Practical User Interface Inquiry

I have come to realize there are some things you can ask end users about how to present information, but quite a bit more one has to rely upon one's own skills as a designer, thinker and planner. The real questions appears between the iteration of a new information form or a tool, or during a transition from one tool to another, or when users find that a tool is not sufficient so that one has to ask for feedback from end users.

I think that just asking users for feedback because some academics say you should is not particularly useful in all information management situations for a number of reasons. It sounds good, but academics themselves have come to realize that this technique does not always make sense.

Users don't always know what they want, they do work-arounds, and may be pleased to get some of the things they want, just enough to enjoy the topic, or learn something. Not all users have the same needs, just like not all people enjoy the same things; for example some children are very much over stimulated by toys or books for their age range that other children would be bored by.

You have to use some common sense, quite a bit of it really. When publishing a book for example you don't ask English readers of a book (on Interface Design) for example:
"Do you want the book in writing?
Do you want the writing to be in English?
Do you want the font to be legible?
Do you want the background to be light enough to display the text?
Do you want it to be a book?
Do you want an Index?" Of course they are English readers! It would be incredibly useless and redundant to ask them these things.

After reading the book (or an advanced copy of it) the kinds of questions you might ask for improvement are such things as:
"Were the topics presented clearly enough?
Did the examples clarify the subject matter?
Did the layout of the book make sense?
Was the font large enough with enough white space?
Was the index well thought out?"

In a similar way the kinds of things that one might ask an end user about a design which might make sense for creating a new application do not apply to the development of everything an information manager or user interface designer does. The where and how information management applies are embedded in a number of elements of the decisions that an experienced person takes in their approach to creating an exhibition of information, or a website.

Also creating an information management system that has a result that I intend may not be what the end user takes from the experience. It depends upon if that is the goal, to enforce that people have the experience that I intend, such as learning about a topic, rather than simply enjoying looking at some photos. Personally enforcing things is not my goal, but there are reasons to have such goals.

It is important to find things which satisfy the end user, and in making inquires that that make sense within the context being investigated and which are not contrived.