Title: Why People Don’t Understand How to Use Your Software
Context: Cross functional teams are the best way to design software. And the worst.
Synopsis: The biggest difference between the team designing the software and the people using it is not that the development team has a greater knowledge of the overall requirements, a deep understanding of the technical limitations, and a wide range of highly relevant skills. No. The most important thing that sets a user apart from a designer (or developer, or project manager) is that the user gets to see the final product through unbiased eyes and offer a truly honest assessment of the software. The minute the design team starts working on a project they are immersed in the minutiae of every last detail, and become emotionally invested not so much in the product as the process. Keeping a detached perspective on the design process is most likely neither possible nor desirable, but always remembering that your first time users will engage with your handiwork objectively is a key rubric to return to regularly if you prefer to delight instead of disappoint them.
Best Bit: “What we forget about is this: when immersed into one project or task for quite a long time, people blur their sharp edge and their ability to look into what they create with the fresh eyes.”
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