4 ms·

I feel that rule number 2, "If you cannot get a group of people for whom your product is designed for to generally agree that your design is good, it’s not good

I feel that rule number 2, "If you cannot get a group of people for whom your product is designed for to generally agree that your design is good, it’s not good," is generally a double-edged sword. That is, do people outside of design generally know what is or isn't good? Rule no.3 stating that a group of designers must decide if a design is good or not is far more relevant to what actually is good design, verses the general populace. That's like asking a group of patients if they think the drug that's being made seems good enough with several side effects or not, verses asking pharmaceutical experts on the matter.

creeble 11y ago
I think both points of view have merit, but the user pov should probably be more heavily weighted. My experience with user testing is that if you give someone a UI and watch what they do with it (without instruction), you will quickly get a feel for how close to the mark your design is. Different users have different expectations of course, so you need to do this with a fair range of users.
- markmcdonald 11y ago
  I agree. Users loving a solution is much more valuable than designers loving a solution.
- jcassell 11y ago
  True, and I do think there is strong validity in blind user testing so as to better shape and improve initial designs to a more finished form. However, I do think there is some merit in getting those in the actual field of functional and "good" design (as the author defines it) to weigh in on why precisely your design is just that. In my own UI/UX research, users all too often miss fully comprehending the painstaking research and work that goes into truly effective and good design. I guess what my argument really is is that I would prefer to weigh more heavily the affirmation of those in the design field rather than a broad range of users with no particular ethos concerning design. Of course, who we end up designing for is the normal user, and what they think is indeed important. However, if 100 people said my design was good vs. hearing that from, say, Mike Matas, I would pick Mike Matas.
  - ocdtrekkie 11y ago
    Users cannot tell you what's wrong with your design. They don't know. It "feels wrong" or they "don't like it". But they CAN tell you that your design is BAD. It's up to you (or other designers) to tell you what's wrong with it. But if the users don't like it, you failed, and it doesn't matter if other designers think it's good. Your target is the users, if the users aren't having a good experience, you're not doing it right.
chain18 11y ago
I think a better analogy would be if a chef made you a meal and asked if you liked it. He is the expert but your experience about the taste of the meal is still valuable to him. Testing on your target market is pretty important because you get a "real" example of how usable your product is. For example if you tested your interface on an elderly person (target market) and a UI expert you are going to have considerably different results.

creeble 11y ago

I think both points of view have merit, but the user pov should probably be more heavily weighted. My experience with user testing is that if you give someone a UI and watch what they do with it (without instruction), you will quickly get a feel for how close to the mark your design is. Different users have different expectations of course, so you need to do this with a fair range of users.

markmcdonald 11y ago
I agree. Users loving a solution is much more valuable than designers loving a solution.
jcassell 11y ago
True, and I do think there is strong validity in blind user testing so as to better shape and improve initial designs to a more finished form. However, I do think there is some merit in getting those in the actual field of functional and "good" design (as the author defines it) to weigh in on why precisely your design is just that. In my own UI/UX research, users all too often miss fully comprehending the painstaking research and work that goes into truly effective and good design. I guess what my argument really is is that I would prefer to weigh more heavily the affirmation of those in the design field rather than a broad range of users with no particular ethos concerning design. Of course, who we end up designing for is the normal user, and what they think is indeed important. However, if 100 people said my design was good vs. hearing that from, say, Mike Matas, I would pick Mike Matas.
- ocdtrekkie 11y ago
  Users cannot tell you what's wrong with your design. They don't know. It "feels wrong" or they "don't like it". But they CAN tell you that your design is BAD. It's up to you (or other designers) to tell you what's wrong with it. But if the users don't like it, you failed, and it doesn't matter if other designers think it's good. Your target is the users, if the users aren't having a good experience, you're not doing it right.

chain18 11y ago

I think a better analogy would be if a chef made you a meal and asked if you liked it. He is the expert but your experience about the taste of the meal is still valuable to him. Testing on your target market is pretty important because you get a "real" example of how usable your product is. For example if you tested your interface on an elderly person (target market) and a UI expert you are going to have considerably different results.