It's easy to think of this product or service as primary . And then accompanying the product or service are assorted words . Perhaps it's some product documentation, some marketing materials, some registration forms. It's easy to think of these as supporting or secondary material. Try to avoid this easy way of thinking.
Words are an integral part of the product or service itself.
Imagine that your company has just developed a new piece of software. It will be used by general contractors to estimate construction projects. The contractor will type information into the software via some nicely designed forms based interface. Out comes a cost estimate along with a listing of materials required. Next, imagine that the contractor obtains his or her requirements by interviewing potential customers.