Lesson #12: Collaborate with users, not just with your teammates.
—Min Seung Song, Class of 2013
I am often shocked by user research because I see users using our product different way from its intended user flow. I try myself to find a better process to do the design. The best answer is simple: ask, talk, and collaborate with real users before finalizing.
When we design something, we talk and argue with teammates—a co-designer, engineer, or project manager. Those people are already familiar with our products and can’t represent all users. Going out and talking with people really produced different results. A variety of feedback helps to build a better piece.
Min Seung Song is a Senior Experience Designer at Yahoo!, Sunnyvale, CA, USA.
This post is part of an ongoing series this month.
