Whatever you do, don't drink the Kool-Aid.
Beware of the Kool-Aid
Seems like a lot of companies are drinking their own Kool-Aid these days when they assume they "know" what their users really want. And unless a business has thoroughly interviewed its users, these assumptions often leads to misguided products that just don't work for the people that matter most: the end users.
Our guiding principle
We believe that a successful user experience can only be created by understanding the people that will ultimately be using it. We accomplish that by using our groundbreaking Intensive Personal Interview (IPI) research process. Without research, the design of an interface is essentially being done in a vacuum. And the result (confusion, frustration, indifference, etc.) will reflect that.
Who's it really for, anyway?
A design is most successful when it is created for the actual end users, not the owners of the website itself. Even though that's a simple concept, some clients have a difficult time letting go of their personal tastes and stepping into the shoes of their users. To be sure, a client's needs and objectives are crucial — the goal is to perfectly harmonize the objectives of the client with the needs of its users.
Find out what real people want
Effective design begins with interviewing real people (current users, potential users, and even “the ones that got away”) to find out what they really want and need. “Wants” and “needs” are often different, and getting to the true needs that users have is a delicate process that requires very savvy interviewing skills (i.e. asking them directly typically doesn't work well).
Interviews that look like magic
An ideal series of interviews elicit the deepest secrets and fears of users. Based on intensive, personal interview techniques, our IPI results contain answers to the interview questions themselves, the subject's body language, and the pursuit of concepts that the subject brings up — often the most telling part of how they will use a website or product. Our techniques rely on the depth of our interviews, not on large numbers of casually answered questionnaires. And the results, which are often quite surprising, can almost look like magic.
Optimizing to success
To see how well a potential design might work, it needs to be tested with real people. We're not just talking about usability — although that's very important. We mean testing for emotional response and logical comprehension too. All of these elements must be flawless for a user experience to be truly effective, and only skillful testing with real people will reveal it. If something is not working, it needs to be adjusted until it is working optimally. Only by using an iterative “adjust-and-test” approach can this be accomplished.
Powerful results
When an organization builds all of these things into their website, they'll have a carefully calibrated user experience that truly meets the needs — emotional and logical — of their users. And that kind of interface — one that users love — is truly priceless.
