Well, I’m not so sure this history really repeats, but there is something to this that a designer can and should leverage.
Whatever you’re designing for, you are immersed in the subject matter, work with various experts to build understanding so you can provide designs that align well with your area. We know that a solid design practice is to look at the current state of affairs, and observe where things work well for users and where they don’t. You’ll likely talk with users and stakeholders about this, and from them you’ll learn a few things.
From users you will see their perspective, but there is something you need to make sure to listen to, that is their patterns of work, especially beyond just using the thing you’re designing. It will tell you what things they do in instinctual ways (some they don’t even realize themselves because it’s so engrained) and also what things that may feel foreign or weird to them.
Understanding the user’s patterns, tells you a lot about their mindset in terms of how they work, what they need, and how they perceive their world.
