{"id":3519,"date":"2016-06-07T07:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T12:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/juneux.com\/blog\/?p=3519"},"modified":"2020-02-05T20:17:21","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T02:17:21","slug":"stop-quoting-steve-jobs-henry-ford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juneux.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/stop-quoting-steve-jobs-henry-ford\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Steve Jobs + Henry Ford Are Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whenever I hear someone (mistakenly) attribute Henry Ford to the quote \u201cIf I had asked people what they wanted, they would’ve said faster horses\u201d or perpetuate Steve Job\u2019s \u201cNever rely on market research\u201d ideology \u2014 it makes me sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just because these quotes are famous, it doesn’t make them true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

User researchers do not ask people what they want<\/strong><\/em>. (We\u2019re not Santa Claus, ha.)<\/p>\n

Instead, we ask customers about their problems and pain points. Their motivations and goals. Their heart-felt stories about how deeply (or just plain irritating) these issues affect their lives. How they\u2019ve attempted to solve these problems in the past.<\/p>\n

Then we interpret. We read between the lines. We think critically. We triangulate<\/a> and evaluate. We collaborate with designers and dreamers and innovators. We PROBLEM SOLVE.<\/p>\n

And then we ask more questions. Which of these concepts comes closest to solving your problem? Why that one? Why not that one?<\/p>\n

We observe. We listen.<\/p>\n

What did we get right? What did we get wrong. We try again.<\/p>\n

We iterate.<\/p>\n

Customers Are Not Designers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In most cases, it’s a waste of everyone\u2019s time to ask customers what they want. I’ve yet to meet a customer who unknowingly was UX designer\u00a0or product engineer. They simply aren’t equipped to articulate exactly what organizations should build.<\/p>\n

Of course, customers can (and do) tell us what they want. But it’s up to us to listen for what they really need<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Customers say:<\/strong> “My portable CD player is too big to carry. I wish it had a carabiner.”<\/p>\n

Researchers hear:<\/strong> “I need an easy way to transport my music.”<\/p>\n

Customers say:<\/strong> “I want a faster horse so that I can get to places quicker.”<\/p>\n

Researchers hear:<\/strong> “I need a faster transportation method.”<\/p>\n

Customers say:<\/strong> “I want a demo video to learn how to use this.”<\/p>\n

Researchers hear:<\/strong> “The system needs to include an onboarding process.”<\/p>\n

Customers say:<\/strong>\u00a0“I don’t want to see the BUY button at the top of the page.”<\/p>\n

Researchers hear:<\/strong> \u201cI clearly see how to buy this product.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Customers are experts at describing their problems.<\/p>\n

User researchers are experts at discovering the problems that need to be solved.<\/p>\n

Insights\u2014 not data\u2014drive action, innovation, and real understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n

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