i've worked with teams that have gone so far in design and even implementation without ever even talking to a user. This is b2b stuff too where user interviews

i've worked with teams that have gone so far in design and even implementation without ever even talking to a user. This is b2b stuff too where user interviews are the most feasible, the actual users are a teams chat/phone call away. I ask teams all the time "have you even talked to the poor souls cursed to use this thing?" and just get blank stares. right out of college I worked at a small independent pharmacy chain as a software developer doing pretty much whatever i wanted (CEO was a good guy and just giving a kid a shot). One of the things my direct boss made me do before i started on any of my ideas was go work in each of our pharmacies for a day, just helping out where i could and observing. I really learned the value of understanding the plight of your users and carried it throughout my career.