I Built a Product From the Way Someone Actually Worked

#design #product #ux

We had designed a workflow based on how we thought customers worked. Then I watched one customer use it. They ignored half the features and created their own little routine around the rest. It was completely different from our carefully designed flow. So I rebuilt the core experience in Greta around what they actually did. It looked almost too simple. There were fewer options, fewer screens, and almost no configuration. We showed it to another customer and they understood it immediately. That was uncomfortable because it meant our original design had been solving a problem we had invented ourselves. We had optimized the workflow we imagined instead of the workflow people actually used. Watching someone work is sometimes more valuable than asking them what they want. People explain what they think they should do. Their mouse usually tells you what they really do.