3 ms·

A metaphor for this situation (building exactly what customers ask for) could be the car Homer Simpson designed ("The Homer"). https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki

A metaphor for this situation (building exactly what customers ask for) could be the car Homer Simpson designed ("The Homer"). https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer Not that all users are equal to Homer, but what they think they want and what they actually need are very different. It's better to get more detail on the problem, then present a series of possible solutions to evaluate and iterate on.

smusamashah 5y ago
Not just that. If the feature is given in an usable or other poor form. They won't use it even when they have it right there. May be its not very obvious, or complicated, or too time consuming. Design makes all the difference. If you give them something they never needed or asked for, but it's so obvious and simple to use, they will use the hell out if it.
72f988bf 5y ago
Went down the rabbit hole from your link: > > It is a parody/exaggeration of the Edsel, a similarly disastrous automobile designed by Ford Motor Company. Points to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel: It has a "Design controversies" section that's very relevant to today: > Complaints also surfaced about the taillights on 1958-model Edsel station wagons. The lenses were boomerang-shaped and placed in a reverse fashion. At a distance, they appeared as arrows pointed in the opposite direction of the turn being made. When the left turn signal flashed, its arrow shape pointed right, and vice versa https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel#/media/File%3A1958_Edsel_Villager.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel#/media/File%3A1958_Eds... Why is it relevant? Related thread from 3 days ago about blinkers with the exact same design flaws , but in 2021: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28661282 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28661282

smusamashah 5y ago

Not just that. If the feature is given in an usable or other poor form. They won't use it even when they have it right there. May be its not very obvious, or complicated, or too time consuming. Design makes all the difference. If you give them something they never needed or asked for, but it's so obvious and simple to use, they will use the hell out if it.

72f988bf 5y ago

Went down the rabbit hole from your link: > > It is a parody/exaggeration of the Edsel, a similarly disastrous automobile designed by Ford Motor Company. Points to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel: It has a "Design controversies" section that's very relevant to today: > Complaints also surfaced about the taillights on 1958-model Edsel station wagons. The lenses were boomerang-shaped and placed in a reverse fashion. At a distance, they appeared as arrows pointed in the opposite direction of the turn being made. When the left turn signal flashed, its arrow shape pointed right, and vice versa https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel#/media/File%3A1958_Edsel_Villager.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel#/media/File%3A1958_Eds... Why is it relevant? Related thread from 3 days ago about blinkers with the exact same design flaws , but in 2021: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28661282 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28661282