5 ms·

ofcourse you dont ask them how to design. you are hired as the designer. ask them for specifications / limitations / painpoints in the current system etc. etc.

ofcourse you dont ask them how to design. you are hired as the designer. ask them for specifications / limitations / painpoints in the current system etc. etc. and base your design upon their feedback on actual relevant questions. a plumber doesnt ask his customer how to plumb. just which pipes need fixin! doesn't go fix the toilet if the shower is broken :S

chrismeller 8y ago
I think the better analogy would be installing a whole new bathroom (it’s a redesign after all). In that case the plumber could and should ask where the sink is going, even if he was only told to move the toilet. Why? Because maybe the sewage line is over there and about to be covered over with concrete and they’ll have to tear up all of that to move it in two weeks, but the sink hadn’t arrived yet so no one told him that would move either. The point is not that the plumber is asking his customer how he should do his job, but that he can be more valuable if told the whole scope and impact of his job. Similarly you can’t just ask a user “how could this screen work better”, you need to watch them work so that you see that that screen isn’t even the problem - they’re clicking off of it 15 times every call - but you didn’t even know to ask about the other page.
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  > you can’t just ask a user “how could this screen work better” Why would you ask that anyway? You've already assumed the problem and solution at that point. You ask how it's going, very generally and let the conversation lead you to their pain points. You don't ask about the UI, which they are not an authority on. You ask about their subjective experience, which they are.
  - tabtab 8y ago
    The best approach is to watch them do their work and ask a lot of questions. For example, "Why did you have to leave this screen to go find X?"
    - mattkevan 8y ago
      'Why?' is a very powerful question. A few months ago I heard a talk by the chief product manager at a photo album printing company where he talked about an in-depth series of customer interviews they'd recently conducted. His advice was to keep asking why until you get to the root of why someone did something. However, if the answer you reach 'Because I don't want to die alone', then you've gone too far...
      - tabtab 8y ago
        Or the answer is, "Because the last guy who didn't do X got fired."
      - Mikerad1979 8y ago
        This technique is called a 5-Why in lean manufacturing. Useful tool in digging into a root cause, and helps people think deeply about the causes of issues that are not inherently obvious. Also, 5 is just the "suggested" number. More or less may be needed. If you reach 'Because I don't want to die alone' in 3 whys, probably no need to try for 5...
  - beamatronic 8y ago
    Perhaps you could measure the user instead, as in time taken to complete tasks.
    - tabtab 8y ago
      If you use a stopwatch or equivalent, the user may get weirded out. Maybe do a rough-count in your mind and take a note, but to emphasize time above other factors may be a mistake, except for special domains or circumstances.

chrismeller 8y ago

I think the better analogy would be installing a whole new bathroom (it’s a redesign after all). In that case the plumber could and should ask where the sink is going, even if he was only told to move the toilet. Why? Because maybe the sewage line is over there and about to be covered over with concrete and they’ll have to tear up all of that to move it in two weeks, but the sink hadn’t arrived yet so no one told him that would move either. The point is not that the plumber is asking his customer how he should do his job, but that he can be more valuable if told the whole scope and impact of his job. Similarly you can’t just ask a user “how could this screen work better”, you need to watch them work so that you see that that screen isn’t even the problem - they’re clicking off of it 15 times every call - but you didn’t even know to ask about the other page.

erikpukinskis 8y ago
> you can’t just ask a user “how could this screen work better” Why would you ask that anyway? You've already assumed the problem and solution at that point. You ask how it's going, very generally and let the conversation lead you to their pain points. You don't ask about the UI, which they are not an authority on. You ask about their subjective experience, which they are.
- tabtab 8y ago
  The best approach is to watch them do their work and ask a lot of questions. For example, "Why did you have to leave this screen to go find X?"
  - mattkevan 8y ago
    'Why?' is a very powerful question. A few months ago I heard a talk by the chief product manager at a photo album printing company where he talked about an in-depth series of customer interviews they'd recently conducted. His advice was to keep asking why until you get to the root of why someone did something. However, if the answer you reach 'Because I don't want to die alone', then you've gone too far...
    - tabtab 8y ago
      Or the answer is, "Because the last guy who didn't do X got fired."
    - Mikerad1979 8y ago
      This technique is called a 5-Why in lean manufacturing. Useful tool in digging into a root cause, and helps people think deeply about the causes of issues that are not inherently obvious. Also, 5 is just the "suggested" number. More or less may be needed. If you reach 'Because I don't want to die alone' in 3 whys, probably no need to try for 5...
- beamatronic 8y ago
  Perhaps you could measure the user instead, as in time taken to complete tasks.
  - tabtab 8y ago
    If you use a stopwatch or equivalent, the user may get weirded out. Maybe do a rough-count in your mind and take a note, but to emphasize time above other factors may be a mistake, except for special domains or circumstances.