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Why we fail

The problem: Designing new products requires innovation and guesswork, both of which take the designers down paths the consumer will never travel. Designers get too close to their products, too proud of their innovations, and soon they can’t empathize with real consumers. The further away from the consumers they become, the harder it seems to get users back into focus.

Consumer State-of-Mind Table

The reality: There are many tools to help sharpen the view of the consumer, including state-of-mind analysis, business intelligence analysis, and usability studies. After shipping a product or service, it is time to begin studying the data—before rushing into the next version.

The Consumer State-of-Mind Table demonstrates how users will accept new ideas, services, or products depending on their state of mind.

The solution: We need to keep our eye on our users. We need to know their states of mind as they interact with our products. We learn from watching users interact with our products, studying the transactions they leave behind, and analyzing our product’s key features to find flaws. Data makes us great decision makers. Assumptions trip us up. We succeed by questioning the assumptions and validating the realities.

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