>>I've done this a number of times. Once, for example, I learned from a waiter >>the proper process for serving wine in a restaurant for an eLearning course >>I was developing. I've always thought (and said out loud) that becoming >>proficient in the activities you're trying to support with design is one of >>the best ways to step into the mind of the user.
Point extremely well taken. However, learning from a waiter how to serve wine is not the same as being a waiter for a number of evenings--which is what Julian asked about. I actually don't think it is a very practical idea, if tantalizing, to learn what you need to know by actually doing the job. To really "get" what it is like to do a certain job by living it, you need to have the background that you could be hired for it, you'd have to go through the proper training, and you'd have to do it long enough to get past the apprentice stage and experience proficiency--and such things as the boredom that comes from repetitiveness, the resentment that comes from being closely supervised/criticized/harassed by customers, the anxiety that comes from the possibility that you will be laid off, and so on. Julian used the example of call center reps. It may be a lowly job, but for many of these lowly call center jobs there's extensive training. If you support health insurance, for example, you start with some 8 weeks of training before you are allowed to take a call on your own. If you support software, you're usually also in training for a number of weeks. Often, it is not a matter of being able to work with "the system," but learning the product/service, learning to be comfortable using the phones, the customer database for logging the calls, and a variety of look-up tools (digital and paper-based) to find answers to the less common questions, learning the policies for handling complaints, and learning to talk and listen to the customer while typing your notes. While I would learn this stuff in much greater depth by doing it myself, I don't believe that designing the right tools in the right way for the person doing the work requires that level of depth. Simply watching a variety of people do the work and listening to them talk about it can deliver what you need to know, at least while exercising your imagination and practicing some humility. Besides, I have a nagging notion that there's an important piece in here somewhere about acknowledging the expertise of people who do the work. Would we ourselves think that someone would "get" our own jobs from doing it for a day (or three)? marijke ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
