Here are some of my notes from Why we should ignore users
- Activity vs People centered design
- People adapt to technology all the time, don’t make technology adapt to people
- Look for trends, not 1-off request
- def. Genius design: Hire better, do less user testing
The conclusion the panel somewhat seemed to agree upon was that users vary so much it’s difficult in some situations to design for them. Instead we should be focused on designing for an activity that the user will need to perform.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Ryan // Mar 21, 2007 at 8:02 am
Yes. 100 times, yes.
2 Amber D. Evans // Mar 26, 2007 at 9:44 am
I don’t mean to sound ignorant, but isn’t this just good instructional design practice? I suppose you’re talking about this in regards to Human-Computer Interactions and User Interface Design, but the ISD principles still apply here, I believe. What you’ve found, Scott, is supported by all the research I’ve read so far … I mean, you’re talking about aligning the instructional strategy (activity) to the delivery (media/interface). Look at the media attributes and see how those support the interaction and viola! you’ve got a very functional (and applicable) piece.
So, yes. I agree with you, however, formative evaluation can be very useful …
3 scott // Mar 26, 2007 at 9:51 am
Awesome. I think i just applied my degree toward my job!