Your Users Don’t Know Best

You don’t build great software by putting your users in the driver’s seat. Techniques that focus on asking users what they want in your product or asking users to “vote” on the functionality that they would like to see in your product are recipes for mediocrity.

Don’t ask your users what to build. Instead, focus on understanding what your users “do.” Know the goals of your users, understand what they think, how they interact, what they do in their time-off, and understand what their life is like on a day-to-day basis. You can’t get this information by disconnected feedback, you have to get it face-to-face, side-by-side, through direct and unbiased observation.

Everyone who designs, develops, tests, and manages software products should be spending time with their users. Be an apprentice, observe your software in use in a natural environment, pay attention to the psychology and interactions – then you will understand what needs to be built.

Every interaction with a user in their natural environment will leave a lasting impact in how you understand your users and guide your product.