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Engineers are trained to think logically. As a result, they come to believe that all people must think this way, and they design their machines accordingly. When people have trouble, the engineers are upset, but often for the wrong reason. “What are these people doing?” they will wonder. “Why are they doing that?”
When the engineers object, I ask whether they have ever made an error, perhaps turning on or off the wrong light, or the wrong stove burner. “Oh yes,” they say, “but those were errors.” That’s the point: even experts make errors. So we must design our machines on the assumption that people will make errors.
Experience is critical, for it determines how fondly people remember their interactions. Was the overall experience positive, or was it frustrating and confusing?
