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> She yells at her computer, doesn't know what a twitter is, and struggles to find windows she's minimized. > You should design with your mother in mind. If sh

> She yells at her computer, doesn't know what a twitter is, and struggles to find windows she's minimized. > You should design with your mother in mind. If she can't understand your site, others will struggle as well. I'm not sure your mother represents the average user, and likely does not fit the target demographic of most web sites/applications. Maybe I'm missing something...but how is this useful? I get that we should all design for actual people. But most of the time, "most people" (and perhaps more importantly, most paying customers) aren't going to be your mom (or people like her).

jschwartzi 12y ago
My mom gets tired of computer stuff, but she's still set up a router with port forwarding and installed parts in a computer before. Last week she was trying to get her cloud dvr working so she could leave her house while her mare is in foal. I think if you build something that's internet-connected you could probably stand to ask yourself whether someone like her can use it. She may try, after all, and she's definitely the kind of person to leave frustrated reviews of your product on Amazon.
paukiatwee 12y ago
Agree, first research your user profile, then persona. 95% of the case mom will not be your persona. Learn from awesome Entrepreneurship 101: Who is your customer? https://www.edx.org/course/entrepreneurship-101-who-customer-mitx-15-390-1x-0 https://www.edx.org/course/entrepreneurship-101-who-customer...
aidos 12y ago
I guess it's about having someone who's going to stumble over the details that many of us would miss (because we have so much knowledge). I watched a bit of their twitter demo and it was actually pretty entertaining. During the account creation process it suggested potential usernames like 'pam18773642' and she said, "how the hell would I ever remember all those numbers?" Once she'd picked a name it wasn't obvious that it was valid. I agree, you need to know who your target audience are and test for them. Still, it's enlightening to see the web through the eyes of someone with very little experience.
fallinghawks 12y ago
My mom could never figure out how to double-click a mouse without moving it a tad. When she uses a tablet, she's understands swiping, but she can't help but touch the screen when a "normal" user would point without touching. She's starting to get it but I think shopping on Amazon may forever be out of reach. She's definitely not the average user, and while usability is important to a website, the average user ought to be more concerned about security and privacy.

jschwartzi 12y ago

My mom gets tired of computer stuff, but she's still set up a router with port forwarding and installed parts in a computer before. Last week she was trying to get her cloud dvr working so she could leave her house while her mare is in foal. I think if you build something that's internet-connected you could probably stand to ask yourself whether someone like her can use it. She may try, after all, and she's definitely the kind of person to leave frustrated reviews of your product on Amazon.

paukiatwee 12y ago

Agree, first research your user profile, then persona. 95% of the case mom will not be your persona. Learn from awesome Entrepreneurship 101: Who is your customer? https://www.edx.org/course/entrepreneurship-101-who-customer-mitx-15-390-1x-0 https://www.edx.org/course/entrepreneurship-101-who-customer...

aidos 12y ago

I guess it's about having someone who's going to stumble over the details that many of us would miss (because we have so much knowledge). I watched a bit of their twitter demo and it was actually pretty entertaining. During the account creation process it suggested potential usernames like 'pam18773642' and she said, "how the hell would I ever remember all those numbers?" Once she'd picked a name it wasn't obvious that it was valid. I agree, you need to know who your target audience are and test for them. Still, it's enlightening to see the web through the eyes of someone with very little experience.

fallinghawks 12y ago

My mom could never figure out how to double-click a mouse without moving it a tad. When she uses a tablet, she's understands swiping, but she can't help but touch the screen when a "normal" user would point without touching. She's starting to get it but I think shopping on Amazon may forever be out of reach. She's definitely not the average user, and while usability is important to a website, the average user ought to be more concerned about security and privacy.