Thomas said:
Users generally don't
1. know what they want
2. know what they could get
...
How does caring about the user really transcend into making better
products. I still haven't gotten anyone able to explain this.
___
If I could take a small, humble stab.
Generalizations and assumptions aside (however educated they may be -
I happen to be a user who more often than not _does_ know what he
wants and what he could get, as are many of my friends/acquaintances)
let's say that's true.
I'm not sure that knowing what they could get will help much.
But, I think it still holds true that users often DO know what they
DON'T want. If I care about my user, although my educated guesses and
research may point me in a good direction of where I should take the
design, I think they're even more powerful in helping understand where
I definitely should NOT go. That is very helpful. Avoiding creating
something they obviously don't want will help you to design something
more akin to what they do want, even if they/you don't know what that
is (at first).
In a similar situation - I had a PM who couldn't ever tell me what he
wanted me to design, just that he didn't like the designs I was giving
him. So eventually I asked the question - okay - so tell me exactly
what you DON'T want. That helped me short-circuit the runaround and
multiple iterations and eventually find a solution he did want much
more quickly - even though he couldn't articulate exactly what it was
he wanted until he saw it.
I think it often comes down to the car Homer Simpson designed - The
Homer: http://www.toycyte.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/thehomer.jpg
It's got everything the every-man could want, but no man (except
perhaps Homer) would every actually want it. The designers/builders @
Powell Motors did a ton of user research (on Homer) and created a
product that had everything he wanted and everything he knew he could
get. Just because it can do everything or has everything that the user
wanted and knew they could get didn't mean that they would
automatically create a better product - so there I agree w/ Thomas.
This comes down to the problem in the execution and usage of what the
every-man wanted though. They also let the user design the product -
so therein I think lie the ultimate failure.
If the designers had better executed the design based on the knowledge
they had, I think the product could have been a success. The
difference comes into play AFTER the designer has cared enough about
the user to gain insights into their goals and passions, then seeks to
create something that helps them achieve those goals, while delighting
them, and giving them something they might/will want, but definitely
NOT something they obviously won't want.
If you don't care about your user at all, how will you know what might
surprise and delight them? How will you know what their goals are? How
will you know if you're giving them something they will find value in
and embrace?
Brandon E. B. Ward
brandonebw...@gmail.com
UI • UX • Ix Design
Flex • Flash Development
Portfolio: http://www.uxd.me
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonebward
VisualCV: http://www.visualcv.com/brandonebward
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
- Robert A. Heinlein
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