> > Nice article, but it does not really address the primary problem with > the current state of design research.
And that would be? > You can not effectively 'gear up' and do user research in the web > world (or any other evolving moving market). It moves to damn fast. Agreed. Hence the discussion in Part 1 of the series about it taking too much time. 1 That it seems expensive is not an excuse. User research is not a > cost. When done right it is an investment Hmm. I'd rephrase that. Designing a high quality experience for a valuable product is an investment, regardless of how you achieve it. User research by itself is not an investment—it's a cost. If it's a cost that contributes to the high quality user experience, then your right on, but it often doesn't. In fact, it can have a negative affect on the user experience for people outside the researched audience, and even those within it. 2 That others don't do it does not fly either. User research leads > directly to opportunities for marketplace differentiation... which > leads to larger margins. Again, increased profit can be a pretty good > motivator for MBA's. Sure, but there are other ways to achieve market differentiation. User research is one way, not the only way. > 3 Most market leaders fall (when they fall) at the hands of disruptive > model upstarts. User research can expose features that users do not > have an interest in. > Then how is it that these disruptive upstarts, who often have no time or money for user research, are creating products so great that they're causing market leaders to fall? -r- ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
