also struggling with and may not even have realized? Many of the most commonly accepted challenges still exist because of the dangerous coalition with the status quo, in the understanding that ‘this is just part of the job.’

More often than not, we don’t have the time nor the inclination to try to tackle these commonly accepted issues, and it’s often only incidentally that we can find a better route to a solution.

In the legal profession, design thinking challenges us to refine complex processes and documents from the perspective of those who struggle most with them. It asks us to understand specifically what hurdles are preventing the user reach the end goal and the routes to overcoming those hurdles are even more plentiful.

In a legal context, that could be an example such as mine, as a visually impaired lawyer (I’ll come onto that story shortly) but could also apply to a non-native English speaker, or a client unfamiliar with legal jargon. The point being, that by focusing on these ‘edge cases’, we often discover ways to improve the experience for all users.

This approach aligns closely with our journey at Definely, where our efforts to make legal documents more accessible for visually impaired users such as myself have resulted in tools that all lawyers find more intuitive and efficient. It’s a powerful reminder that when we design for the edges, we often create better solutions for everyone.

The background to that lays the very foundations of the company that exists today. I was born with the rare degenerative condition,  Retinitis Pigmentosa. As a visually impaired lawyer working at a Magic Circle law firm in the UK, you can imagine the daily challenges I faced in managing an incredible amount of extremely manual digital paperwork and carrying out lengthy and intricate legal processes.

In a bid to discover a way to increase the accessibility of legal documents to those with visual impairments such as myself, we realized that that innovation actually solved a pain point faced by all lawyers on a daily basis.

In the days before Definely, to access information and understand contracts, lawyers would use Ctrl + F keys, multiple windows, scroll through hundreds of pages, or simply print out documents so that they could reference all of the information in one place. This represented a huge challenge for me that many colleagues couldn’t comprehend, but as is now also clear, it’s not very efficient (nor environmentally friendly!) for any person in the legal profession.

Navigating lengthy legal documents, cross-referencing defined terms, and maintaining context while reviewing contracts were tasks that demanded significantly more time and effort for me, but little did I know that my struggles would lead to a solution that would benefit not just myself, but lawyers across the globe.

It’s now such an obvious problem, but you wouldn’t believe how many hours lawyers would spend just looking for the right information. The story of Definely, born from the intersection of necessity and innovation, illustrates a powerful principle in product development: when you solve for the edges of your user base, you often get the middle for free.

The Edge Case That Wasn't

When my co-founder Nnamdi Emelifeonwu and I first discussed creating a tool to help me work more efficiently, we thought we were addressing a niche problem. How could we make legal documents more accessible for visually impaired lawyers? As we dug deeper, we realized that the challenges I faced were merely amplified versions of issues all lawyers encountered.

Every legal professional loses time and cognitive bandwidth scrolling through documents, switching between windows, or flipping through printed pages to find relevant information. By focusing on solving these problems for someone with a visual impairment, we inadvertently created a solution that dramatically improved efficiency for all lawyers.

AI in Legal Document Analysis: A Broader Impact

Our approach to solving accessibility issues in legal document review has had far-reaching implications. The AI tools we developed to assist visually impaired lawyers are now enhancing overall accuracy and efficiency in legal document analysis for all lawyers. These AI-powered tools can now quickly identify key clauses, flag potential issues, and provide context-aware summaries, saving time and reducing human error across the board.

What started as a solution for a specific group has evolved into a powerful tool that's challenging how the entire legal industry approaches document review.

The Power of Inclusive Design in Tech

This approach – solving for the edges to benefit the whole – is not unique to Definely. It's a principle of inclusive design that has led to numerous innovations benefiting society at large, particularly in the tech world:

1. Text-to-Speech: Originally developed for visually impaired users, it's now widely used in virtual assistants, audiobooks, and navigation systems.

2. Predictive Text: Created to aid users with motor impairments, it's now a standard feature improving typing speed for everyone on mobile devices.

3. High-Contrast Modes: Designed for users with visual impairments, they're now popular for reducing eye strain during nighttime use.

4. Voice Control: Initially for users with mobility restrictions, it's now ubiquitous in smart home devices and car interfaces.

In each case, a solution designed for a specific need ended up having much broader applications. This is the essence of "solving for the edges and getting the middle for free." It’s my belief that this is a principle that should be adopted in many stages and contexts of product innovation.

Yes, we want to solve specific problems for specific contexts, but it’s important and fruitful in equal measure to think in a broader context, too.

Design Thinking in the Legal Profession

Legal design thinking encourages us to step back and redesign legal processes with the end users in mind. By doing so, we often uncover ways to simplify and clarify legal information that benefits all users. This could mean creating more visually intuitive contracts, developing interactive legal explainers, or redesigning legal processes to be more user-centric.

Rethinking AI and Tech Innovation

As AI use cases proliferate and adoption accelerates, it’s crucial to apply this inclusive approach to emerging technologies. Too often, tech innovations are designed for the "average" user, potentially leaving out valuable perspectives and use cases.

Consider the development of large language models. By ensuring these models are trained on diverse datasets that include perspectives from people with disabilities, non-native speakers, and other often marginalized groups, we can create AI systems that are more robust, versatile, and beneficial to all users.

A Call to Action for Tech Innovators

As founders, developers, and innovators in the tech space, we have a responsibility to broaden our perspective when designing new products and services. Here are a few strategies to embrace this "edge-first" approach:

1. Diverse Teams: Build teams that represent a wide range of experiences and perspectives. Diversity breeds innovation.

2. User-Centric Design: Engage with users from various backgrounds, including those with disabilities, in your design and testing processes.

3. Flexibility: Create products that can be customized to meet different user needs, rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.

4. Continuous Learning: Stay open to feedback, and be willing to iterate based on how different user groups interact with your product.

5. Accessibility-First Development: Consider accessibility features as core functionality, not afterthoughts or add-ons.

At Definely, our journey from addressing a specific accessibility challenge to creating a tool that enhances productivity for all lawyers has taught us the value of this approach, and we now embed it into every aspect of our product and brand innovation. We remain committed to solving for the edges, knowing that in doing so, we're creating better solutions for everyone.

We know that AI and technology are opening up new opportunities to reshape industries and challenge accepted norms, and this emphatically includes the notion of thinking beyond the average user. That approach means that we can create more inclusive, efficient, and innovative solutions that work for all, and often, that we didn’t even know that we needed. The next breakthrough in tech might just come from addressing the needs of those often overlooked by mainstream development.