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Harvard Business School marketing professor Theodore Levitt once pointed out, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”
For designers, the most critical aspect of the behavioral level is that every action is associated with an expectation. Expect a positive outcome and the result is a positive affective response (a “positive valence,” in the scientific literature). Expect a negative outcome and the result is a negative affective response (a negative valence): dread and hope, anxiety and anticipation. The information in the feedback loop of evaluation confirms or disconfirms the expectations, resulting in satisfaction or relief, disappointment or frustration.
Eliminate the term human error. Instead, talk about communication and interaction: what we call an error is usually bad communication or interaction.
What is natural depends upon point of view, the choice of metaphor, and therefore, the culture.
The meanings of today may not be the meanings of the future.
What is a designer to do? Provide as much guidance as possible to ensure that the current state of things is displayed in a coherent and easily interpreted format—ideally graphical.
People are flexible, versatile, and creative. Machines are rigid, precise, and relatively fixed in their operations. There is a mismatch between the two, one that can lead to enhanced capability if used properly.
One of my rules in consulting is simple: never solve the problem I am asked to solve. Why such a counterintuitive rule? Because, invariably, the problem I am asked to solve is not the real, fundamental, root problem. It is usually a symptom.
Engineers and businesspeople are trained to solve problems. Designers are trained to discover the real problems. A brilliant solution to the wrong problem can be worse than no solution at all: solve the correct problem.
The hardest part of design is getting the requirements right, which means ensuring that the right problem is being solved, as well as that the solution is appropriate. Requirements made in the abstract are invariably wrong. Requirements produced by asking people what they need are invariably wrong. Requirements are developed by watching people in their natural environment.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.
This is what makes design such a rewarding discipline: On the one hand, woefully complex constraints to overcome; on the other hand, the opportunity to develop things that assist and enrich the lives of people, that bring benefits and enjoyment.
The design of technology to fit human needs and capabilities is determined by the psychology of people. Yes, technologies may change, but people stay the same.
Quality only comes about by continual focus on, and attention to, the people who matter: customers.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The more things change, the more they are the same.
