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Subject:Re: The Myth of Seven, Plus or Minus Two From:Goober Writer <gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 5 Dec 2003 07:51:52 -0800 (PST)
--- Jan Henning <henning -at- r-l -dot- de> wrote:
> > You don't design a product with what people want
> in
> > mind. You design a product with a solution to a
> > problem in mind.
>
> But that WAS the original proposal under discussion
> here: Incorporate
> changes that help the majority to use the product
> better.
Right, but what they want and what they need are still
different. Most people don't know or think about what
they need... they just know what they want, which may
not be what they need.
You don't make a good product by soliciting for
suggestions and incorporating them. You make a good
product by researching how people are using it or a
related product (or how they are working without your
solution in place), taking the info first-hand from
observation and not from their descriptions, and
catering to the needs determined from that study.
This is why usability testing is so important. Could
you imagine Spool or Nielsen working as a subjectivity expert?
=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)
"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
-- Geoff Hart
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