Forget What You Know.

While I always gain hugely from reading Kathy's posts and the abundant comments, it constantly strikes me how many of the latter make direct reference to software development.

Now I know that's her core readership, but (especially when talking about user needs and experience) it's revealing how comforting it is for people to contextualise their comments/thinking within their work expertise. This happens in all industries, of course, yet as a non-geek it is always disconcerting when a comment suddenly starts talking a seemingly foreign language of jargon and technical terms.

However, our work experience is not our only experience (let's hope) and greater revelations will emerge if we put ourselves in true user mode. Since, in this day and age, functionality must be a given, this means thinking beyond that. Reframe your mindset from one of relative expertise to one of how you feel as user in areas in which you are non-expert and, by implication, at the mercy of the supplier.

Focus, as you would in those situations, in terms of the feelings that need to be met, the fears that need to be assuaged - then you will truly be in user mode and that is where the real insights lie.