What influence does it have?
The Influence criterion examines the broader social and cultural effects your product has beyond its immediate users, including how it shapes behaviour, norms, and expectations in the wider community.
A strong answer considers both the intended and unintended effects of a product at scale: does it encourage more sustainable behaviour, reduce social friction, or support positive norms? Or does it entrench habits that are harmful, create dependency, or displace more beneficial alternatives? Influence is often most visible when a product is widely adopted: the aggregate effect of millions of individual choices can reshape markets, communities, and environmental outcomes. A weak answer considers only the direct, intended use without thinking about second-order effects.
Products that have a positive influence, making sustainable choices easier, shifting norms toward fairness or responsibility, and empowering users to make better decisions, create social value that compounds over time. Understanding and designing for positive influence is an opportunity as much as it is a responsibility.
